Non-party campaigners: Where to start

There are two types of non-party campaigns. These are: 

Local campaigns

Local campaigns are subject to a spending limit. For example, the limit for campaigning for or against one or more candidates in a constituency in a UK Parliamentary general election is £700.

The Electoral Commission does not regulate local non-party campaigning and this guidance does not cover the local campaign rules in detail.

Complaints about breaches of the local campaign rules should be made to the police.

General campaigns

The Electoral Commission regulates general non-party campaigns.

Spending on the following activities can be regulated:

• election material
• canvassing and market research
• public rallies or public events
• press conferences or other media events 
• transport in connection with publicising your campaign

The rest of this guidance document is about the general campaign rules.