Archive:
(This document is for archive/historical purposes)
1.1 Parliament is dissolved by a Royal Proclamation. The Queen can dissolve
Parliament by Proclamation without being present in London. There are precedents
for a dissolution without recall while Parliament is in recess. The same
Proclamation also orders the issue of writs for the election of a new Parliament.
Writs are issued by the Clerk of the Crown and go to Returning Officers,
requiring them to cause elections to be held. The writs also name the date
on which the new Parliament is to meet.
1.2 In 1997 the Proclamation was issued on 8 April and the new Parliament
was called to assemble on 7 May. The date of the general election had earlier
been announced by the then Prime Minister on 17 March 1997. This was the
longest period between announcement and poll since the Second World War
(including the 1945 general election). The shortest periods were 21 days
in February 1974 and 22 days in October 1974.
1.3 The election is held 17 working days after the date of the Proclamation
and the issue of the writs ordering the holding of elections.
1.4 Periods of time in the timetable are reckoned in working days and exclude
Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Maundy Thursday, Good
Friday, bank holidays in any part of the United Kingdom and any day appointed
for public thanksgiving and mourning.
1.5 Notice of an election must be published by the (acting) returning officer not later than 4:00pm on the third day after the day the writ is issued.
1.6 Nomination papers of candidates must be received not later than the sixth working day after the issue of the writ (between 10 am and 4 pm).
1.7 Polling day is the eleventh working day after the last day for receipt of nomination papers.
1.8 A candidate may be nominated for more than one constituency, and elected,
but if elected must decide for which constituency he will serve in Parliament
by rules laid down by the House of Commons and set out in Erskine May.
1.9 A return of election expenses must be made by the election agent of
every candidate to the acting returning officer within 35 ordinary days
(i.e. not excluding the days listed in paragraph 1.4 above) after the day
on which the result of the election is declared.
1.10 A copy of the returns is made available by the acting returning officer
for public inspection by anyone at reasonable times for a prescribed fee
of £5. A copy of any part of those returns can be requested on payment
of 20 pence for each side of each page.
1.11 Returning officers retain these documents for two years from the date on which they receive them. At the end of that period these documents are destroyed unless the candidate and/or his election agent request their return.
1.12 It is assumed that the general election will be held on a Thursday,
though there is no statutory requirement for parliamentary elections to
be held on that day. They can be held on any weekday except those set out
in paragraph 1.4 above. Thursday elections have, however, become a convention.
Since 1935 every general election has been held on a Thursday.
1.13 The month for general elections varies. 1918 was the last time that
an election was held in December (immediately following the armistice),
and there have been no polling days in January since 1910. Of the 15 general
elections held since 1945, four have been in October, three in May, three
in June and two in February.
1.14 Under the Septennial Act 1715, as amended by Section 7 of the Parliament
Act 1911, five years is set as the maximum duration for a Parliament. In
theory, once five years has passed a Parliament expires but in practice
the Prime Minster normally requests a dissolution from the Monarch before
that date. The five years run from the first meeting of Parliament following
the general election. The timetable for the next general election is then
set in motion, unless dissolution has been requested earlier. The current
Parliament was summoned to meet on Wednesday 7 May 1997, so would cease
to exist at midnight on Monday 6 May 2002. The general principles behind
the calculation of the latest date for a general election are considered
below, using the 2002 election date as an illustration.
1.15 There are two ways of calculating the last possible day for the next
general election. One can assume in the first case that a Proclamation must
be issued before Parliament expires under the Septennial Act, as amended,
and calculate the latest possible date for the issue of proclamation and
writs. Parliament has not been allowed to expire in modern times, and some
authorities argue that a constitutional convention operates so that Parliament
must be dissolved before the Act can take effect. In the second case, one
can assume that, in the absence of any proclamation dissolving Parliament,
the Parliament automatically expires at midnight and a Proclamation is then
required to summon a new Parliament. Statute law specifically provides for
expiry through efflux of time. Calculations using these alternative approaches
are below:
1.16 The Septennial Act 1715 (as amended) permits a Parliament to meet for five years. The present Parliament was summoned to meet on 7 May 1997, so it would need to be dissolved before midnight on Monday 6 May 2002. A Proclamation dissolving the old Parliament and summoning a new Parliament would, therefore, have to be issued on that Monday. However, Monday 6 May 2002 is a Bank Holiday, and together with legal difficulties with issuing writs at a weekend, it would be expected that the Proclamation would be issued on Friday 3 May 2002. This would make polling day Wednesday 29 May 2002 under the timetable set out in Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983. Whilst the general election could be held on that day of the week, if the convention for a Thursday polling day is observed, then the last day would be Thursday 23 May 2002. This would then require the writ to be issued on Monday 29 April 2002.
