22 Jan 2009
The Electoral Commission today (Thursday 22 January 2009) welcomed the decision of the High Court to order the re-hearing of a case concerning donations to the UK Independence Party. The Commission had brought a judicial review of the decision by Westminster Magistrates Court to order UKIP to forfeit only £18,481 of £367,697 in impermissible donations that the party had accepted. A re-hearing will take place at Westminster Magistrates Court.
Commenting on the decision, a Commission spokesperson said: We sought judicial review of the original decision of the Magistrates Court because we thought that it was important for parties, the public and for the Commission for there to be greater clarity about how the rules on forfeiture of impermissible political donations are applied.
The judgement has set out considerations that should be taken into account when a court is deciding cases about impermissible donations. In particular, these must include Parliaments intention when passing the legislation that the test for permissibility of a donation by an individual to a political party is whether the donor is on the electoral register.
Political parties are vital to the health of our democracy and they need to raise money to campaign, develop policy and communicate with voters. However, it is also important that they follow the rules on party funding.
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For further information
Press@electoralcommission.org.uk
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Background for journalists
In February 2007 the Commission decided that it would seek forfeiture from the United Kingdom Independence Party of donations amounting to £367,697 from Alan Bown and Nightech Ltd. These were from impermissible sources as Mr. Bown was not on the electoral register at the time of making the donations and Nightech was not registered in the UK under the Companies Act 1985.
The application by the Commission for a court order for forfeiture was heard at Westminster Magistrates Court in July 2007. In August 2007 the District Judge ordered that Ukip should forfeit £14,481 of donations given to the party by Alan Bown. The Judge also ordered them to forfeit the £4,000 from Nightech ltd.
The Commission was disappointed that, given all donations in question were from impermissible sources, forfeiture of the full amount was not ordered. On 28 August 2007 the Electoral Commission filed papers to appeal the 7 August judgement. The Magistrates Court subsequently expressed the view that the most appropriate mechanism for appealing the decision was by judicial review. Todays decision is the conclusion of that judicial review.
The case has now been referred back to Westminster Magistrates Court for a re-hearing.
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 UKs democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections.
2. Under section 58 of PPERA, the Electoral Commission has the power to apply to the courts for an order to forfeit a sum equal to any impermissible donation a party has accepted and not returned within the statutory 30 days.
3. Any amount forfeited is paid into the Consolidated Fund. It is not retained by the Electoral Commission nor returned to the donor.
