News releases

The financial accounts of 11 UK political parties with gross income or total expenditure of £250,000 or over for the year ending 31 December 2008 have been published today by the Electoral Commission, the independent regulator of political finance.

Political parties
The following 11 parties have submitted their accounts to the Commission:

• Conservative Party: Aylesbury
• Conservative Party: Cities of London & Westminster
• Conservative Party: Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham
• Conservative Party: Sutton and Cheam
• The Labour Party: Scottish Labour
• The Labour Party: National Trade Union Liaison Accounting Unit
• Liberal Democrats: ALDC Officers
• Liberal Democrats: Bury
• Liberal Democrats: England
• Liberal Democrats: Parliamentary Office of the Liberal Democrats
• Liberal Democrats: Scotland

Access the full statements of account using our new search tool.

Regulatory Action
The British National Party and the party’s Regional Accounting Unit were both granted an extension to the deadline for submitting their statements of accounts. Both have failed to deliver their accounts within the extended deadline so the party will be fined a minimum of £500 and the accounting unit will be fined a minimum £100, this figure will increase if the accounts are more than three months late.

Peter Wardle Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission said:
“Political parties play a crucial part in our democracy. But, now more than ever, voters need to be confident that party funding is transparent and that parties will comply with the law. 

“While we are disappointed that the British National Party and its accounting unit have failed to submit their accounts on time, I’m glad to see that the majority of the large parties and accounting units have understood the need to ensure their accounts are submitted to us by the deadline set. Transparency about party finances is one of the key factors that can help public confidence in politics.”

In May, the Commission published the financial accounts of 281 political parties and 483 accounting units whose gross income and total expenditure were each £250,000 or less. Accounting units with income and expenditure that are both £25,000 or under are not required to submit their accounts.

The Commission has published online a comparison of the parties’ gross annual income and total expenditure from 2003 to 2008.

The Commission is currently reviewing all the accounts submitted. Where this review suggests that there may have been any breaches of the law we will raise this with the parties and where necessary use our regulatory powers.

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For further information please contact:

Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0704
Email: press@electoralcommission.org.uk 
Outside office hours 07789 920414

Notes to editors:

1.  The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the UK’s democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections.
2.  The Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) requires that parties with a gross income or expenditure of £250,000 or less (and their accounting units with a gross income or expenditure in excess of £25,000 and £250,000 or below) submit an annual statement of accounts to the Electoral Commission by 30 April and for more than that sum by 7 July. Those with gross annual income or total expenditure of over £250,000 are given six months from year end to prepare their accounts and have them independently audited.
3.  PPERA provides the Commission with the powers to impose prescribed fines on political parties (£500 - £5,000) and accounting units (£100 to £1,000) who submit financial returns late. The fines are imposed on a sliding scale based on the length of delay in the submission.
4.  Under PPERA political parties may register accounting units with The Electoral Commission. An accounting unit is a constituent or affiliated organisation of a political party and is responsible for its own financial affairs and transactions.
5.  A glossary of financial terms used in the statements of account is available at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/glossary
6.  Whilst the Commission is reviewing the submitted accounts to establish whether any follow-up action is necessary, the fact that a Statement of Accounts has been placed on the public record should not necessarily be taken to indicate that the Commission has verified or validated it in any way.