1.17 Alternatively, if Parliament is allowed to expire at midnight on Monday 6 May 2002 then the Septennial Act, as amended, takes effect. Although there is no statutory requirement that a new Proclamation be issued immediately, it is expected that a Proclamation would be made and writs issued at the earliest practicable day, which would be Tuesday 7 May 2002. Polling day in these circumstances would therefore be Thursday 30 May 2002.
2.1 Each year in late Summer or early Autumn, the electoral registration
officer (ERO) must conduct an annual canvass to ascertain who in his area
is entitled to be included on his register. A form is normally used for
this purpose; either a form prescribed in regulations, or one "to the
like effect". Until the Representation of the People Act 2000 came
into force in February 2001, the qualifying date for electoral registration
was 10 October in each year. From this year onwards there will be no qualifying
date as such, though the canvass will be conducted by reference to residence
on 15 October each year (and subject in Northern Ireland to a three months’
residence requirement). The resulting register is published on 1 December
each year.
2.2 The Representation of the People Act 2000 also introduced "rolling
registration". This allows electors to apply to be added to the register
throughout the year. Applications made early in any month are determined
by the electoral registration officer and the names of eligible electors
added to the register at the beginning of the following month. Applications
made late in any month are determined by the ERO and added at the beginning
of the next month following that. Registration should take no longer than
seven or eight weeks. On the first working day of each month the ERO publishes
notices of additions to and deletions from his register, except for the
months of October, November and December, when the annual canvass is taking
place.
2.3 The lists of application for registration and the applications themselves
are available for public inspection so that objections can be made. For
applications made under rolling registration there is a 5 working day objection
period.
2.4 The last register to be published under the old regulations came into effect on 16 February 2001. The first monthly updates to the register were produced on 2 April. In future the register based on the annual canvass will be published on 1 December each year.
2.5 It is the responsibility of each elector to check the register to ensure that his or her name appears correctly in the register.
2.6 When an election is called, the register is closed on the last day for the delivery of nomination papers. Additions to the register cannot have effect after that date, unless they are made by order of the courts, or the ERO determines that a clerical error on the part of him or his staff has led to an omission.
2.7 16 or 17 year olds who will become 18 during the life of the register, are entitled to have their names included on it, along with their date of birth. Anyone becoming 18 during the life of the register will thus able to vote, but not until their eighteenth birthday.
2.8 There are 360 EROs in England and Wales for this parliamentary election (one for each district or London borough council).
2.9 It is an offence (punishable by a fine of up to £1000) to refuse to provide an ERO with information which he has requested and which he needs to compile the register, or to provide false information.
2.10 The electoral register must be available for inspection by the general public in at least one point in each area of the constituency. It is usually available in town halls and libraries and sometimes in post offices
2.11 Copies of the register go free of charge to MPs and councillors, prospective
candidates and their agents, the Office of National Statistics, the British
Library, the Electoral Commission and the Courts Service (for identifying
suitable candidates for jury service under the Juries Act 1974). Copies
are in data form unless a paper copy is requested.
2.12 Copies of the register can be sold to others for a suitable fee which
covers only the costs of production. Again, these copies will be in data
form unless paper copies are requested.
2.13 The sale of the register to commercial organisations is controversial and unpopular with many members of the public. It has been available in this way since 1985, when it was argued that it would not be practicable to try to restrict the availability of the register given that it is necessarily a public document which has to be widely and freely available for electoral purposes. However, public concern has grown in recent years, particularly because modern software developments allow the register to be compiled as a national database and searched by reference to a number of parameters. Partly as a result of these concerns, and of the findings of the Working Party on Electoral Procedures, and partly to observe the principles of the European Data Protection Directive, legislation has therefore been introduced to provide for electors to opt-out of the commercially available register.
