Kevin Hollinrake

The Electoral Commission assessment of the May 2026 elections will be published in a post-poll report shortly. It publishes data from police services on allegations of electoral fraud annually, and will do so in March next year.

The Commission has discussed the offences that the UK Government may prescribe in secondary legislation. The Electoral Commission continues to work closely with the Government, through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on implementing the measures in the Bill.

The Commission adds explanatory notes on sponsorship when publishing updates to the register.

Where an intermediary is simply handling a donation – for example, when a donor gives money to a fundraising group with the intent that it is passed on to a specific Member of Parliament – the intermediary is required to provide the details of the donor so that this can be checked and reported by the ultimate recipient of the donation.

When reported to the Electoral Commission, the name of the donor will be published on the register of donations. There is no provision for reporting or publishing the details of the intermediary.

The UK Government has asked the Commission to complete its review of spending limits by July 2027. On 29 August, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the First Secretary of State wrote to the Commission to extend the review to include candidate spending limits.

The Electoral Commission already provides guidance to Returning Officers on how to conduct well run election counts.

The Metropolitan Police Service has issued a statement about an ongoing police investigation. The Electoral Commission cannot comment further.

The Electoral Commission’s statutory guidance on digital imprints outlines the exemptions that apply to digital material, including journalism.

The Metropolitan Police Service has issued a statement about an ongoing police investigation. The Electoral Commission cannot comment further.

The requirement to register donations in the 12 months before they are elected is set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules:

1. Paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament provides:

Members must fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. New Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days.

2. The House therefore requires new Members, within one month of their election, to register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. After that, Members are required to register within 28 days any change in those registrable interests. Such a change includes both the acquisition of a new interest and the ceasing of any registered interest, for example because an employment has ceased or because a holding has reduced in value or been sold.

The rules on registering donations (Category 2) are set out in paragraphs 15 to 20 of Chapter 1.

The AI feature assists staff in identifying duplicate questions by finding and listing questions which have been submitted previously where there is 80% or greater level of similarity. The Table Office reports that it is a helpful tool to support staff in identifying identical or near identical text duplicates. Pre-existing tools such as Parliamentary Search continue to be used to support the identification of duplicate questions. In any case, staff are responsible for reviewing the questions to assess whether the rules of order relating to questions already answered are engaged. The Table Office is happy to demonstrate the tool to Members who are interested in it.

The Electoral Commission provides authoritative advice on the permissibility of donors.

The following paragraphs of Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules provide advice on the registration of interests received in the 12 months before a Members’ election and on the permissibility of donors.

1. Paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament provides:

Members must fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. New Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days.

2. The House therefore requires new Members, within one month of their election, to register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. After that, Members are required to register within 28 days any change in those registrable interests. Such a change includes both the acquisition of a new interest and the ceasing of any registered interest, for example because an employment has ceased or because a holding has reduced in value or been sold.

Permissible donors

19. Members must not accept any donations, loans, security or other support valued at over £500 from impermissible donors. They must also report them to the Electoral Commission within 30 days of receipt. The following are permissible donors:

• an individual registered in a UK electoral register (or a bequest from such an individual);
• a UK registered company which is incorporated within the EU and carries on business in the UK;
• a Great Britain registered political party;
• a UK registered trade union;
• a UK registered building society;
• a UK registered limited liability partnership that carries on business in the UK;
• a UK registered friendly society;
• a UK based unincorporated association that carries on business or other activities in the UK.

20. In addition, certain trusts may be permissible as donors, but not as lenders or providers of security or credit. Local councils are not permissible donors or lenders.

23. Before accepting any benefit over £500 which would require registration in this category (including a credit facility or a loan which exceeds £500 in value), Members are required to satisfy themselves that it is from a permissible donor, and to notify the Electoral Commission within 30 days of any impermissible donations.

The requirements for registering interests and information that has to be supplied is set out in Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules.

