20 October 2008
New rules to regulate political spending and donations to parties are to be debated in the House of Commons today (20 October 2008).
The Political Parties and Elections Bill contains provisions to control excessive spending by candidates, improve the transparency of donations to political parties and reform the Electoral Commission to make it a more effective regulator.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:
'The government is committed to building higher standards of public confidence in our political system and this Bill is a significant step towards a more transparent and better regulated system of party finance and expenditure.
'I hope we can take this important step with the support and cooperation of all political parties. It is important that reform of party finance and electoral law is achieved through consensus. That spirit informed previous changes to the legislation in this area and it continues to guide our approach.'
The Bill will:
- restore controls on candidate spending outside the official election period, which were inadvertently removed by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
- reform the Electoral Commission to make it a more effective regulator - through giving it a wider range powers and a flexible range of civil sanctions; and reforming its governance so that it can benefit from Commissioners and staff with recent experience of politics
- increase the transparency of donations to provide more information about the ultimate source of donations
- allow electors registering to vote on household canvass forms to be registered during the canvass period, to prevent the potential disenfranchisement of electors if an election were to be held during that period
- allow for the administration of European Parliament elections by local authority (rather than Parliamentary) returning officers, to help ensure the successful delivery of elections.
Notes to editors
1. The Political Parties and Elections Bill, published on 26 June 2008
2. The White Paper: Party finance and expenditure in the United Kingdom
3. The Justice Secretary's oral statement on 16 June 2008 accompanying the publication of the White Paper
For more information, contact the Ministry of Justice News Desk on 020 3334 3536.