Campaign spending: Political parties and non-party campaigners
Summary box
Before elections and referendums, there is a regulated period for the campaign that puts a limit on spending. These limits apply to candidates, political parties and non-party campaigners.
Spending limits vary for different elections.
Intro
Every year, we publish specific guidance for elections that are taking place that year. Our guidance sets out:
- the particular spending limits that apply
- the period that the limits apply for
- the reporting deadlines for those elections
You can view spending at past elections and referendums on Political Finance Online, so you can see what political parties, campaigners and other groups spent.
Political party campaign spending at the 2024 UK Parliamentary General Election
Political parties that stood candidates at the 2024 general election were required to submit a spending return for the year leading up to polling day, even if they did not spend any money on campaigning.
Spending limits applied throughout the regulated period, which ran from 6 July 2023 to 4 July 2024. Political parties must report all spending during this period to ensure transparency and compliance with the law.
Parties needed to submit their return:
- Within 3 months after polling day if their spending was £250,000 or less (by 4 October)
- Within 6 months after polling day if their spending was over £250,000 with an audit report (by 4 January)
The spending limits for political parties at the UKPGE depended on the number of constituencies they stood candidates in.
Spending £250,000 or less
Ninety-two parties reported spending £250,000 or less during the regulated period with a total combined spend of £733,575. This included 39 parties who submitted nil returns.
The five highest-spending parties that reported spending £250,000 or less at the 2024 general election:
Party | Expenditure |
---|---|
Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | £156,531 |
Workers Party of Britain | £81,292 |
Sinn Féin | £68,499 |
Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | £52,229 |
Women's Equality Party | £41,004 |
This represents an increase in spending compared to the general elections that took place in 2019 and 2017, when parties spending £250,000 or less, spent £611,855 and £309,288 respectively. However, the number of parties reporting this level of spending has also increased – 33 in 2017, 38 in 2019 and 53 in 2024.
Across the different countries that make up the UK, parties spending £250,000 or less reported spending:
- £260,663 in England
- £218,113 in Northern Ireland
- £181,125 in Wales
- £73,673 in Scotland.
The categories that most spending was reported under were Advertising (£246,614) and Unsolicited material to electors (£168,229).
A full breakdown of spending reported by political parties is available on our political finance database.
In addition to party spending, candidates have their own spending limits and own reporting duties. We will publish candidate data from the 2024 general election shortly. Explore data about spending reported by candidates.
Spending over £250,000
We will publish campaign spending by the political parties that spent over £250,000 in the coming months.
Compare political party spending at past UKPGEs
Chart: Spending by party and election
Spending breakdown
Non-party campaigner campaign spending at the 2024 UKPGE
Spending £250,000 or less
Registered non-party campaigners were required to submit a spending return if during the regulated period they spent:
- More than £20,000 on regulated campaign activity in England
- More than £10,000 on regulated campaign activity in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
18 non-party campaigners reported spending over the reporting thresholds, but less than £250,000 with a combined total spend of £1,141,630. The equivalent spending was higher in 2019 at £2,808,871 reported by 37 non-party campaigners.
The five highest-spending non-party campaigners who reported spending £250,000 or less at the 2024 UK general election:
Non-party campaigner | Expenditure |
---|---|
38 Degrees | £206,700 |
HOPE not hate Ltd | £158,624 |
Cruelty Free International | £108,945 |
WE OWN IT LTD | £98,774 |
Greenpeace Limited | £95,851 |
You can view all the spending and donations reported by non-party campaigners on our political finance database.
Spending over £250,000
We will publish campaign spending by non-party campaigners that spent over £250,000 in the coming months.