The Commissioner has issued an Advice Note on the transparency of registrations in response to questions raised by Members of Parliament. That Advice Note can be accessed here: advice-note-2023.01.11-2---transparency-of-registration.pdf

The Electoral Commission's guidance for regulated donees sets out what constitutes political activities for members of registered parties, under Schedule 7 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Paragraph 1(4) of Schedule 7 of PPERA 2000 provides a list of examples of political activities for party members and members associations for purposes of that schedule. The examples listed are non-exhaustive.

The Electoral Commission was not consulted on the decision.

The Commission has been clear in its communication with the Government and in its public statements that scheduled elections should be postponed only in exceptional circumstances.

On 1 April 2023, lead responsibility for funding the security of Hon. Members of all parties was transferred from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to the Parliamentary Security Department (PSD).

All MPs are offered security measures at their homes and offices, and security operatives for constituency surgeries.

To ensure the continued security of Members, the Commission does not comment on the take-up of security provisions by individual MPs.

The Electoral Commission’s guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) sets out the eligibility conditions for registering as an overseas voter in England, Scotland and Wales.

Applicants must apply to register as an overseas voter in respect of the address where they were last registered to vote in the UK or, if they have never been registered, the last address at which they were resident in the UK.

If an applicant was previously registered to vote in respect of more than one address simultaneously then the voter must choose which address to register in connection with.

The ERO must be satisfied that an applicant meets one of these conditions. The Commission’s guidance sets out the steps the ERO must take to process an application and verify the information provided.

The Electoral Commission’s guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) sets out how overseas voters should be listed on the electoral register in England, Scotland and Wales.

Overseas voters should be listed as other voters at the end of each relevant part of the register, and legislation requires these entries to be shown without an address. A separate list of the names of overseas voters must be prepared and maintained by the ERO which includes the voter’s qualifying address and their present address.

The Commission’s guidance sets out who can request a copy of the full register and list of overseas voters. Registered political parties are entitled to request this information which must only be used for electoral purposes and for the purpose of complying with requirements on the control of donations.

The Commission has not provided guidance to either the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner or the House of Commons Registrar on this matter. The requirement for Members to disclose donations or gifts received in the 12 months before they are elected is in parliamentary rules, rather than electoral law.

After their election, Hon. Members report all permissible political donations or gifts they accept to the House of Commons Register of Members’ Financial Interests (RMFI). The Commission identifies any donations it must publish from the information reported to the RMFI. Impermissible donations are reported directly to the Commission.

The Commission publishes donations to MPs only where they are made in connection with an MP’s political activities, either as an MP or as a party member, and where they exceed the relevant reporting threshold of £2,230, including aggregated donations from the same donor.

The Register of Members’ Financial Interests is broader in scope. It includes any financial interest held, or benefit received, by an MP that might reasonably be considered to influence their actions or statements as an MP.

The House of Commons Commission does not have responsibility for the APPG Rules.

Paragraph 8 of Appendix 4 of the Guide to the APPG Rules sets out the records that a Chair of an APPG must keep after a group has been disbanded. The Guide to the APPG Rules is silent on whether the Chair of a disbanded group is required to share those records.

Paragraph 8 of Appendix 4 of the Guide to the APPG rules sets out the requirements for APPGs when they are dissolved at a General Election. The Guide to the APPG Rules does not specify how residual assets of a dissolved APPG may be used.

In some cases, an individual or organisation may act as an agent in facilitating a donation. For example, where a donor transfers a donation to an agent, who then transfers the donation to the recipient.

If a donor intends to make a donation through their personal services company, the Electoral Commission’s advice is to treat this as a donation from the underlying personal donor.

Donations from the same source in the same calendar year should be aggregated for reporting. Where a personal services company is not acting as an agent for the donation, these donations should be reported separately.

Transferring a donation to an agent rather than directly to a recipient must not be used as an attempt to evade permissibility and transparency laws.

The Electoral Commission’s guidance for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) sets out the requirements to register to vote, including residency requirements in England, Scotland and Wales.

