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When do political donations have to be disclosed?

Political donations refer to money, in any increment, given to certain political entities (such as a party, parliamentary candidate, or MP), which are referred to as ‘regulated entities’ in electoral law.

Historically there has been no upper limit on the amount that can be donated in UK politics as long as the donors are ‘permissible’, meaning they are legally allowed to donate. However, the Representation of the People Bill (by amendment) would limit donations from overseas electors to £100,000 a year (if it passes, the £100,000 cap will retroactively apply to donations or loans entered into from 25 March 2026 onwards). There is no upper limit on any other regulated entities.

Permissible donors include individuals on a UK electoral register, most UK-registered companies and UK-registered trade unions. A full list of permissible donors is available on the Electoral Commission’s website.

For donations above a certain threshold, the entity receiving the donation must check and verify the permissibility of the donor.

As well as requirements around permissibility checks, regulated entities must disclose information about donations over a certain threshold (usually to the Electoral Commission), and different information may be required depending on the size of the donation.

The thresholds for permissibility checks and disclosure requirements vary depending on the legal status of the recipient as well as the timing and purpose of the donation for some regulated entities. For MPs and Lords, there are also parliamentary codes of conduct that impose further requirements beyond electoral law.

The table below summarises how the principal rules apply across the different regulated entities. The following sections of the briefing consider each entity in more detail.

For the purpose of this briefing, other forms of political financing, such as state funding and membership fees are not considered to be political donations and are regulated differently. For more on the wider system of political financing in the United Kingdom see House of Commons Library Briefing, Political financing: donations, loans and state funding.

What laws and regulations govern donations?

History of political finance regulation

Political financing in the UK has been regulated since at least the passage of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices (Prevention) Act 1883. This act placed limits on spending by candidates but not on donations. Campaigning was primarily a local candidate-based activity until the development of more centralised (and national) campaign practices during the 20th century.

The notion of donations being problematic – or at least worthy of regulation –developed in popular (and elite) discourse during the 20th century. This was because of what historian of political financing, Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, referred to as a move from the “aristocratic” era of political financing to a “plutocratic” one, in which an increasingly cohesive (and centralised) party system “increased the demand on party coffers”.

However, very little action was taken to introduce wholesale reform of the UK political finance regime – beyond attempts to address concerns around the sale of seats in the House of Lords via the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 – until the passage of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA).

Modern legislation: PPERA

PPERA established a wider statutory framework for political finance. It followed recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life and responded to concerns around spending, donations and transparency. PPERA introduced rules requiring political parties and other regulated entities to record and report donations, and placed spending limits on national election campaigns (for example, parliamentary general elections).

It also amended the Representation of the People Act 1983 (which superseded the Corrupt and Illegal Practices (Prevention) Act 1983) to restrict who could legally donate to candidates, building on the existing system of candidate spending regulation.

Since PPERA, further legislation has amended the rules on political financing, including the Electoral Administration Act 2006, the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 and the Elections Act 2022. Further reforms will also be made in the Representation of the People Bill. 

Political parties

Donations to political parties are primarily regulated through the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA).

When do permissibility checks have to be conducted on donations?

Permissibility checks verify that the donor is legally allowed to give money to regulated entities. Donations to a political party are only legally considered a donation when they total £500 or above from a single donor, and any donations above this require the party to conduct permissibility checks. This is higher than the limit recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) in their fifth report, The Funding of Political Parties in the United Kingdom (1998), which formed the basis of PPERA.

It argued that the limit should be set at £50 on the basis of a) administrative practicality and b) the realities of the way in which many political parties conduct small-scale fundraising exercises.

However, during the bill’s passage the limit was raised to £200. According to the bill’s explanatory notes this was to “alleviate the administrative burden on political parties arising from the controls on donations”.

The £200 limit in PPERA was then uprated to £500 under the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009. This was to take into account the “concerns expressed by parties about the burden of compliance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000”. However, Electoral Commission guidance states that “parties must be alert to situations where it appears a donor is attempting to evade PPERA” by making a series of donations just under the £500 threshold; it is an offence (under section 61 of PPERA) do so.

When do donations have to be reported?

If a donor is permissible, the party can accept the money. They must then report it to the Electoral Commission if the donations from a single donor add up to over £11,180 in a calendar year. The details of the amount and the donor are then published (quarterly) on the commission’s political finance online database.