2.14 Section 9 of the Representation of the People Act 2000 provides for two versions of the register to be produced – a full one and an edited one. The edited one will only contain the names of those who have indicated on their registration forms that they do not mind their details being sold on. It will be available for sale to whoever wants it. The full register will only be available to specified organisations for specified purposes. It will be a criminal offence to pass the register on or to use it for any other purpose than that specified. The regulations which will bring this provision into force are expected to be introduced to come into effect for the annual canvass in October 2001.
3.1 Only persons whose names appear on the electoral register are entitled to vote. Those who are eligible to vote must be:
3.3 18 year olds voted for the first time in 1970 under provisions contained in the Representation of the People Act 1969.
3.4 Service Voters are: UK Crown Servants employed abroad, overseas staff of British Council, and their wives or husbands living overseas with them; members of the Armed Forces and their spouses. Members of the armed forces are no longer obliged to register as Service Voters. Under the Representation of the People Act 2000 they can, alternatively, register as an ordinary citizen if they are resident in the UK.
3.5 Overseas electors (i.e. eligible British citizens living abroad) were first enfranchised by the Representation of the People Act 1985, which gave the right to vote at Parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections to expatriates for up to five years after they left the country. The Representation of the People Act 1989 extended the qualifying period to twenty years and enfranchised people who left the country before they were old enough to register as electors. After the next election, the qualifying period will be reduced to 15 years. Overseas electors can either vote by post or by proxy in the constituency in which they (or a parent or guardian) were last registered (or were eligible to be registered) as electors before they left the UK. A total of 17,886 overseas electors were registered to vote at the 1997 general election. There were 11,506 overseas electors on the 2000 register.
3.6 Patients resident in a mental hospital - whether voluntarily or detained as a result of mental health legislation - may now register to vote in one of three ways. They may be registered in respect of an address at which they would otherwise be living; they can use the address of the institution in which they are detained; or they can register by means of a declaration of local connection, in the same way as a homeless person.
3.7 Homeless people or others who have no permanent residence can register by way of a declaration of local connection. They can nominate a suitable address to which any communications can be sent, or they can undertake to collect communications from the electoral registration officer. The registration lasts for one year.
3.8 Prisoners on remand are now able to register in respect of the prison in which they are held. Alternatively, like mental patients, they may already be registered at their home address, or they can register by means of a declaration of local connection. All remand prisoners must, however, vote by post or by proxy.
3.9 There is no literacy qualification for voting. Anyone who is illiterate can ask the presiding officer at the polling station to mark his/her ballot paper for him, or take a companion to assist him.
4.1 The Representation of the People Act 2000 provided that postal votes should be available on demand. Previously, an elector was required to give a good reason why they could not attend at the polling station in person. Their applications needed to be attested by a medical practitioner or some other authority to confirm that fact. Now, however, no reason is required. Electors can apply for a postal vote for a particular election, for all elections in a specified period, or for an indefinite period. As long as the application gives all the details required by the ERO and arrives at least six days before polling day, a postal vote will be sent to the elector.
4.2 A person who is granted a postal vote may not vote in person, but they can hand their postal vote in at a polling station within the relevant constituency or voting area. Previously, overseas voters were obliged to use a proxy to cast their votes. Now, however, postal votes can be sent from abroad. But it will be up to the elector to pay the return postage and to ensure that the postal service in that country can deal with the mail reliably.
4.3 In the past, postal voting has only amounted to 2% or 3% of the total vote. We anticipate a considerable increase following introduction of these measures.
4.4 At a particular election, a proxy vote can be granted to anyone who satisfies the electoral registration officer that he or she cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person on polling day. Examples include those on holiday, those who have been taken ill, people away on business and people who have moved house but have not had time to register at their new address and are thus still on the register at their old address.
