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The financial accounts of political parties and their accounting units in Great Britain, with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less for the year ending 31 December 2015 have been published yesterday by the Electoral Commission, the independent elections watchdog.

Party income and expenditure

287 parties in Great Britain reported having gross income and total expenditure of £250,000 or less in 2015

• 2 parties reported income and expenditure between £100,000 and £250,000:

Britain First (GB)

Alliance for Workers’ Liberty (GB) [De-registered 23/09/15]

• 285 parties had income and expenditure of less than £100,000 in 2015

In total, these parties reported £1,310,000 income and £1,490,000 expenditure. Income for these parties decreased by over £140,000 and their expenditure reduced by around £30,000 compared to 2014.

Accounting unit income and expenditure

Political parties may register 'accounting units’ with the Electoral Commission. These are constituent or affiliated units of a political party, including constituency parties, who have separate finances from the main party.

• 572 accounting units in the GB reported income or expenditure between £25,000 and £250,000
• In total, these accounting units reported £33,280,000 income and £35,150,000 expenditure

Late submissions

88 parties failed to submit their accounts by the deadline of 30 April 2016. The Commission will review each of these reporting failures in line with its established Enforcement Policy.

The deadline for parties and their accounting units with income or expenditure of more than £250,000 to submit their audited accounts is 7 July; the Commission will publish those accounts later in the year.

Full details of the financial accounts that were published yesterday can be viewed on our websitehere.

For further information please contact Umar Hanif in the Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0536 or email Uhanif@electoralcommission.org.uk. For outside office hours call 07789 920414

Notes to editors:

1. The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections. We work to support a healthy democracy, where elections and referendums are based on our principles of trust, participation and no undue influence.
2. Accounting units with income and expenditure that are either £25,000 or less are not required to submit their accounts.
3. The fact that a Statement of Accounts has been placed on the Commission’s website should not be taken to indicate that the Electoral Commission has verified or validated it in any way.
4. Figures for income and expenditure have been rounded. Please see online database for exact amounts.