Once the £11,180 threshold has been reached, further donations from the same source must be reported once they reach £2,230. For example, if an individual donates £6,000 to a party in January, then another £6,000 in March, they will have crossed the initial £11,180 threshold and the party would have to report the £12,000 donation as occurring in Q1. If the same donor then gave a further £3,000 in July, this would cross the new threshold of £2,230 and the party would have to report it as a donation received in Q3.   

Loans and donations count towards the same threshold. So, in the above example, if the individual had donated £6,000 in January, then loaned a party a further £6,000 in March the threshold would still have been crossed. This is what the Electoral Commission calls “grouping benefits”.

Candidates

Donations to candidates at parliamentary general elections are primarily regulated through the Representation of the People Act 1983.

When do permissibility checks have to be conducted on donations to candidates?

Any donation above £50 from a single donor to candidates must go through permissibility checks to verify that the donee is allowed to give (or loan) money to candidates.

Donation rules apply when candidature officially begins. According to Electoral Commission guidance the earliest someone can become a candidate is on the date the UK Parliament is dissolved. If someone declares their candidacy after dissolution, candidacy rules apply from the date of their declaration.

There are no rules for donations that occur before someone becomes a candidate (unless they are a regulated donee under the definitions outlined below, such as an MP, and in that instance they would report donations under those regulations).

Permissibility checks apply on all donations candidates receive above £50. This is because, as the CSPL argued in its 1998 report, The Funding of Political Parties in the United Kingdom, spending limits in constituencies are lower than for national parties (in 1998 they were c. £8,000), so lower donations thresholds are required.

Are candidate donations reported?

Candidate donations are not systematically reported and published on the Electoral Commission website in the same way that donations to political parties are. Rather, a candidate must record details when they accept a donation over £50, to be reported after the election. These details are:

• the name of the donor
• their address
• company number (if required)
• the type of donor
• the amount (if a cash donation) or nature/value (if non-monetary)
• the date the donation was received
• the date the donation was accepted

After the election the candidate must submit a ‘short campaign’ donations return which includes this, and information about any impermissible donations returned. However, the Electoral Commission does not publish all this information for each return, it only publishes aggregate information for all candidates. Short campaign donation returns can often be obtained from the relevant local authority that administered the election.

When announcing the publication of aggregate figures for the 2024 UK parliamentary general election, the Electoral Commission said it “does not have the legal power” to publish the full candidate returns.

Aggregate data for the 2024 and 2019 parliamentary general elections, the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, the 2021 Scottish parliamentary election and the 2021 Senedd Cymru election can be found at, Electoral Commission, Campaign spending: Candidates.

MPs

Under PPERA, MPs are ‘regulated donees’, which means that they must follow certain rules on the donations and loans that they receive. There are also rules around disclosure in the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament.

When do permissibility checks have to be conducted on donations to MPs?

Any donation above £500 must go through permissibility checks. However, unlike other donees, MPs can accept donations from usually impermissible sources “provided that the purpose of the donation is to meet certain qualifying costs for an overseas visit”. These are:

• travel costs (such as flights and car hire)
• accommodation costs
• subsistence costs

The rationale behind this exception is that as a part of their duty as an MP, individuals may be invited on certain overseas visits in connection with their political activities.

Electoral Commission guidance also states that these kinds of donations are only permissible if they “do not exceed a reasonable amount for the costs of the visit”. If costs are simply met by the (usually impermissible) donor or organisation the MP “should make an honest and reasonable estimate of the costs of the trip based on what a similar commercial provider would charge”.

Are MPs’ donations and loans reported?

MPs must report donations and loans over £1,500, as well as other financial interests, to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The commissioner then reports any donations that must be disclosed under PPERA to the Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Commission has produced a detailed explainer for MPs which gives an overview of the obligations an MP has relating to donations and loans received in connection with their political activities. An MP must:

• check that all donations and loans received with a value of over £500 come from a permissible source
• be aware of the different disclosure/registration thresholds outlined in the MPs code of conduct
• report the relevant donations to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards within 28 days of accepting them
• return impermissible donations and loans within 30 days of receipt and report this to the Electoral Commission within 30 days of return
• notify the Electoral Commission if an impermissible donation or loan has been held for more than 30 days

