Overview

This bill aims to reform the funding and expenditure of political parties in the UK. Key changes include a phased reduction in the maximum donation amount from a single source, new public funding schemes, and altered rules regarding election addresses and campaign spending.

Description

Funding Restrictions

The bill introduces a progressively decreasing cap on donations and loans to political parties from any single source, reaching £10,000 per year by 2027. Affiliation fees from trade unions and membership organisations will be treated as individual donations under certain conditions, requiring written consent from members.

Public Funding

The bill establishes new public funding mechanisms: an "amount-per-vote" scheme, providing funding based on votes received in recent elections; and a matched funding scheme for registered supporters who donate to parties.

Expenditure Limits

The bill sets an annual limit on non-election expenses for political parties. It also increases candidate spending limits at general elections and removes restrictions on pre-candidacy election expenses for certain general elections.

Election Addresses

The bill changes the rules regarding election addresses, allowing for free delivery of a combined election address booklet prepared by the returning officer for parliamentary and European Parliament elections.

Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission's role is expanded to oversee the new funding and expenditure regulations.

Government Spending

The bill will lead to increased government spending on public funding of political parties through the amount-per-vote and matched funding schemes. Exact figures are not specified in the bill, but it will depend on the number of votes cast for each party and the number of registered supporters who donate.

Groups Affected

This bill will affect various groups:

• Political Parties: Face stricter donation limits, new public funding opportunities, and altered rules on spending and election addresses.
• Trade Unions and Membership Organisations: Required to obtain written consent from members before contributing affiliation fees to political parties.
• Donors: Subject to lower donation limits.
• Candidates: Affected by changes to election address regulations and campaign spending limits.
• Electoral Commission: Takes on a larger role in monitoring compliance.
• Taxpayers: Contribute to the increased government spending on political party funding.

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