Topic 2: Political parties Flashcards
What is campaign finance?
Money given or collected by political parties in order to fund their campaigns for elections
What did the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000 (PPER) do?
Required all parties to register with the Electoral Commission and regulated party finance.
What is the Electoral Commission?
An independent body that oversees elections and regulates finance in the UK.
When was the Electoral Commission created?
2001 - under the PPER Act
Name an example of restrictions on donations
Donations over £7,500 must be declared to the Electoral Commission.
What loopholes are there in the PPER?
Donations made anonymously do not have to be declared e.g. United and Cecil Club donating £712,000 to the Conservatives during the Coalition government.
Where does the Conservatives primarily get their funding from?
Private donors
How much money did the Conservatives gain from private donations in the 2019 election?
£13.2 million
Who was the top donor of the Conservatives in 2023?
Frank Hester - £10 million
Where does the Labour party primarily get their funding from?
Trade Unions - especially under Jeremy Corbyn
How much money did the Labour party get from trade unions in 2019?
£5 million
How much money did the Labour party get in trade union money in 2023?
£2.7 million - nearly 1/2 than 2019
How much money did the Conservatives have compared to the Labour party in the 2019 election?
£19.3 million vs £5.4 million
How much did the Lib Dems get in party donations in 2019?
£1.2 million
How much money did Reform UK (The Brexit Party) get in donations in the 2019 election?
£4.1 million