Under PPERA there are also a specific payments (which may be considered donations) which are exempt from reporting requirements, these are:

• volunteer time
• any payment out of public funds for the personal security of MPs
• remunerations and/or allowances paid to MPs (such as salary, payments towards business costs and expenses)
• interest accruing from a donation
• indirect state support provided during an election (such as free postage)
• some – but not all – donations made towards election expenses as a candidate which are already reported in short campaign returns (see above)

The code of conduct for MP’s covers what financial interests must be reported (and when) to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. There are variable reporting thresholds for each of the 10 categories which are:

1. Employment and earnings: over £300 (if from the same source in a calendar year)
2. Donations and loans: over £1,500
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality: £300
4. Visits outside the UK: £300 (if not wholly borne by the MP or through public funds)
5. Gifts and benefits from sources outside the UK: £300
6. Land and property (in the UK and elsewhere): total value of property held over £100,000, and/or over £10,000 income derived from property held in a calendar year
7. Shareholdings: greater than 15% equity in a firm (on preceding 5 April) or greater than £70,000 worth of shares (if less than 15%)
8. Family members employed and remunerated through parliamentary expenses: over £700
9. Family members engaged in lobbying: no threshold (all must be declared)
10. Miscellaneous: no threshold (all must be declared)

MPs are also required to retroactively register their financial interests (and any registerable benefits other than earnings) for the 12 months prior to becoming an MP within one month of their election.

All of the above registration/declarations are made to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and captured within the Register of Members’ Interests. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards then passes on any declarations that are regulated under PPERA to the Electoral Commission, which are published on the Electoral Commission’s political finance database if they meet the reporting threshold of £2,230.

This means that some MPs donations are effectively “double reported” as they will appear on the Register of Members’ Interests and the commission’s political finance database.

Other obligations on MPs, and the interaction between the code of conduct and PPERA, are managed by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

Members of the House of Lords

Members of the House of Lords are required to register their financial interests on the Register of Lords’ Interests, overseen by the Registrar of Lords’ Interests. Unlike MPs they are not always considered ‘regulated donees’ (though they may be if they are, for example, a member of a registered political party). They are, therefore, not automatically subject to the same PPERA-based permissibility requirements that MPs and other ‘regulated donees’ are.

Are Lords’ donations reported?

Donations to members of the House of Lords are primarily regulated through the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Lords (given PPERA does not necessarily apply to them).

There are seven categories of registerable interests, they are:

1. Remunerated employment: no threshold (in other words all paid employment must be declared, though this can be in increments the lowest of which is £0 to £5,000)
2. Shareholdings: variable thresholds (though largely centred around having either a controlling interest or £100,000 in value)
3. Land and property: capital value over £500,000 or over £10,000 in income derived from it per year
4. Sponsorship: over £1,000
5. Overseas visits: no threshold (in other words all overseas visits must be reported unless the costs were fully met by the member or paid for entirely out of state funds)
6. Gifts, benefits or hospitality: over £300
7. Miscellaneous financial interests: over £1,000

Members of the House of Lords are required to submit a completed registration form to the registrar within a month of taking their seat. They are further responsible for making changes in their registerable interests within a month of each change occurring.

If they have not registered their interests, it is a breach of the code for a member to participate in any proceeding to which their interest would be relevant, though they are allowed to vote at the end of said proceeding. If they vote, they must register their relevant interest within 24 hours. All interests stay on the register for one year after the date at which the interest ceased.

The closest analogue to a ‘donation’ in the language of the House of Lords is ‘sponsorship’ (“any form of financial or material support received as a

member of the House of Lords”), though there are elements of category 5 (‘overseas visits’) and category 6 (‘gifts, benefits or hospitality’) which may also meet what would be understood as a ‘donation’ under electoral law (if members were ‘regulated donees’).

However, for simplicity, it is easiest to understand ‘donations’ as analogous to ‘sponsorship’ and therefore the threshold as £1,000. Though, as the code of conduct states, financial interests below £1,000 in certain instances may be declarable “if relevant to the matter under discussion”.

Non-party campaigners

All registered non-party campaigners (commonly called ‘third parties’) are subject to donation controls under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA).

