Electoral Commission
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Financial accounts for smaller political parties published

Financial accounts of political parties and accounting units in the United Kingdom, with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less, were published yesterday by the Electoral Commission. The accounts are for the year ending 31 December 2021.

331 political parties in the United Kingdom reported their financial accounts as being within this threshold.

Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation, said:

“All political parties must keep financial records and submit annual statements of accounts to us. Publishing this data helps voters see the money that political parties spend and receive. This is an important part of delivering transparency in political finance in the UK, and in enhancing public confidence and trust in our democratic processes.”

Seventeen parties reported income or expenditure between £50,000 and £250,000:

Party Income Expenditure
Ashfield Independents £103,545 £81,746
Britain First £115,913 £107,438
British National Party £75,466 £96,535
Communist Party of Britain £189,563 £172,368
Conservative and Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) £37,099 £52,021
Freedom Alliance- Integrity, Society, Economy £50,911 £48,078
Green Party (Northern Ireland) £80,386 £60,192
Northern Independence Party £78,529 £48,224
Scottish Family Party £57,951 £59,532
Scottish Socialist Party £59,296 £43,795
Socialist Party (Northern Ireland) £76,346 £72,042
Social Democratic Party £57,688 £70,867
The For Britain Movement £140,459 £123,292
Traditional Unionist Voice - TUV £65,016 £37,893
True & Fair Party £57,098 £49,084
UK Independence Party (UKIP) £215,850 £194,558
Upminster and Cranham Residents Association £64,401 £76,455
 

The full financial accounts (Opens in new window) for each of the 331 political parties with income and expenditure of £250,000 or less are available on the Commission’s website.

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.

422 accounting units in the UK reported income and expenditure between £25,000 and £250,000.

In total these accounting units reported £21,438,320 income and £22,183,097 expenditure.

Of these, 12 accounting units reported an income or expenditure over £150,000. A further 33 reported income or expenditure between £100,000 and £150,000.

The ten accounting units that reported the highest income and expenditure below £250,000:

Party Accounting unit Income Expenditure
Conservative and Unionist Party Aylesbury £235,629 £179,034
Conservative and Unionist Party Derbyshire Dales £208,509 £46,423
Conservative and Unionist Party Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham £189,528 £202,505
Conservative and Unionist Party Northumberland MCA £170,760 £181,757
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P Westminster Parliamentary Party - MP Grouping £191,836 £141,980
Green Party London £144,002 £157,566
Labour Party National Trade Union Liaison £230,999 £166,623
Liberal Democrats Hazel Grove £155,266 £122,356
Liberal Democrats Twickenham and Richmond £202,549 £207,333
Liberal Democrats Westmorland, Furness and Eden £204,030 £212,969
 

The financial accounts for all accounting units (Opens in new window) published yesterday are available on the Commission’s website.

Comparisons with previous years

Below are the total sums of the financial accounts for political parties and their accounting units that fell under the £250,000 threshold in the two previous financial years:

Political parties

  2021 2020 2019
Income £2,478,965 £1,546,769 £2,147,273
Expenditure £2,318,549 £1,358,422 £2,270,843
 
Accounting units
 
  2021 2020 2019
Income £21,438,320 £16,849,475 £35,893,352
Expenditure £22,183,096 £15,728,652 £33,473,161
 

Figures comparing the latest financial accounts for political parties and their accounting units with those for 2019 and 2020 provide a general comparison and do not necessarily compare the same parties and accounting units. The income and expenditure of parties and accounting units vary each year, so they may fall into different reporting thresholds.  

Late submissions

12 political parties that were expected to have income or expenditure under £250,000 failed to submit their accounts. Where parties and accounting units have delivered their accounts late we may take appropriate and proportionate action in line with our Enforcement Policy.

Political parties and their accounting units with income or expenditure in 2021 of more than £250,000 were required to submit their audited accounts by 7 July 2022. These will be published in due course.

For further information please contact the press office on 020 7271 0704 or email press@electoralcommission.org.uk (Opens in new window). For outside office hours call 07789 920414.

Notes to editors

1. 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, Scottish and Welsh parliaments.

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 our online database (Opens in new window) for exact amounts.

5. Details of how failures to submit a statement of accounts by the deadline have been dealt with in the past can be found in our publication of closed cases (Opens in new window).

Channel website: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk

Original article link: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media-centre/financial-accounts-smaller-political-parties-published-0

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