4.5 A proxy vote for an indefinite period may be granted to anyone who satisfies the ERO that they cannot attend the polling station on polling day on the following grounds:
4.6 A proxy may vote on behalf of one or two people, or more if they are a close relative.
4.7 Applications for proxy votes for an indefinite period must be attested by a medical practitioner, an employer, a course supervisor or some other authority to confirm their inability to attend to vote. The ERO will write to the elector to confirm the proxy voting arrangements when the proxy vote is granted. Proxies may vote by post if they want to.
5.1 The number and boundaries of constituencies are periodically revised
by the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions in the light of population movements.
New boundaries are created by Order in Council and take effect at the first
general election following the date of the Order.
5.2 There are separate Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. They are required to review all the constituencies
in their area and submit recommendations to the relevant Secretary of State
not less than 8 or more than 12 years after the submission of their last
reports. The next such reviews will have to be completed between 2002 and
2006 in Scotland and Wales, and 2003 and 2007 in England and Northern Ireland.
5.3 All four Commissions have discretion to conduct interim reviews of Parliamentary constituencies between their periodical reviews. Such reviews are usually undertaken to realign the boundaries of constituencies with those of altered local government areas. The Commissions can, however, recommend more radical changes if they wish, for example, to reduce the disparity between the electorates of neighbouring seats. One interim review has been held in England since 1992 affecting 9 seats and 6,700 electors.
5.4 There will be 659 constituencies in the United Kingdom at the next general election.
5.5 At this general election, the constituencies will be distributed as follows:
England 529
Scotland 72
Wales 40
N Ireland 18
5.6 The total Parliamentary electorate for the United Kingdom in the 2000
register is 44,423,440. Below is the distribution in the UK. The figures
for the 1997 general election are in brackets.
England 36,994,211 (36,626,853)
Scotland 3,992,034 (3,963,072)
Wales 2,232,474 (2,217,893)
N Ireland 1,204,721 (1,176,927)
5.7 Figures for electorates are published by ONS annually.
5.8 The number of people who attained the age of 18 during the life of the
2000 register is 481,452. Since the 1997 election, over 2 million young
people have attained voting age.
6.1 The Electoral Commission was established on 30 November 2000. Sam Younger
was appointed as Chairman of the Commission for a period of six years from
19 January 2001. There are five other Commissioners:
Pamela Gordon Karamjit Singh CBE
Sir Neil McIntosh Professor Graham Zellick
Glyn Mathias
6.2 The Commission’s address is:
The Electoral Commission
1st Floor
Trevelyan House
Great Peter Street
London
SW1P 2HW
Switchboard: 020 7271 0500
Website: www.electoralcommission.gov.uk
6.3 The Commission will, in due course, be opening offices in Belfast,
Cardiff and Edinburgh in order to help discharge its United Kingdom-wide
remit.
6.4 Although the Electoral Commission’s immediate priority is to ensure
the smooth implementation of the controls on parties’ income and expenditure,
its role will not be a purely enforcement one. The Commission will have
a wide-ranging remit to review electoral law and practice and will be a
key source of best practice advice for electoral administrators. Once the
Commission is fully functioning it is expected to take over a number of
the functions currently undertaken by the Elections Section in the Home
Office’s Constitutional Unit, which will in future be responsible primarily
for the legislation on electoral matters and the policy underpinning it.
6.5 To ensure the independence of the Electoral Commission, it is directly
accountable to Parliament. The Commission will not be a Home Office non-departmental
public body and will not in any sense be answerable to that Department.
The Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000 provides for distinctive
machinery for appointing the members of the Electoral Commission and for
setting the Commission’s budget in order to reinforce its independence
of the Government of the day.
6.6 These are:
7.1 The registration scheme established by the Registration of Political
Parties Act 1998 was essentially voluntary in nature. In order to ensure
that the controls on income and expenditure are binding on political parties,
however, a mechanism is needed to bring all parties within the registration
scheme. The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 establishes
that mechanism. An organisation wishing to put up candidates at a relevant
election must now be registered as a political party with the Electoral
Commission. It does so by providing that a person may only stand as a candidate
at a relevant election if his nomination paper is accompanied by a certificate
authorising his candidature issued by, or on behalf of, the nominating officer
of a registered party or if his nomination paper either gives the description
"Independent" or gives no description whatsoever.
