REVEALED: All those election contributions.

By Adam Wilshaw

THE Liberal Democrats in North Devon received thousands of pounds in donations from a multi-millionaire activist and the Endurance Rally Association, records show.

The Lib Dems, whose MP, Nick Harvey, won the seat at the May general election, before becoming Armed Forces Minister were supported with £3,500 from Betterworld Limited, according to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission.

Betterworld channels funding from Henry Tinsley, the former chairman of the Green and Blacks chocolate business, who is on the board of campaigning group 38 Degrees.

In November 2009, Betterworld gave the North Devon Lib Dems £2,500 and in May this year it gave £1,000. Betterworld made donations to Liberal Democrat groups in other parts of the UK.The Endurance Rally Association (NRA) gave the North Devon Lib Dems £5,000 in March.Mr Harvey said Betterworld and the NRA were small companies whose shareholding directors were œliberal sympathisers.

He said: "Betterworld makes donations to campaigning and charitable causes, largely in the developing world.

"But in the view of the directors, whose own money it distributes, a better world is also built by supporting political parties sharing its goals.

"Endurance Rally Association is owned by a former party employee, who has put a little of the money he has made through his professional rally-driving hobby back into his other hobby: the party.

"In both cases the money went into the local party general operating funds and were not ringfenced in any way."

Mr Tinsley told the Journal: "Betterworld is a private company I own. Before this year's general election we made donations to a number of Liberal Democrat and Labour candidates in tight contests with well-financed Conservatives.

"North Devon was one of these constituencies. We believe our funding helped deny the Conservative Party an overall majority at the general election."

Chairman Philip Young, emailing from Kazakhstan while on the Peking to Paris classic car rally, said: "I am a longstanding supporter of the Liberal Democrats, over some 30 years, and the donation of £5,000 came with my blessing. I have helped around a dozen local parties with sums up to this sort of amount in the past year."

The NRA president is senior Lib Dem Lord Steel.

Philip Milton, the Conservative candidate in North Devon in the general election, claimed the Lib Dem campaign had been based on well-funded "champagne socialism" whereas his had been founded on "compassionate conservatism".

He said his local party had received no comparable donations in the past 12 months, The Journal looked at all registered donations to political parties in North Devon and Torridge for the past 12 months.

Overall, the Lib Dems in North Devon received £19,700 and the Lib Dems in Torridge were given £7,373.

The Conservatives in Torridge were given £4,000 and UKIP in North Devon £2,500.Many of the donations were from individual supporters, including Mr Harvey himself, who gave £3,200 in December. The figures do not reveal how the local parties spent the money.

The donations were separate and in addition to donations specifically made for the general election campaign. There was no suggestion any candidate had broken any rules.In July the Journal revealed that general election candidates in North Devon and Torridge had spent a total of £137,670 on their campaigns this year.

The winner in Torridge and West Devon, Geoffrey Cox (Conservative), was the biggest spender, forking out almost £36,000 on his bid to remain MP.Mr Cox, a barrister, was also the candidate who provided the most financial assistance £17,329 to his own campaign.

In comparison, the biggest spender in North Devon, the winner, Mr Harvey, spent £26,574. His spending was met by his party.Mr Milton, who came second, spent £23,078. He used more than £6,400 from his local financial advice business to fund his efforts.