Guidance for Candidates at Parish council elections in England

If you do not comply with the law, you may be subject to criminal sanctions. If you win the election and someone succeeds in an election petition against your campaign activities or reporting, you could be barred from holding office.

The Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to secure compliance with the controls on candidate spending but cannot investigate or impose sanctions for these offences. Only the police have powers to pursue allegations of candidate offences.

You can find more information about the Commission’s regulatory role at electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/our-enforcement-work

Failure to submit the spending return or declaration

The spending return and declaration(s) must be submitted to the Returning Officer at the local authority. If you have concerns around submitting the spending return or declaration by the deadline, you should contact the Returning Officer.

Failure to submit a spending return or declaration to the Returning Officer by the deadline without an authorised excuse is a criminal offence.1 If you have been elected but the spending return and/or declaration has not been submitted by the deadline, you are barred from sitting or voting. If you do, you can be fined £50 per day.2