7.2 A "relevant election" for these purposes means a United Kingdom
parliamentary election, a European or Scottish parliamentary election, an
election to the National Assembly for Wales or the Northern Ireland Assembly
or a local government election, other than the election of a Parish councillor
in England or Community councillor in Wales.
7.3 In the case of a parliamentary election, the Speaker of the House of Commons will be able to use the description "The Speaker seeking re-election". An order will, in due course, be made under the Welsh Language Act to permit candidates to use the description "Annibynnol" as an alternative to "Independent".
7.4 The previous register of political parties, maintained by the Registrar
of Companies, was frozen on 14 December 2000; no new entries were added
after that date and no entry could be altered. Registered parties had until
24 January 2001 to submit specified information and documentation to the
Electoral Commission; otherwise their registration would be terminated.
7.5 The 1998 Act register was replaced by two new registers, namely a Great
Britain register and a Northern Ireland register, with effect from 16 February
2001.
7.6 The new registers of political parties have been available on the Electoral Commission’s website since 16 February. This includes the following details in respect of each registered party:
7.7 In the case of the Great Britain register, it shows in respect of which part of Great Britain (England, Scotland or Wales) a party is registered and whether it is a minor party. The cost of registration is £150.
8.1 To sit as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, a person
must be a British citizen, a citizen of another Commonwealth country, or
a citizen of the Republic of Ireland. He or she must be 21 or over. Citizens
of the European Union are not eligible to be Members of Parliament unless
they meet the above requirements. There is nothing to prevent them from
standing as candidates at local government and European Parliament elections.
8.2 Those disqualified from sitting in the House of Commons include:
8.3 There is also a common law rule that "idiots" are disqualified
for election to Parliament and that "lunatics" are disqualified
in their non-lucid intervals but this has not been tested in recent times
in the courts.
8.4 Candidates must be proposed and seconded by two electors and eight
others as assentors who are also electors. An elector is now defined as
a person who is registered in the register of parliamentary electors for
the constituency where the candidate wishes to stand on the last day for
publication of the notice of election.
8.5 A person may only stand as a candidate at a Parliamentary election if his nomination paper is accompanied by a certificate authorising his candidature issued by, or on behalf of, the nominating officer of a registered political party or if his nomination paper either gives the description "Independent" or gives no description whatsoever.
8.6 A description used by a candidate standing in the name of a registered party must not exceed six words. The description given on a candidate’s nomination paper is included, along with his name and address, on the ballot paper. Special provision is made for the Speaker of the House of Commons (currently, the member for Glasgow Springburn, Rt. Hon Michael Martin) who may seek re-election using the description "The Speaker seeking re-election". There are currently (as at 20 March 2001) 106 parties on the Great Britain register and 23 parties on the Northern Ireland register (12 parties are on both registers). The registers are maintained by the Electoral Commission. Once Parliament is dissolved there are no MPs, so candidates who were MPs may not describe themselves as such on the ballot paper.
8.7 Candidates must consent in writing to their own nomination. A person shall not be validly nominated unless his consent to nomination is given in writing on or within one month before the day fixed as the last day for the delivery of nomination papers; is attested by one witness; and is delivered at the place and within the time for the delivery of nomination papers.
8.8 A candidate’s consent shall state the day, month and year of their birth and that they are aware of the provisions of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 and that to the best of their knowledge and belief they are not disqualified for membership of the House of Commons.
8.9 It is possible to be nominated for more than one constituency but, if successful, a candidate must choose which to represent within certain time limits. This is a matter for the House of Commons to determine.
8.10 The acting returning officer can refuse to accept a nomination paper
if the particulars are not as required by law, if the nomination paper is
incorrectly subscribed, or if the candidate is disqualified by the Representation
of the People Act 1981. He is not required to ascertain whether a candidate
is qualified.
8.11 Candidates must deposit the sum of £500 with the acting returning officer when nomination papers are delivered.
8.12 Candidates who poll less than one-twentieth of the total votes cast forfeit their deposit. Other deposits are returned. The total number of deposits lost at the 1997 general election was 1,592; in 1992, the total was 906.
8.13 Each candidate is required to appoint an election agent who is responsible for the conduct of his or her election campaign. Candidates who do not appoint an election agent act as their own election agent.
