Overview

This bill amends the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 to increase transparency in election and referendum advertising. It requires advertisers to submit details of their advertisements to the electoral commission within 24 hours of publication, and mandates clearer attribution of campaign spending.

Description

The bill makes several key changes:

• Transparency in Advertising: Advertisers of election or referendum material must provide the Electoral Commission with a copy of the advertisement, distribution details, targeting information used (if any), and any other information the Commission requests within 24 hours of publication. The Commission will then make this information publicly available.
• Attribution of Advertising Expenditure: The Secretary of State will create regulations to clarify when advertising expenditure counts as campaign expenditure versus election expenses for a specific candidate. These regulations will ensure that advertising mainly targeting a specific candidate's constituency is counted as their election expenses unless certain conditions are met. The Secretary of State must consult with the Electoral Commission before making these regulations, except where they reflect Commission recommendations.
• Mandatory Disclosure on Material: The bill changes existing legislation to make the inclusion of certain details on election and referendum material mandatory, rather than optional. It also allows hyperlinks to webpages to satisfy some disclosure requirements.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify any increase or decrease in government spending. The main cost will likely be associated with the Electoral Commission's increased workload in processing and publishing the additional information required from advertisers.

Groups Affected

• Advertisers: Will need to comply with new reporting requirements for election and referendum advertising. Failure to comply could lead to penalties.
• Political Parties: Will need to ensure their advertising campaigns comply with the new rules.
• Candidates: Will be affected by the clearer rules on attributing advertising spend to their election expenses.
• Electoral Commission: Will have a greater workload in managing the increased reporting requirements and making information publicly available.
• Public: Will benefit from increased transparency regarding who is funding election and referendum advertising campaigns.

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