Financial accounts for smaller political parties published

Financial accounts of political parties and accounting units in the United Kingdom, with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less, have been published today by the Electoral Commission. The accounts are for the year ending 31 December 2019.

Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation, said:

“All political parties must keep financial records and submit annual statements of accounts to us. Publishing this data helps voters see political parties’ income and what they’re spending. This is an important part of delivering transparency in political finance in the UK, and in enhancing public confidence and trust in our democratic processes.”

283 political parties in the United Kingdom reported their financial accounts as being within this threshold. 

12 parties reported income or expenditure between £50,000 and £250,000:
 

The full financial accounts for each of the 283 political parties with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less are available on the Commission’s website. 

Political parties may register 'accounting units’ with the Electoral Commission. These are constituent or affiliated units of a political party, including constituency parties, which have separate finances from the main party. 

586 accounting units in the UK reported income and expenditure between £25,000 and £250,000. In total, these accounting units reported £35,880,462 income and £33,347,811 expenditure.

31 accounting units reported an income or expenditure over £150,000. A further 53 reported income or expenditure between £100,000 and £150,000. 

The ten accounting units that reported the highest income and expenditure below £250,000:

The financial accounts for all accounting units published today are available on the Commission’s website.

Below are the total sums of the financial accounts for political parties and their accounting units that fell under the £250,000 threshold in the two previous financial years:

Political parties

Accounting units

Figures comparing the latest financial accounts for political parties and their accounting units with those for 2018 and 2017 provide a general comparison and do not necessarily compare the same parties and accounting units. The income and expenditure of parties and accounting units vary each year, so they may fall into different reporting thresholds.

Late submissions

Many parties have delivered their statement of accounts on time despite the current challenging circumstances caused by Covid-19. 

50 political parties that were expected to have income or expenditure under £250,000 have failed to submit their accounts. We recognise the impact that Covid-19 has had on some parties’ and accounting units’ ability to meet the reporting deadline. Where parties and accounting units have delivered their accounts late for reasons relating to the pandemic, we will take full account of this in considering what, if any, action is appropriate and proportionate.

Political parties and their accounting units with income or expenditure in 2019 of more than £250,000 had to submit their audited accounts by 7 July 2020. These will be published in due course.

Ends

For further information please contact the press office on 020 7271 0704 or email press@electoralcommission.org.uk. For outside office hours call 07789 920414.