Non-party campaigners
On this page you will find guidance and information for individuals and organisations that campaign in the run up to elections but do not stand as political parties or candidates.
We call these individuals and organisations non-party campaigners. In electoral law they are called third parties.
There are rules non-party campaigners must follow on campaign spending, donations and reporting. We regulate those rules.
In the run-up to certain elections, there is a set time when the rules on spending and donations apply. We call this time the 'regulated period'. The rules will differ depending on which election is being held.
Latest updates
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Guidance for the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union
05-02-2016
We have now published the second stage of our guidance for the EU referendum.
It covers:
- donations for EU referendum campaigners
- loans for EU referendum campaigners
- permissibility for EU referendum campaigners
View our guidance for EU referendum campaigners
We have also updated our guidance on Campaigning and registering for EU referendum campaigners (PDF) and this also includes information for charities who are considering whether to register as campaigners.
The next stage of guidance will be published after regulations have been laid before Parliament. We are publishing a series of updates to keep you informed about the Referendum and when we will publish further guidance.
Sign up to receive updates by email
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EU referendum campaigner update
26-01-2016
The fifth EU campaigner update is now available.
This update includes information on the commencement of the Act on 1 February 2016 and what this means for campaigners, guidance for campaigners, registering as a campaigner, pre-poll reporting, donations and loans and where you can find more information.
Do I need to register?
Are you holding a hustings?
A hustings is a meeting where election candidates or parties debate policies and answer questions from the audience. Hustings provide voters with an opportunity to hear the views of candidates or parties.
In many cases, spending on hustings will not be regulated. However, under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 or the Representation of the People Act 1983, spending on some hustings may be regulated. We do not regulate the conduct or management of a hustings.
Hustings can be ‘selective’ or ‘non-selective’.
A non-selective hustings is a hustings that would not reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters to vote for or against particular political parties or candidates. For example, where you have invited all the parties standing candidates in your electoral area or you have impartial reasons for not inviting some of the parties.
Your spending on a non-selective hustings is not regulated and will not count towards any spending limits or registration thresholds.
A selective hustings is a hustings that would reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters to vote for or against particular political parties or candidates – for example, if you invite some candidates or parties to your hustings and do not have impartial reasons for excluding the others.
Spending on a selective hustings may, in certain circumstance, be regulated and count towards your spending limit or registration threshold in the run up to an election.
In our view, your hustings will be non-selective if:
- you have invited all the candidates or parties known to be standing in the constituency, region or other electoral area, or
- you have impartial reasons for not inviting certain candidates or parties
You can choose whether your hustings is selective or non-selective.
If you hold a non-selective hustings then the spending will not be regulated.
Usually spending on a hustings is low, and it is unlikely that spending on a selective hustings alone will require you to register or reach a spending limit.
If you hold a selective hustings, you should keep a record of how much you spend, along with any other spending on regulated campaigning, and be aware of the registration thresholds and spending limits.
If you spend a large amount of money on organising a selective hustings, or you engage in further regulated campaign activity during a regulated period, then you may need to be aware of the spending limits and registration thresholds. These can be found in our hustings guidance (PDF).
