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Written question asked by Dan Carden (Labour) on Monday, 6 September 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 September 2021 (named day). It was answered by Chloe Smith (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 September 2021 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

General Elections: Finance

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the UK parliamentary general election spending limit.

Answer

As I announced in my written ministerial statement on 3 December 2020, it is the Government’s intention to review party and candidate spending limits for all polls within the legislative competence of the UK Government, other than local council elections in England which were uprated last year, with a view to uprating them in line with inflation since they were originally set. This will create a baseline for regular and consistent reviews of all limits in future.

In some cases, there has been a significant gap since the last time spending limits were raised - some, including those for political parties at UK parliamentary elections, haven’t changed since 2000. This impacts campaigning ability given inflationary costs of printing and communication, which is vital for parties and candidates to communicate their views with voters. Election spending limits are fixed in absolute terms. By updating for inflation, the limits remain in line with the original intent of Parliament when they were introduced.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
43648
Session
2021-22
Related items
Uprating of Election Spending Limits
Thursday, 3 December 2020
Written statements
House of Commons
Subjects
Finance General elections
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk