Political Parties (Funding and Expenditure) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages

The Political Parties (Funding and Expenditure) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Tyler (Liberal Democrat). The Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on 6 June 2016 and is scheduled to receive its second reading on 10 March 2017.

Setting out the purpose of the Bill, Lord Tyler stated:

This Bill is based on the cross-party draft published by Andrew Tyrie MP, Alan Whitehead MP and Lord Tyler in April 2013, and seeks to fulfil the objectives of the report on this subject by the Committee on Standards in Public Life published in November 2011. The current Bill updates the previous proposals to reflect the various 2015 manifestos commitments of all the main parties seeking to take the big money out of British politics and to regularise the constraints on both party donations and expenditure.

The Bill comprises of 28 clauses and three schedules. It aims to regulate both the funding and expenditure of political parties. This includes making provisions for the phased introduction of a cap on donations to political parties. The Bill also seeks to count membership fees from trade unions and organisations to political parties as individual donations in prescribed circumstances. In addition, the Bill aims to introduce a limit on non-election expenses incurred by political parties. Further, the Bill outlines the functions of the Electoral Commission, an independent body which regulates political finance in the UK, in enforcing the Bill’s provisions. The provisions would apply to the whole of the United Kingdom.