Incurring and making payments for candidate spending
It is your responsibility to fully and accurately report candidate spending. You should ensure you understand the rules and that all spending is properly authorised, recorded and reported.
Once you are officially a candidate and an agent is appointed, only the following people are allowed to incur election spending:
the agent
the candidate, and
anyone authorised by the candidate or agent
By ‘incur’ we mean making a legal commitment to spend the money. If you authorise someone to incur candidate spending, you must do so in writing and be clear how much they can spend and on what.
Controls on who can make payments apply once you are officially a candidate. The candidate can pay for any items before an agent is appointed, except for personal expenses, on which a limit applies.1
The candidate can only pay up to a total of £600 on personal expenses for travel and accommodation, either before or after an agent is appointed.2
Once you are officially a candidate and the agent is appointed, the agent rather than the candidate must make payments for most candidate spending.3
In addition to personal expenses, there are two exceptions:
the agent can authorise in writing someone to pay for minor expenses such as stationery or postage. The authorisation must include the amount of the payment.4
the agent can give written authorisation for someone to incur spending on behalf of the candidate. This means that this spending would count towards the candidate’s spending limit rather than that person’s ‘permitted sum’ for campaigning for the candidate (see Local campaigning).5
The person authorised to incur the spending is also able to make the payments for that spending.6
If any payments are made by anyone other than the candidate, agent or sub-agent – for example by a person authorised in writing to incur spending – then if it is received after they become a candidate this will be a donation if it is over £50 (and it is not reimbursed by the agent).7
See Candidate donations for more on donations.
Candidates can also act as their own election agents.8
You should make sure that your volunteers and campaigners are aware of these rules and know who can and cannot incur or pay costs.