A person must be resident, on the relevant date, at the address at which they want to be registered. Normally, a person is deemed resident at an address for electoral purposes if it is their permanent home address.

Some voters may be entitled to register at more than one address. It is the role of the ERO to consider on a case-by-case basis the purpose for which a voter is present at an address and establish if they may be deemed resident there.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance and support for parties and regulated entities to ensure they understand and can comply with donation laws.

Its guidance sets out the requirements and checks necessary when accepting donations. Donees are responsible for carrying out checks on donations they receive to ensure they are from permissible sources and for properly and accurately reporting them.

The guidance makes clear that the law requires donees to report impermissible donations and return them to the donor within 30 days. If they are unable to return the donation they must send the value to the Commission, and it pays this into the Consolidated Fund, managed by HM Treasury.

If after the 30 day period, a donee becomes aware that a donation they have accepted is impermissible, the donee should act quickly to bring themselves into compliance. The donee should return the value of the donation to the donor if possible, or to the Commission. They should report it as soon as possible to the Commission, who would consider the matter in line with its Enforcement Policy.

The Commission identified variations in practice between parties in identifying and reporting sponsorship and has developed updated guidance to clarify this area of the law.

Sponsorship is a type of political donation with permissibility and reporting requirements. Payments linked to party conferences are considered sponsorship where one of the purposes of the payment could reasonably be seen to help with the costs of the conference.

The Commission has recently shared its draft guidance with the Westminster Parliamentary Parties’ Panel for comment. It is currently considering feedback from the parties, including how the guidance, alongside the company donation proposals in the Representation of the People Bill, could impact party conferences.

Last year, in its discussions with the UK Government, the Commission highlighted the need for the company donation clauses to be considered in relation to existing political finance laws, including specifically sponsorship of party conferences.

To date, no cryptoasset donations have been reported to the Electoral Commission.

The UK Government has announced that it plans to introduce a moratorium on donations in crypto assets. The intention is for this to apply retrospectively to any donations received from 25 March 2026 onwards. These measures would be introduced as part of the Government’s Representation of the People Bill.

The Commission has provided advice to parties so that they can prepare for future changes to the law.

Whether this should be treated as a donation will depend on the intention of the donor and who receives the donation. If the donor intends to give to the recipient via the personal services company, and the recipient has access to the donation, then the Commission’s advice is to treat this as a donation from the underlying personal donor.

The Electoral Commission has issued guidance on arrangements where donations are made via third parties.

The Electoral Commission investigated donations connected to a 2024 leadership campaign. Evidence of potential offences outside its remit were referred to the Metropolitan Police Service on 6 January, and the Commission’s investigation is paused.

There is a Memorandum of Understanding between the Electoral Commission and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards which sets out the agreed administrative arrangements between the two bodies. Where the Electoral Commission has reasonable grounds to suspect that a regulated transaction has not been properly reported, and is making enquiries, it may as part of this work liaise with the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The Electoral Commission does not publish specific guidance for combined authority mayoral elections, but the laws are the same as local government elections in England. The Commission has published guidance for Returning Officers on both the timing of by-elections and requests to hold a by-election. Requests to hold a by-election to fill a casual vacancy must be made in writing by two local government electors from within the local authority area.

The Electoral Commission's assessment concerning the Centre for a Better Britain remains on-going whilst it undertakes relevant enquiries and considers the available information. There is more information about the Commission’s assessments in its Enforcement Policy.

To inform its consideration of the potential impact of a profit test for company donations, the Commission analysed publicly available data about donations reported by political parties and company accounts published by Companies House. The Commission will continue to seek input from political parties to inform the development of its recommendations, including through the statutory Parliamentary Parties Panel. It will also continue to provide evidence-based advice on political finance ahead of the parliamentary debates on the Representation of the People Bill.

