Foreword

Our electoral and democratic systems are part of the UK’s critical national infrastructure. Overall, elections throughout the UK continue to be well-run, and have public trust. But in the UK, as around the world, democracies face growing threats and new challenges, and we need to defend, modernise and invest in these systems to improve resilience. Our democracy is precious and we need to look after it. 

In line with our statutory duty, we prepare a new five-year Corporate Plan after a UK Parliamentary general election. Our UK Corporate Plan sets out our work funded by the UK Parliament. It covers how we will fulfil our statutory duties, continue to deliver our core work, and our strategic priorities for the period of the newly elected UK Parliament. The Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission considers our Corporate Plan before it is laid in the UK Parliament. 

This five-year Corporate Plan has been developed after the UK Parliamentary general election in July 2024, and sets out what we aim to do from 2025/26 to 2029/30. During this period, we will continue to engage and inform voters, working to ensure everyone who has a right to vote is able to participate in elections. We will continue to ensure compliance with political finance and campaigner registration laws, and will continue to support the delivery of well-run elections by local electoral services teams. 

In addition to delivering this core work, our priorities during this period are increasing voter access and confidence, modernising the electoral system, addressing threats, leading an informed debate on changes, and building our resilience. 

Specifically, this Corporate Plan aims to overcome barriers to access and engagement, including improving voter information and democratic education. This work is particularly necessary as the UK Government plans to introduce votes at 16 throughout the UK, which already applies to devolved elections in Scotland and Wales.

We aim to address long-standing problems created by outdated, complex and inconsistent electoral law. We will work to safeguard and protect the system against threats such as electoral dis-information, cyber-attacks, foreign interference, electoral fraud and the increasing abuse and intimidation of candidates and elected representatives. 

We will convene and lead the debate, working constructively with partners – including governments, electoral administrators, civil society organisations, political parties, campaigners, other regulators, and the police. Our independence is critical to everything we do – it’s what drives trust and confidence in us and our work – for this reason, we will argue for the repeal of provisions enabling the government to make a Strategy and Policy Statement designed to guide the work of the Commission. We will also strengthen our organisation, investing in our people and systems to ensure we’re ready to deliver what is required of us. 

We’ve developed these plans in direct response to the data and evidence we’ve gathered and published, and through listening to the concerns of voters, parties, candidates and administrators. It is firmly rooted in our experience fulfilling our statutory regulatory duties and delivering our core work, which we will continue and strengthen.