Party spending and pre-poll donations and loans: UK Parliamentary general election

About this guidance

Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), there are laws on fundraising and spending that political parties must follow in the run-up to certain elections. 

This guidance provides information on the regulated period, spending limits, campaign spending, reporting requirements and deadlines for a UK Parliamentary general election (UKPGE). 

This guidance and the related documents we refer to apply to registered political parties only. The rules for candidates are different, and we issue separate guidance for candidates and their agents contesting the UKPGE.

When parties issue election material it must contain details known as an imprint. We publish separate guidance on imprints.

Terms and expressions we use 

In this guidance, we use ‘must’ when we refer to a specific requirement. We use ‘should’ for items we consider to be minimum good practice, but which are not legal requirements.

We use ‘you’ or ‘the responsible person’ to refer to the person who is responsible for campaign spending. This will be the registered campaigns officer if one has been appointed, or the registered treasurer if not.

Translations and other formats  

For information on obtaining this publication in another language or in a Braille version please contact the Electoral Commission: 

Tel: 0333 103 1928

Email: [email protected] 
 

Updates to our guidance

Date of updateDescription of change
August 2024

New example on allocating spending across Great Britain

November 2023

Updates to reflect the new spending limits for political parties