22 February 2012: Analysis of campaign spending publishedHaving published campaign spending figures for the various polls that took place in 2011, a report analysing that spending is now available. The report analyses campaign spending at the UK referendum on the Parliamentary voting system, which you can find a breakdown of the figures for below. It also analyses figures relating to the 2011 Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly elections. Click here to view figures for the May 2011 elections > |
On 29 November 2011 we published the details of spending by campaigners that spent more than £250,000 campaigning prior to the UK Parliamentary voting system referendum, which was held on 5 May 2011. Details of spending by campaigners that spent £250,000 or less were published in August 2011.
On this page you will find information on:
- Referendum spending
- Donations and loans to referendum campaigners
- Grant claims of designated lead campaigners
To view our press releases regarding the publication of referendum spending, please follow the links below:
- Publication of referendum spending of more than £250,000 (29 November 2011)
- Publication of referendum spending of £250,000 or less (31 August 2011)
Referendum spending
All permitted participants - or 'campaigners' - in a referendum are required to submit an expenditure return and all invoices or receipts for each item of expenditure of more than £200.
The deadlines for submission of expenditure returns were 5 November 2011 for those campaigners that spent more than £250,000 and 5 August 2011 for those that spent £250,000 or less.
Please follow the link below to find out more about the rules for campaigners:
The table below provides a summary of the expenditure incurred by campaigners with direct links to the returns and invoices. To view full details of every item of expenditure and to extract expenditure data for your own use, please visit our PEF Online registers.
Table 1: Total expenditure by referendum campaigners
The table below lists the total reportable expenditure of all permitted participants that campaigned prior to the referendum on the UK Parliamentary voting system.
You can view the returns and invoices submitted by clicking on the relevant link. Personal information, bank account details and any registration details have been redacted for security and data protection reasons.
Where a permitted participant confirmed they did not incur any expenditure, the Return column reads 'N/A'.
Where a permitted participant reported expenditure but was not required to submit invoices, having not incurred an item of expenditure of more than £200, the Invoices column reads 'N/A'.
Where a permitted participant reported only notional expenditure and so was not required to submit invoices, the Invoices column reads 'N/A - notional'.
Figures below are rounded to the nearest pound.
| Permitted participant | Status | Outcome campaigned for | Spending limit (£) | Expenditure (£) | Return | Invoices |
| Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Political Party | Yes | 500,000 | 345 | Return (PDF) | N/A |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | Political Party | No | 5,000,000 | 660,785 | ||
| Conservative Yes | Unincorporated Association | Yes | 500,000 | 6,576 | Return (PDF) | Invoices (PDF) |
| Electoral Reform Society Limited | Company | Yes | 500,000 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Labour No to AV | Unincorporated Association | No | 500,000 | 192,084 | Return (PDF) | N/A - notional |
| Labour Yes | Unincorporated Association | Yes | 500,000 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Liberal Democrats | Political Party | Yes | 4,000,000 | 62,782 | Invoices (PDF) | |
| Mr Alan Edward Rayner | Individual | Yes | 500,000 | 304 | Return (PDF) | Invoices (PDF) |
| No Campaign Limited | Company | No | 5,000,000 | 2,598,194 | ||
| No to AV, Yes to PR | Unincorporated Association | No | 500,000 | 21,150 | Return (PDF) | N/A - notional |
| Unlock Democracy | Company | Yes | 500,000 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Yes in May 2011 Ltd | Company | Yes | 5,000,000 | 2,139,741 | ||
| Total | 5,681,962 | |||||
Chart 1: Expenditure by 'Yes' and 'No' campaigners broken down by type of campaigner
Donations and loans to referendum campaigners
Registered referendum campaigners are required to report details of:
- All permissible donations and loans over £7,500
- All smaller permissible donations and loans from the same source that add up to over to £7,500 in the same referendum period
- All impermissible donations
To view donations made to campaigners during the referendum period, please visit our PEF Online registers.
Table 2: Loans to referendum campaigners
| Campaigner | Lender | Status | Date entered | Date repaid | Value (£) |
| Yes in May 2011 Ltd | Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust | Company (00357963) | 28/03/2011 | 05/04/2011 | 30,000 |
| Yes in May 2011 Ltd | Unlock Democracy | Company (02440899) | 08/06/2011 | 10/08/2011 | 20,000 |
Grants claims of designated lead campaigners
To view information on claims made by designed lead campaigners and the grants paid by the Electoral Commission, please follow the link below:
Click here for more information on referendum grant claims...
Referendum grant claims
Campaigners who are designated as the lead campaigner for each outcome in a referendum are entitled to benefits including access to a publicly funded grant. The level of this grant is set by us. In the case of the referendum on the UK parliamentary voting system, the maximum grant made available to the No Campaign Ltd and Yes in May 2011 Ltd was £380,000 each.
The grants can be used to cover basic infrastructure costs of running campaign offices during the referendum period. Infrastructure costs include:
- Staff costs
- Costs of property and rental equipment
- IT software and hardware costs
- Utilities
We review the grant claims made by the lead campaigners to ensure that grants are only paid out in respect of relevant costs. The table below provides total grants paid out by the Electoral Commission, as well as copies of the claims and all relevant invoices. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
Table 3: Details of grant claims by designated lead campaigners
| Campaigner | Amount paid (£) | Grant claims | Invoices |
| No Campaign Ltd | 146,432 | Grant claim summary (PDF) | |
| Yes in May 2011 Ltd | 140,457 | Grant claim summary (PDF) |
Chart 2: Breakdown of grant claims paid by the Electoral Commission
For more information on grant claims, please follow the link below:
Contact us
For any question or requests, please contact the Party and Election Finance Directorate by email (pef@electoralcommission.org.uk) or telephone (020 7271 0616).
