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Party Political Funding: Paying the Politicians at Poll Time
What can the parties spend their money on?
The Act covers the expenses of promoting a political party and its candidates. This includes the costs of negative campaigning against political opponents. PPERA identifies specific types of spending that can be included in the costs of running an election campaign:
- TV and radio broadcasts
- Manifestos
- Advertising
- Mailshots
- Press conferences
- Research
- Rallies and other events
- Transport
Is that it?
Not quite. After an election, each party that was involved has to submit a return to the Electoral Commission, detailing what they spent their money on and how much this was in total. This information is publicised by the Commission on its Web site. This information has to be quite detailed; it must list all payments of more than £200 made by the political party, backed up with receipts or invoices.
If a party fails to make a campaign spending return, it can be fined up to £5000 or its officers imprisoned. Registered parties have three months in which to make their returns, although this is extended to six months for parties that spend over £250 000.