Limits set for party spending in Senedd election

Martin Shipton

Jayne Bryant, the Welsh Cabinet member responsible for elections, has revealed details of how much money candidates will be able to spend during next year’s Senedd election campaign.

In a written statement, Ms Bryant, who is the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, said: “As part of the work to prepare for the Senedd election next year, new campaign expenditure limits must be set. The change to the electoral system means that the existing limits are unsuitable as they are set up for both multi-member regions and single-seat constituencies.

“I am pleased to update the Senedd with the proposed limits for both individual candidates and registered parties. This comes after consultations on both the draft Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order and election campaign expenditure limits for political parties at Senedd elections, as well as detailed engagement with the Electoral Commission.

“The limit for individual candidates will be set in the forthcoming “Conduct Order”, which establishes the rules for the conduct of Senedd elections. That limit must be on the recommendation of the Electoral Commission, which has now been received. In line with that recommendation, the proposal in the Conduct Order, which will be laid after Easter recess, is for a limit of £52,500. This is the same level as the proposed limit for a party list of one candidate, ensuring parity.

“Limits for registered parties are set in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, and draft regulations to revise those limits will be laid before the Senedd in Summer term. These regulations can only be made with the consent of the Electoral Commission, and though formal consent cannot be requested until the draft regulations are complete, in-principle consent has been received on the basis of the following limits:

“For a party list of one candidate, the limit proposed is £52,500. This is then proposed to increase by £3,500 for every additional candidate on the list, up to a maximum of £70,000 for a list of six or more. This provides a similar maximum limit to the current system for a party and its candidates standing in every constituency.

“Both pieces of secondary legislation will be laid before the Senedd during the Summer term along with explanatory memoranda which will set out in more detail the process undertaken to establish these limits. I look forward to the scrutiny of these important instruments.”

Spending

The Electoral Commission has published on its website details of what is counted as spending, and what isn’t.

Activities included in campaign spending are:

Party political broadcasts, if your party is entitled to one;

Party advertising of any kind. For example, street banners, websites or YouTube videos;

Unsolicited material sent to voters about the party. For example, letters or leaflets you send that are not in response to specific queries;

The manifesto and other documents setting out your party’s policies;

Market research or other methods of finding out which party people intend to vote for;

Party press conferences or other dealings with the media;

Party rallies and events, including the cost of people’s attendance, and any goods, services or facilities provided;

Transport in connection with promoting or publicising your party.

Relevant costs

The Electoral Commission states: “You must include any relevant costs associated with each activity. For example, if you are producing leaflets or advertising, you must include the design and distribution costs. You must also include overheads or administrative costs which are associated with each activity. All costs must include VAT, even if you can recover VAT payments.”

Activities not included in campaign spending are:

Reasonable expenses attributable to the protection of persons or property, for example hiring security, using a PO Box to avoid publicising a home or office address on imprints, or purchasing antivirus software for protecting campaign computers

Permanent, fixed term or temporary staff costs where the staff member has a direct employment contract with the party

Volunteer time

Office running costs, except costs that are higher than usual because of campaigning, such as telephone bills

People’s travel, food and accommodation costs while they campaign, unless you reimburse them

Expenses met out of public funds. For example, security costs for VIP visits

Material sent only to your members.