Third parties are individuals or organisations other than political parties or candidates which campaign at an election. Third parties may campaign for or against individual candidates or for or against political parties or issues. Different laws apply in each case.
These controls are summarised below, but you should refer to our guidance for more details before undertaking any activity.
Candidate-based campaigns
Third parties that campaign for or against individual candidates (or a party list at a London Assembly election) are regulated under Section 75 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (RPA).
There are strict limits on campaigning by third parties which promotes or disparages a particular candidate. These are:
- £500 at a UK Parliamentary, Scottish Parliamentary, Northern Ireland Assembly or Welsh Assembly election
- £5,000 at a European Parliamentary election (in reference to an independent candidate only)
- £50 + 0.5 pence per elector in the electoral area for local elections (including London Mayor and constituency and London members of the London Assembly, other elected mayors and parish and community elections)
Where a group of people whether a formal or informal group undertake campaign activities as a concerted plan of action, the limit applies to the group as a whole, not to each individual member of the group.
No returns are required of candidate-based third party campaigners and there are no controls on their donations or loans.
The Commission does not regulate this type of expenditure.
Party-based or issue-based campaigns
Third parties may also campaign for or against a political party or issue, as opposed to a particular candidate. Party- and issue-based campaigners are regulated under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA).
Party and issue-based campaigning is regulated only at relevant elections (UK general and by-elections, European Parliament elections, Scottish Parliament elections, National Assembly for Wales elections, Northern Ireland Assembly elections).
Spending is regulated for the 365 days ending with the date of poll for UK Parliamentary general elections and for four months preceding an election for the other types of regulated elections.
Regulated spending includes both actual spending and in-kind gifts given to the third party as part of its campaign. In-kind gifts are known as notional expenditure and must be included in a third partys return. Where the notional expenditure is over £7,500, it will be considered a reportable non-cash donation.
Campaigning at local elections is only controlled where it falls within the regulated period for one of the above elections.
Registration with us
Where a third party plans to spend more than £5,000 in any of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland or more than £10,000 in England during the regulated period for a relevant election, it must register with us before doing so. A form is available for registration as a third party.
There is no fee required for an application and third parties do not have to tell us where they will campaign or the subject matter of their campaign.
Only the following types of individuals or organisations may register as third parties:
- an individual registered on a UK electoral register or resident in the UK
- a UK-registered political party
- a UK-registered company which is incorporated in the EU and carries on business in the UK
- a UK-registered trade union
- a UK-registered building society
- a UK-registered Limited Liability partnership which carries on business in the UK
- a UK-registered friendly, industrial, provident or building society
- a UK-based unincorporated association of two or more people whose main office is in the UK and which carries on the majority of its activities in the UK
A third partys registration lasts for 15 months in the first instance. If, after this period of time the third party wishes to continue its registration, it must submit a form to renew the registration.
We maintain a register of recognised third parties.
Spending controls for recognised third parties
Once recognised, third parties are still subject to spending limits.
After an election, each recognised third party must submit a spending return to us. We review the returns and make them public. A summary of spending reported by third parties is available in the register of third party spending.
The return is due within three months of the election for spending up to £250,000 and within six months of the election for spending over £250,000. Returns of spending over £250,000 must be audited by an independent auditor.
Donation controls on recognised third parties
Third parties may accept donations of any amount to pay for their controlled spending, but, as for political parties, the donation must come from a permissible donor if it is above £500 in value. When a third party receives a donation to fund its controlled spending it has 30 days to decide whether the donor is permissible. Third parties cannot accept donations to pay for their controlled spending from unidentifiable sources.
If, within the 30 days, the third party decides the donation is impermissible, it must return it. If the third party cannot return the donation directly (e.g. if the donor is unidentifiable) it must return the donation as far as it can be traced (e.g. to the bank from which an unidentifiable electronic transfer originated). If the donation cannot be traced at all, the third party must give the donation to us and we will transfer it to the Consolidated Fund.
All donations to the third party to pay for their controlled spending above £7,500 in value from a single source must be reported in the third partys return. Donations include cash and non-cash donations. Non cash-donations should also be accounted for as notional expenditure.
Loans to third parties are not currently regulated.
A summary of donations reported by third parties is available in the register of third party donations.
More information on the above topics can be found in our guidance for third parties.
