MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
News Release (093/08) issued by The Government News Network on 17
July 2008
Political spending
and donations to parties are to be more tightly regulated under
new rules unveiled by Justice Secretary Jack Straw today.
The Political Parties and Elections Bill will tighten controls on
spending by candidates, improve the transparency of donations to
political parties and substantially strengthen the powers of the
Electoral Commission.
Jack Straw said:
"Fundamental reform of party finance is necessary to help
build higher standards of public confidence in our politics.
"This Bill is a significant step towards a system of party
funding that is more transparent and better regulated. Politics
and politicians need to be effectively scrutinised so we are
proposing to strengthen the Electoral Commission.
"I hope we can take this important step with the support and
co-operation of all political parties to build a deep and enduring
cross-party consensus."
The Bill contains legislation to:
* Bring in more effective controls through the reintroduction of
the "trigger" on candidate spending;
* Strengthen the Electoral Commission so that it is better
equipped to regulate party spending and political donations - both
through giving it greater powers and reforming its governance so
that it can benefit from commissioners with recent experience of politics;
* Increase the transparency of donations to provide more
information about the ultimate source of a donation;
* Allow electors applying to vote on household canvass forms to
be registered during the canvass period, to prevent the potential
disenfranchisement of electors if an election were to be held
during that period; and
* Allow for the administration of European Parliament elections
by local authority (rather than Parliamentary) returning officers,
to help ensure the successful delivery of elections.
Notes to editors
1. The Political Parties and Elections Bill is available at http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/legislation.htm
2. The White Paper Party finance and expenditure in the United
Kingdom is available at http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/party-funding.htm
3. The Justice Secretary's Oral Statement on 16 June
accompanying publication of the White Paper is available at http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement160608a.htm
News Release
http://www.justice.gov.uk
ENDS