Electoral Commission
Printable version |
Financial accounts for smaller political parties published
Financial accounts of political parties and their accounting units in Great Britain, with income or expenditure of £250,000 or less, have been published by the Electoral Commission. The accounts are for the year ending 31 December 2017.
Party income and expenditure
271 political parties in Great Britain reported having gross income or expenditure of £250,000 or less in 2017. Five parties reported income and expenditure between £50,000 and £250,000:
Party |
Income |
Expenditure |
British National Party |
£229,666 |
£212,060 |
Communist Party of Britain |
£118,231 |
£117,530 |
Upminster and Cranham Residents Association |
£99,474 |
£90,523 |
The Socialist Party of Great Britain |
£82,840 |
£109,008 |
National Health Action Party |
£74,469 |
£64,252 |
The full details of the 269 political parties’ financial accounts are available on our website, where you can also see the financial accounts for 20 political parties in Northern Ireland with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less.
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, which have separate finances from the main party.
536 accounting units in Great Britain reported income or expenditure between £25,000 and £250,000. In total, these accounting units reported £32,545,617 income and £29,775,799 expenditure.
The 26 accounting units with an income over £150,000 are listed below. A further 36 reported income between £100,000 and £150,000.
Party |
Unit |
Income |
Expenditure |
Liberal Democrats |
Cambridgeshire County Co-Ordinating Committee |
£244,590 |
£238,911 |
Liberal Democrats |
Twickenham and Richmond |
£241,564 |
£228,499 |
Labour Party |
National Trade Union Liaison |
£238,126 |
£214,386 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Bristol North West |
£228,151 |
£202,265 |
Liberal Democrats |
Hazel Grove |
£224,855 |
£191,497 |
Liberal Democrats |
Sheffield |
£222,428 |
£175,294 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Aylesbury |
£222,295 |
£237,540 |
Liberal Democrats |
Westmorland and Lonsdale |
£222,148 |
£219,238 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
The Cotswolds |
£211,767 |
£190,194 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Croydon Central |
£201,306 |
£171,472 |
Liberal Democrats |
Sutton |
£201,073 |
£202,940 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Surrey Heath |
£192,017 |
£203,098 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Richmond Park |
£184,253 |
£181,418 |
Liberal Democrats |
Torridge and West Devon |
£176,475 |
£8,195 |
Liberal Democrats |
Cheltenham |
£174,305 |
£169,333 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Watford |
£173,700 |
£166,992 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Stratford on Avon |
£168,407 |
£157,271 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Kensington |
£168,316 |
£145,827 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
East Worthing and Shoreham |
£163,998 |
£48,058 |
Liberal Democrats |
St Albans |
£161,830 |
£135,007 |
Liberal Democrats |
Wales |
£160,459 |
£134,692 |
Liberal Democrats |
Southwark Borough |
£159,636 |
£106,838 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Hampstead and Kilburn |
£159,427 |
£203,514 |
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Tatton |
£155,567 |
£159,306 |
Labour Party |
Exeter CLP |
£153,613 |
£129,406 |
Liberal Democrats |
Bristol |
£150,504 |
£131,055 |
View the full details of all accounting units’ accounts that were published on our website; you can also see the full details for Northern Ireland accounting units’ accounts published.
Comparisons with previous years
Figures comparing the Statement of Accounts for political parties and their accounting units with income or expenditure of £250,000 or less for 2017 with 2016 and 2015, the previous time there was a UK Parliamentary General Election are below.
Central parties
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
Income |
£1,783,967 |
£1,209,972 |
£1,226,091 |
Expenditure |
£1,961,326 |
£1,172,890 |
£1,179,184 |
Accounting units
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
Income |
£26,918,491 |
£21,503,670 |
£32,545,617 |
Expenditure |
£27,897,522 |
£20,356,306 |
£29,775,799 |
Late submissions
33 political parties in Great Britain failed to submit their accounts by their deadline of 30 April 2018. The Commission will review each of these reporting failures in line with its established Enforcement Policy.
The deadline for political parties and their accounting units with income or expenditure of more than £250,000 to submit their audited accounts was 7 July 2018. All parties submitted accounts by the deadline and the Commission will publish these later this month.
For further information please contact the press office on 020 7271 0704 or email press@electoralcommission.org.uk. For outside office hours call 07789 920414.
Notes to editors:
- The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity by:
- enabling the delivery of free and fair elections and referendums, focusing on the needs of electors and addressing the changing environment to ensure every vote remains secure and accessible
- regulating political finance – taking proactive steps to increase transparency, ensure compliance and pursue breaches
- using our expertise to make and advocate for changes to our democracy, aiming to improve fairness, transparency and efficiency
The Commission was set up in 2000 and reports to the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
- Accounting units with income and expenditure that are either £25,000 or less are not required to submit their accounts.
- Financial accounts of political parties and their accounting units in Northern Ireland, with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less, have been published. The press release has also been published.
- 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.
- Figures for income and expenditure have been rounded. Please see online database for exact amounts.
- Details of how failures to submit Statement of Accounts by the deadline have been dealt with in the past can be found in our publication of Closed Cases.
Original article link: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/journalist/electoral-commission-media-centre/news-releases-donations/financial-accounts-for-smaller-political-parties-published10