Financial accounts for smaller political parties published
Summary
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.”
Party income and expenditure
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:
Party | Income | Expenditure |
---|---|---|
The For Britain Movement (GB) | £194,915 | £205,155 |
Communist Party of Britain (GB) | £157,109 | £139,893 |
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) (NI) | £145,835 | £139,082 |
Ashfield Independents (GB) | £121,126 | £103,983 |
Advance Together (GB) | £105,826 | £92,623 |
Green Party (NI) | £92,962 | £93,640 |
British National Party (GB) | £88,874 | £128,600 |
Socialist Party (NI) | £85,606 | £83,492 |
Upminster and Cranham Residents Association | £73,637 | £71,908 |
Conservative and Unionist Party (NI) | £66,276 | £66,476 |
Traditional Unionist Voice - TUV (NI) | £50,972 | £50,327 |
People Before Profit Alliance (NI) | £49,116 | £50,506 |
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.
Accounting unit income and expenditure
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:
Party | Accounting unit | Income | Expenditure |
---|---|---|---|
Labour Party | Greenwich and Woolwich CLP | £249,696 | £248,418 |
Conservative and Unionist Party | Richmond Park | £240,140 | £228,888 |
Conservative and Unionist Party | Aylesbury | £232,365 | £208, |
Liberal Democrats | Westminster Borough | £230,802 | £216,972 |
Liberal Democrats | Hazel Grove | £224,176 | £203,733 |
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. | Westminster Parliamentary Party - MP Grouping | £212,479 | £221,678 |
Conservative and Unionist Party | Rutland & Melton | £209,356 | £108,106 |
Liberal Democrats | Oxford West and Abingdon | £207,172 | £171,808 |
Liberal Democrats | Sheffield | £206,146 | £200,866 |
Liberal Democrats | Cambridge | £203,908 | £221,913 |
The financial accounts for all accounting units published today are available on the Commission’s website.
Comparisons with previous years
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
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|
Income | £1,894,147 | £1,809,606 | £2,147,273 |
Expenditure | £1,806,645 | £1,774,751 | £2,270,843 |
Accounting units
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|
Income | £33,235,366 | £21,591,161 | £35,893,352 |
Expenditure | £30,533,621 | £21,204,528 | £33,473,161 |
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
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.
Notes to editors
Notes to editors:
The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity by:
- enabling the delivery of free and fair elections and referendums, focusing on the needs of electors and addressing the changing environment to ensure every vote remains secure and accessible
- regulating political finance – taking proactive steps to increase transparency, ensure compliance and pursue breaches
- using our expertise to make and advocate for changes to our democracy, aiming to improve fairness, transparency and efficiency
The Commission was set up in 2000 and reports to the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
Accounting units with income and expenditure that are either £25,000 or less are not required to submit their accounts.
Financial accounts of political parties and their accounting units in Northern Ireland, with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less, have been published today.
The fact that a statement of accounts has been placed on the Commission’s website should not be taken to indicate that the Electoral Commission has verified or validated it in any way.
Figures for income and expenditure have been rounded. Please see our online database for exact amounts.
Details of how failures to submit a statement of accounts by the deadline have been dealt with in the past can be found in our publication of closed cases.
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