The Electoral Commission keeps a register of non-party campaigners and current examples include 38 Degrees, the Good Law Project and Best For Britain (unions, such as GMB, also appear on the register of non-party campaigners). A third party must register with the UK Electoral Commission if they intend to spend more than £10,000 on regulated campaign activity in the year up to (and including) a UK parliamentary general election (the ‘regulated period’).

Rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland vary. A detailed outline of the rules regarding third party/non-party campaign regulation can be found at Electoral Commission guidance: non-party campaigner.

When do permissibility checks have to be conducted on donations?

At £500, sometimes. Unlike many other regulated entities, third parties are only regulated during the ‘regulated period’. This means that there are no controls on donations outside this time. All donations received under £500, as outlined above, sit outside the scope of PPERA so permissibility checks do not need to be conducted on them.  

The regulated period for non-party campaigners at a UK-wide parliamentary general election is the 365-day period which leads up to (and includes) polling day. For example, the regulated period for the 2024 general election began on 6 July 2023. If an election is called unexpectedly (for example, before the end of the maximum five-year parliamentary term), the regulated period applies retrospectively to the 365 days up to the general election date.

Are non-party campaigner donations reported?

Yes. Registered third parties have to report donations at three different times:

• during the pre-dissolution period (quarterly): All donations
• between the dissolution of parliament and polling day (weekly)
• after the election (if they are required to submit a spending return)

Specific requirements on the reporting of donations vary and are complex (full details can be found in Electoral Commission guidance). However, the threshold for reporting donations is always £7,500 (either as a single donation or as an aggregated donation).

Unincorporated associations

An unincorporated association is a type of organisation that can donate to a political party, such as a members club or a group of councillors. According to the Electoral Commission they are “an association of individuals who have come together to carry out a shared purpose”.

For more on unincorporated associations and how they are regulated see the Commons Library briefing, What is an unincorporated association?

When do permissibility checks have to be conducted on donations?

Donations to unincorporated associations do not need to be permissible, so no permissibility checks are required. But if an unincorporated association then makes a donation to a political party (or other regulated donee) the unincorporated association must be ‘permissible’ and the donee must conduct permissibility checks as described above.

According to the Electoral Commission, an unincorporated association is permissible if it is “a UK-based unincorporated association that is based in and carries on business or other activities in the UK”.

Are unincorporated association donations reported?

Yes. If an unincorporated association makes over £37,320 in political donations to regulated entities in a calendar year, it must begin reporting certain donations that it receives itself to the Electoral Commission.

Electoral Commission guidance states that once an unincorporated association meets the threshold for registration, it must notify the commission about the reportable donations it receives in the calendar year in which it reached the threshold, the previous calendar year and the calendar year following the contribution.

Gifts are anything given or transferred to any office, member, trustee or agent of an unincorporated association in that person’s capacity within the association. They include:

• any donation of money or property
• a bequest
• any subscription or other fee paid for affiliation to, or membership of, the association
• any money spent in paying expenses incurred by the association
• the provision – other than on commercial terms – of any property, services (including that of a person) or facilities for the use or benefit of the association

Gifts from a single source become reportable if they are either more than £11,180 in a calendar year or aggregate to being over £11,180 in a calendar year. Anything under £500 does not count towards this total. Once that £11,180 threshold has been reached once in a calendar year, any additional gifts have to be reported if they have a value of over £2,230.

Unincorporated associations are primarily regulated under the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009. However, there has been longstanding concern that because there are comparatively high declaration thresholds and because donors to unincorporated associations do not have to be permissible, they present a loophole through which foreign money can enter UK politics.

These concerns were raised during the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s Regulating Election Finance review which was published in 2021. However, in a written submission the Conservative Party defended the rules:

Smaller voluntary sector organisations tend to be set up as unincorporated associations. It is healthy for democracy for parties to raise money from such small-scale fundraising. But, as a consequence, heavy-handed compliance regimes (that might be suitable for ‘big business’) is not in the public interest and undermines democratic participation.

The Representation of the People Bill would reduce the threshold for which they have to report political contributions from £37,270 to £11,180. 

For more detail on these proposed changes see Library Briefing, What is an unincorporated association?

Other ‘regulated donees’

There are a number of other organisations and individuals that are considered ‘regulated donees’ under PPERA. They are subject to controls on the acceptance and reporting of donations, though to varying degrees.

