Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, it is an offence for an unregistered third party to incur controlled expenditure of more than £10,000 in England (£5,000 in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) during election campaigns for the UK and European Parliaments and the devolved legislatures. Controlled expenditure is only incurred during regulated periods: that is, the 365 days ending with the date of the poll in the case of a UK Parliamentary election, and the four months ending with the date of the poll in all other cases. Special regulated periods will apply if the periods for two or more elections overlap. The Electoral Commission will issue further guidance should this situation arise.