The House of Commons Commission does not have responsibility for the APPG Rules. However, page 11 of the Guide to the APPG Rules sets out the following rule relating to secretariats and foreign governments:

Rules relating to foreign governments
A Group must not accept the provision of a secretariat by a foreign government, nor may they accept the services of a secretariat funded by a foreign government. A Group’s officers must undertake due diligence as to whether a foreign government is the eventual funder of a secretariat or other benefit.

The House of Commons Commission does not have responsibility for the APPG Rules.

The Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards does not hold Income and Expenditure Statements agreed to by APPGs. They are either published on a group’s website (if the group has one) or made available on request.

When an APPG has been dissolved, it is the responsibility of the Chair to keep Income and Expenditure Statements for at least five years from the end of the period to which they refer. This is consistent with the Paragraph 8 of Appendix 4 of the Guide to the APPG rules which sets out the requirements for APPGs when they are dissolved at a General Election.

In May 2026 a new AI feature was added to EQM, the digital system which is used by the Table Office for the editing and processing of written parliamentary questions. This AI feature assists staff in identifying duplicate questions by finding and listing questions which have been submitted previously where there is 80% or greater level of similarity. Staff are then able to review the questions to assess whether the rules of order relating to questions already answered are engaged.

The House of Commons Commission does not have responsibility for the registration of Members’ Financial Interests.

Guidance on the registration of donations is set out in paragraphs 14 to 20 of Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members. The Code does not make specific reference to crypto-currencies.

The Code and Guide form a House-approved document Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules. The Committee on Standards is responsible for overseeing its policy and development, and there is a quinquennial cycle of review overseen by that Committee, with recommendations for revision and re-issue being made to and approved by the House. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards advises the Committee on its review.

It would not be appropriate to publish internal guidance documents which contain comments and track changes capturing the evolving approach to editing questions. There are many sources of guidance on the rules of order for written questions that are already published online. These include the Rules of Order in Chapter 22 of Erskine May as well as guidance on Questions and more detail on the Rules for Questions in the MPs’ Guide to Procedure. For those on the parliamentary network, there is further guidance and training material available on ParliNet. The Head of the Office meets regularly with Members seeking advice on Questions and is happy to meet with any Members who want to discuss any specific concerns or general practice in relation to written questions.

Donations to party members are regulated when made in connection with their political activities within the party. For example, these include campaigning in party leadership elections or candidate selection contests or developing or promoting policies with a view to their adoption by the party. Donations over £500 must be from permissible sources and donations over £2,230 must be reported to the Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Commission has published guidance on donations for party members.

The Electoral Commission can only publish donations to MPs which are offered in connection with their political activities either as an MP or as a party member, and are over the relevant reporting threshold of £2,230 (including aggregations of donations from the same donor). The Register of Members’ Financial Interests is broader and contains information about any financial interest an MP has, or any benefit they receive, which someone else might reasonably consider to influence what they say or do as an MP.

Members must report impermissible or returned donations directly to the Electoral Commission.

There is a Memorandum of Understanding between the Electoral Commission and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards which sets out the agreed administrative arrangements between the two bodies. Where the Electoral Commission has reasonable grounds to suspect that an impermissible donation or regulated transaction has been accepted or entered into, and is investigating the matter, it may as part of this work approach the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The Electoral Commission is responsible for identifying and publishing any donations to MPs that are covered by electoral law. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards upholds the Code of Conduct for MPs agreed by the House of Commons and would take action if an MP breaches their reporting requirements. The Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards gives the Electoral Commission the information it needs to publish details of donations to MPs and regulated transactions involving MPs.

There is a Memorandum of Understanding between the Electoral Commission and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards which sets out the agreed administrative arrangements between the two bodies.

The Electoral Commission has a memorandum of understanding with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, which outlines how the two reporting regimes operate in a way which reduces the administrative burden on MPs. The Commission regularly reviews how the regimes operate and makes recommendations to Parliament to ensure the systems work effectively together and minimise the administrative burden on parliamentarians.