There are a second category of ‘regulated donee’ called ‘regulated participants’ (added to PPERA as schedule 7A under the Electoral Administration Act 2006). For ease, the term regulated donee will be used for both.

Regulated donees include:

• members of registered political parties
• members associations
• holders of relevant elective offices

For regulated donees the usual rules around permissibility apply (and permissibility checks have to be conducted on donations over £500).

Members of registered political parties

Members of registered political parties are considered to be ‘individual regulated donees’ under PPERA and therefore have to declare donations and loans if they are either more than £2,230 or aggregate to being over £2,230 in a calendar year from a single donor.

A person is a member of a registered party if they are a member of a political party that is registered with the Electoral Commission. To be registered with the Electoral Commission they must appear on either the register of political parties for Great Britain, or the register of political parties for Northern Ireland.

A donation or loan to a member of a registered political party is only reportable when it relates to a political activity that is carried out in connection with their membership of the party.

The Electoral Commission provides detailed guidance on what this means for all regulated donees. For members of registered political parties this is:

• promoting or procuring the election of any person to any position in the party or to any committee in the party
• promoting or procuring the selection of any person as the party’s candidate for election to relevant office
• promoting or developing policies with a view to their adoption by the party

Two examples provided by the Electoral Commission of what this might look like in practice are

• when a member of a registered party seeks election as that party’s candidate for a specific post (either in local or national elections)
• if a party member wishes to promote the adoption of specific policies and the cost of producing leaflets to distribute at meetings is met by another individual or organisation

The guidance around what ought to be considered donations to a member of a registered political party or holder of elected office (which are separate regulated entities) is complex. However, the difference tends to be when a holder of relevant elective office seeks election to a position within a political party they are regulated as a member of a registered political party. An example given by the Electoral Commission is:

A party leader resigns in Wales and a leadership contest is held to elect a new leader. Each of the sitting MSs standing for leadership of the party receive donations from their supporters. These donations should be treated as donations to the MSs in their capacity as members of a registered party rather than in their capacity as MSs.

Examples of recent reportable donations to holders of relevant elective office can be found on the Electoral Commission’s political finance online database.

Members associations

Members associations have to declare donations and loans if they are either more than £11,180 or aggregate to being over £11,180 in a calendar year.

According to Electoral Commission guidance, “an organisation is a members association if its membership consists wholly or mainly of members of a political party registered with the Electoral Commission”.

Members associations that have recently appeared in the Electoral Commission’s political finance database are:

• Labour Together
• Labour Campaign For Electoral Reform
• Association of Conservative Peers
• Women2Win

A donation or loan to a regulated donee is only regulated if it is made in connection with a regulated donee’s political activities, in their capacity as a regulated donee. For members associations, like members of registered political parties, this is:

• promoting or procuring the election of any person to any position in the party or to any committee in the party
• promoting or procuring the selection of any person as the party’s candidate for election to relevant office
• promoting or developing policies with a view to their adoption by the party

Electoral Commission guidance also notes that members associations “should confirm with the Commission or through legal advice whether any other activities undertaken by them fall within the definition of political activities”.

Holders of relevant elected office

A holder of relevant elected office is considered to be an ‘individual regulated donee’ under PPERA and therefore has to declare donations and loans if they are either more than £2,230 or aggregate to being over £2,230 in a calendar year. 

The Electoral Commission states that a holder of a relevant elected office is:

• a member of the House of Commons, the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd or the Northern Ireland Assembly
• a Police and Crime Commissioner
• a member of any local authority in the UK (excluding parish or community councils)
• a member of the Greater London Authority
• an elected mayor

The political activities of holders of relevant elected office include both party political activities and those concerned with government. This could, as the Electoral Commission outlines, include a Member of the Senedd receiving a donation from a business representative to hold an event in their constituency.

Examples of recent reportable donations to holders of relevant elective office can be found on the Electoral Commission’s political finance online database.

Declaration

Dr Sam Power is Parliamentary Academic Fellow in the Parliament and Constitution Centre at the House of Commons Library. In his capacity as an independent academic, he acted as an expert advisor to the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s Regulating Election Finance review. He has also given evidence to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, the Public Bill Committee for the Representation of the People Bill and the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on matters related to political financing. In July 2026 he was appointed to a five-year term as an Independent Member of the Ethics and Integrity Commission.