Political Parties: Funding, Current State Of Regulation Flashcards
What are the two key pieces of legislation for regulating campaign finance in the UK?
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA) 2000 and the Political Parties and Elections Act (PPEA) 2009
Who must all political parties registered with as under the PPERA 2000?
the Election Commission, who they have to provide all regular returns of their income and expenditure
Under the PPERA 2000 how much cab each party spend in the run up to the election, per constituency?
£30,000 per constituency
under the PPERA 2000, and defined in 2020, how big of a donation do parties have to declare?
Over £7,500
What is an example of the PPERA 2000 regulating campaign expenditure for national referendums?
Leave EU being fined £70,000 for breaches of electoral law
What did the PPEA 2009 do?
strengthened the provisions of the PPERA 2000 by increasing power of the Electoral Commission and placing further requirements on parties and donors to clarify the source of donations
What are the three proposed ways of the better party funding?
Membership Subscriptions, Individual Donors and State Funding
What are the advantages of membership subscriptions for party funding?
The most fair and transparent method of funding, ensures no single donor gets undue influence
What are the disadvantages of membership subscriptions for party funding?
It doesn’t sustain the level of finance required to professionally run national campaigns, adverts or effectively research policy
What are the advantages of individual donors for party funding?
Help fund parties well
What are the disadvantages of individual donors for party funding?
Reliance on a few people, potential for corruption and undue influence
How does state funding work?
Based upon a ‘pence-per-vote’ or ‘pence-per-member’ and parties with two sitting members of the House of Commons who have taken the oath of allegiance can receive public funds through Policy Development Grants (£2 million in total annually)
