Public funding for political parties
Policy Development Grants
The Policy Development Grants Scheme
The Policy Development Grants Scheme is £2 million of funding from the UK Parliament which is distributed by the Electoral Commission to political parties with at least two sitting members of the House of Commons who have taken the oath of allegiance. The grant gives political parties funding to develop policies to include in their election manifestos.
The Scheme has been updated for the 2025-26 financial year (and subsequent years) to reflect the outcome of the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election, which saw changes in political party eligibility. The updated Scheme will commence on 1 April 2025.
Changes to the method of allocating the funding
Under the updated Scheme, we will continue to distribute the first £1 million of the grant equally between the eligible parties.
However, the second £1 million will be allocated to the eligible parties as follows:
- The second £1m will be divided into pots for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland based on the proportion of the UK electorate living in each nation
- Each nation’s pot will then be split equally between the eligible parties that stood candidates in at least 50% of the constituencies in the relevant nation at the most recent UK Parliamentary general election
List of political parties eligible for a grant for the 2025-26 financial year
Each year we are required to publish a list of political parties eligible for a grant on the ‘eligibility day’, which is normally 7 March.
The following political parties are eligible for a grant for the 2025-26 financial year:
- Conservative and Unionist Party
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Green Party of England and Wales
- Labour Party
- Liberal Democrats
- Plaid Cymru
- Reform UK
- Scottish National Party
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
Electorate figures
The table below provides the 2024 Parliamentary electorate figures that we will use to divide the second £1m of the grant into pots for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The size of each nation's pot is determined by the proportion of the UK electorate living in each nation.
Each nation’s pot will then be split equally between the eligible parties that stood candidates in at least 50% of the constituencies in the relevant nation at the most recent UK Parliamentary general election. For the purposes of the 2025-26 allocations, this is the UK Parliamentary general election held on 4 July 2024.
| Nation | 2024 electorate (UK Parliamentary) |
|---|---|
| England | 39,999,008 |
| Scotland | 4,055,140 |
| Wales | 2,338,260 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,360,876 |
| United Kingdom | 47,753,284 |
Total amounts that eligible political parties can apply for in the 2025-26 financial year
| Party | Total amount |
|---|---|
| Conservative and Unionist Party | £303,779 |
| Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. | £125,360 |
| Green Party of England and Wales | £286,796 |
| Labour Party | £303,779 |
| Liberal Democrats | £303,779 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | £119,272 |
| Reform UK | £303,779 |
| SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) | £125,360 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | £128,095 |
| Total | £2,000,000 |
Further information
Further information about the updated Scheme can be found in The Elections (Policy Development Grants Scheme) Order 2025 and the associated Explanatory Memorandum.
When we have calculated how much each party can apply for, we invite them to submit their application. The application needs to include the policy development activities the party is planning for the year ahead.
Parties will often include all of their policy development activities, even if the total cost is more than the amount they can apply for.
If we approve the application, we give up to 75% of the grant in advance.
At the end of the year, each party must submit an independent audit report confirming that the funds were spent on policy development.
We then will either pay the party the full amount of the grant, or we will recover the grant we paid in advance if the party didn’t spend it on policy development activities. If we recover any grants, it goes back to the government’s consolidated fund.
Policy development grants: allocation and expenditure made under the agreed scheme 2024-25
| Party | Allocation |
|---|---|
| Alba Party | £145,100 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | £432,801 |
| Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. | £139,318 |
| Labour Party | £432,801 |
| Liberal Democrats | £432,801 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | £132,761 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | £145,100 |
| SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) | £139,318 |
| Total | £2,000,000 |
Policy development grants: allocation and expenditure made under the agreed scheme 2023-24
| Party | Allocation | Total expenditure allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Alba Party | £145,218 | £145,218 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | £432,525 | £432,525 |
| Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. | £139,607 | £139,607 |
| Labour Party | £432,525 | £432,525 |
| Liberal Democrats | £432,525 | £432,525 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | £132,775 | £132,775 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | £145,218 | £145,218 |
| SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) | £139,607 | £124,518 |
| Total | £2,000,000 | £1,984,911 |
Other public funds
Political parties can also receive funding from parliamentary bodies. This includes:
- Short Money, which the House of Commons pays to opposition parties
- Cranborne Money, which the House of Lords pays to the opposition and second largest opposition party in the House of Lords
- Financial Assistance, which the Scottish Parliament pays to opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament
- Financial Assistance, which the Northern Ireland Assembly pays to opposition parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly
When we publish information
We include information about the public funding political parties have received when we publish the donations four times a year.
We also comment on public funding in our annual report.