The funding of political parties - The current state of regulation

Question 1

Which two pieces of legislation tightly regulates campaign finance?

Answer 1

• Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA) 2000
• Political Parties and Elections Act (PPEA) 2009

Question 2

What must be followed under the Political parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000?

Answer 2

• All parties must register with the Election Commission and provide regular returns of their income
• £30,000 per constituency max, in the run-up to the election
• Parties have to declare all large donations over 7,500

Question 3

How did the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 strengthen the provision of PPERA?

Answer 3

Increased the powers of the Electoral Commission and placing further requirements on parties and donors

Question 4

What can’t these laws tackle?

Answer 4

The thorny issue of how parties should be funded

Question 5

What are three proposals on how parties should be funded?

Answer 5

1. Membership subscriptions
2. Individual donors
3. State funding

Question 6

Should the state fund political parties? (YES)

Answer 6

• It could provide a greater sense of equality between the parties. The conservatives considerably outraised all their rivals in 2019
• State money would be ‘clean’ without the dependence on wealthy donors and interest groups who may expect something in return, whether in form of honours or policies
• If parties had state funding that matched their vote, it would encourage them to campaign in all seats to increase the party vote and not just in key marginals

Question 7

Should the state fund political parties? (NO)

Answer 7

• State funding would make parties too dependent on the state and less incentivised to actively recruit members
• Parties could become isolated from the ‘real world’ if links and donations with interest groups were cut
• Voters should not fund parties with which they disagree, and there are many better areas on which to spend taxpayers’ money