8.14 Acting returning officers are not involved in, or responsible for, the political party procedure for selecting candidates. The power of the acting returning officer to reject nomination papers is restricted to cases in which the particulars of the candidates or persons subscribing the paper are not as required by law, or in which the nomination paper is not subscribed as required by law. For example, where the description of the candidate exceeds six words in length or one of the persons subscribing the paper is not on the register of electors. As a general rule, however, the acting returning officer cannot decide on any question which relates to the validity of a person’s nomination (e.g. whether he is disqualified), except in the circumstances described in paragraph 8.6 above, as opposed to the validity of the nomination paper itself.
8.15 The total number of candidates in 1992 was 2,948 and in 1997 was 3,724. The numbers of candidates fielded by the major parties in 1992 and 1997 were:-
|
1992
|
1997
|
|
| Conservatives |
641
|
651
|
| Labour |
640
|
639
|
| Liberal Democrat |
640
|
639
|
| SNP |
72
|
72
|
| Plaid Cymru |
38
|
40
|
| Green Party |
253
|
95
|
| Natural Law Party |
300
|
97
|
| UK Independance Party |
-
|
196
|
8.16 If a candidate dies before the publication of the statement of persons
nominated for the election and satisfactory proof of his death is given
to the acting returning officer, the election can proceed in the normal
way. A substitute candidate for a political party can only included if the
closing date for nominations has not passed and the nomination paper for
that candidate is accepted by the returning officer.
8.17 If a candidate dies after the publication of the statement of persons
nominated, the acting returning officer must countermand the notice of poll
upon receipt of satisfactory proof of his death.
8.18 If polling has already begun, the acting returning officer must direct that it be abandoned.
8.19 Where the poll is countermanded or abandoned, arrangements must be made for a fresh election to be held as if the writ for that election had been received 28 days after the day on which proof of the candidate’s death was given to the acting returning officer.
9.1 At a parliamentary general election, candidates are allowed to spend:
County constituency: £5,483 (£4,965) plus 6.2p (5.6p) per elector
Borough constituency: £5,483 (£4,965) plus 4.6p (4.2p)per elector
(figures in brackets are 1997 levels)
9.2 The limits on candidates’ election expenses are increased by Parliament from time to time to take account of inflation. The previous limits made in March 1997 are shown in brackets above. The Order to vary the limits on expenses was made in February this year.
9.3 At a parliamentary by-election there is a flat rate limit of £100,000
for all constituencies (between 1997 and March 2001 the limits were £19,863
for both county and borough constituencies and 22.2 p per elector for the
former and 16.9p per elector for the latter).
9.4 The limit on candidates’ expenses at a local government election
is £242 plus 4.7p per elector (previously £219 and 4.3p per
elector).
9.5 In addition, a candidate at a parliamentary election may pay his or her own "personal expenses" up to a maximum of £600 without providing individual receipts to the election agent. The total cost of any "personal expenses" paid by the candidate must be reported to the election agent and included in the return made by the agent. Any personal expenses paid above the maximum of £600 must be covered by an invoice and included as an election expense.
9.6 All candidates at a parliamentary election are, subject to Post Office regulations, entitled to send free of charge (to each elector in the constituency where they are standing as a candidate) one postal communication containing matter relating to the election only. Each communication must not exceed 60 grams (2oz.) in weight. The Post Office has produced a leaflet for candidates, ‘Elections in the UK’, which sets out the procedures for using this service.
9.7 Election expenses are defined in section 118 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 as "expenses incurred whether before, during or after the election, on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the election". Such expenses may only be incurred by the candidate, his election agent or persons authorised in writing by the election agent.
9.8 Whether a particular expense is classified as an election expense within the meaning of the 1983 Act is a matter of fact to be determined in the circumstances of each case.
9.9 A return of election expenses must be made by the election agent of every candidate to the acting returning officer within 35 days after the day on which the result of the election is declared. The returns are made available for public inspection by the acting returning officer. Further information is available in Chapter 13: After the Poll.
9.10 The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for the
first time introduced limits on campaign expenditure by political parties.
