Consultation on draft NPC Code of Practice
Summary
Summary
Some individuals and organisations that are not political parties campaign on issues or causes around elections without standing candidates themselves. They play a significant role in providing voters with information and a diversity of voices.
The Commission calls these individuals and organisations non-party campaigners. In electoral law they are called third parties.
The Elections Act 2022 includes new requirements for registration and spending by non-party campaigners.
The Act introduces a duty on the Electoral Commission to produce a Code of Practice on the laws relating to non-party campaigner spending, including what qualifies as expenses, reporting controlled expenditure and donations, and joint campaigning. The Code will apply to general elections to the UK Parliament (UKPGE) and Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA).
The Code of Practice, once finalised will be presented to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The Minister may then modify the Code before laying it for parliamentary approval.
Your views will help us make the Code we present to the Secretary of State as clear and helpful as possible.
The Commission must have regard to this Code when exercising its functions under Part 6 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). It is a defence for a non-party campaigner to show that they complied with this Code in determining whether their campaign activity was regulated.
The consultation closed on 20 January 2023. Read our response to the consultation on Code of Practice for Non-party Campaigners.
How to respond
The consultation is open from 24 November 2022 until 20 January 2023.
You can respond by:
- filling in our online form
- emailing your views to [email protected] or
- writing to us at:
Regulatory Support Team
The Electoral Commission
3 Bunhill Row
London EC1Y 8YZ
Throughout the consultation period, we will continue to engage with the electoral and campaigning community. We are happy to meet with any groups or interested individuals on request.
If you have any questions, please do get in touch on 0207 271 0546.
How we developed the draft Code
We talked to a range of non-party campaigners from across the UK to inform the draft Code.
We asked them about:
- their understanding of the new provisions
- their experiences of campaigning under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000 (PPERA) legal framework
- how they see non-party campaigning evolving in the future
Questionnaire
Background
Existing non-party campaigner legislation
There are well-established laws regulating the activities of non-party campaigners in the periods before elections. These include laws on who can spend money at elections, how much money they can spend, how they must comply with who they accept donations from and what information they need to report about their spending and receipt of donations.
For more information on these laws, please see our existing guidance.
Elections Act 2022
The UK Elections Act 2022 includes provisions that lowers the notification threshold for non-party campaigners at UK Parliamentary elections. It also limits spending by non-party campaigners who do not have a UK connection at these, and Northern Ireland Assembly, elections.
Section 29 of the Elections Act 2022 contains a specific duty on the Commission to produce a statutory Code of Practice for non-party campaigners at UK Parliamentary general elections and NI Assembly elections.
This Code of Practice, unlike most of the Commission’s guidance, must be approved by the relevant Minister, and the UK Parliament.