The controls normally apply in the 365 days before the date of a general
election, however, special arrangements apply to this election as the controls
only came into force on 16 February 2001. The limits will apply to campaign
expenditure incurred from that date to the date of the poll. The limit on
expenditure applies to "qualifying expenses": these include expenses
in respect of advertising, the production of party election broadcasts,
direct mail, the production of a manifesto, canvassing and election rallies.
9.11 The limit on what a party may spend is determined by the number of
seats it contests. Should the general election be on 7 June a party will
receive an allowance of £24,000 per constituency. Separate limits
apply to expenditure in each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A party that contests all constituencies in each part of the United Kingdom
may therefore spend up to:
| England (529 constituencies) |
£12,696,000
|
| Scotland (72 constituencies) |
£1,728,000
|
| Wales (40 constituencies) |
£960,000
|
| Northern Ireland |
£432,000
|
|
Total
|
£15,816,000
|
9.12 Parties are required to submit a return to the Electoral Commission within three months of the date of the election or, if the total expenditure exceeds £250,000, within six months of the election. Where a party’s expenditure exceeds £250,000 the return is required to be audited. A party that exceeds the limits on campaign expenditure is liable on conviction (on indictment) to an unlimited fine. The result of the election is unaffected by such a conviction.
Donations to Political Parties during the Election Period9.13 Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 political
parties are required to submit a quarterly return to the Electoral Commission
detailing donations it has accepted in excess of £5,000 (when received
by the party’s central organisation) or of £1,000 (when received
by a constituency association or other sub-unit of the party). Donation
reports must include the name and address of the donor and the precise amount
of the donation. The reports are published by the Electoral Commission,
although the addresses of individual donors are not disclosed.
9.14 During an election period – that is, the period beginning with
the day on which Her Majesty’s intention to dissolve Parliament is
announced and ending with the date of the poll – parties are required
to submit weekly donation reports. These weekly donation reports will detail
donations in excess of £5,000 received by the central organisation
of the party. A party has 30 days in which to decide whether to accept a
donation. Consequently, the fact that a donation appears in a weekly donation
report does not mean that the party has decided to accept a donation (it
may subsequently transpire, for example, that the donation is not from a
‘permissible donor’ and is therefore returned).
9.15 Legislation also controls election expenditure by third parties -
that is, individuals or organisations other than candidates and political
parties.
9.16 Under section 75 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 it is
an offence for a third party to incur expenditure in excess of £500
in support of or opposition to a particular candidate, unless the expenditure
is authorised in writing by a candidate’s election agent (in which
case, it counts towards the candidate’s expenses limit).
9.17 National third party expenditure, in support of or opposition to a political party or candidates who hold particular views or advocate particular policies, is controlled by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. As with the limits on campaign expenditure by political parties, the limits for an election on 3 May would apply to the period 16 February to 7 June 2001. Where a third party intends to incur expenditure in excess of £10,000 in England or £5,000 in either Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland it is required to register with the Electoral Commission. Such individuals or organisations are known as ‘recognised third parties’. There are three recognised third parties currently registered with the Commission (as at March 2001).
9.18 For this election, the maximum a recognised third party may spend is:
| England |
£634,800
|
| Scotland |
£86,400
|
| Wales |
£48,000
|
| Northern Ireland |
£21,600
|
|
Total
|
£790,800
|
9.19 Recognised third parties must submit a return to the Electoral Commission within three months of the date of the election or, where the expenditure exceeds £250,000, within six months of the election. In the latter case, the return must be audited. Returns must include details of all donations in excess of £5,000 received by the recognised third party for the purpose of meeting its election expenditure.
9.20 Advertising costs incurred by candidates and political parties come within the limits on election expenses. Subject to the expenditure limits not being exceeded there are no restrictions on newspaper or poster advertising by candidates or parties. However, any advertisements in the print media must include specified information, namely the name and address of the printer, the promoter of the material (for example, the candidate’s agent) and the person on behalf of whom the material is being published (for example, the candidate or political party).
9.21 Advertising in the broadcast media (television and radio) is prohibited.
9.22 Most Government advertising is suspended, once a general election has been called. One exception is the Home Office campaign informing people of the arrangements for applying for a postal vote.