In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the Electoral Commission is the national
election commission, created in 2001 as a result of the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important pa ...
. It is an independent agency that regulates party and
election finance and sets standards for how elections should be run.
History
The Electoral Commission was created following a recommendation by the fifth report of the
Committee on Standards in Public Life
The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code o ...
.
The Commission's mandate was set out in the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important pa ...
(PPERA), and ranges from the regulation of political donations and expenditure by political and third parties through to promoting greater participation in the electoral process. The
Electoral Administration Act 2006
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed on 11 July 2006.
Among its main provisions, the Act:
* Provides a legislative framework for setting up a "Coordinated Online Record of Electors", kn ...
required local authorities to review all polling stations, and to provide a report on the reviews to the Electoral Commission.
The
Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 granted the Electoral Commission a variety of new supervisory and investigatory powers. It fills significant gaps in the commission's current powers, the Act also provides a new range of flexible civil sanctions, both financial and non-financial are currently proposed to extend to regulated donees as well as political parties.
The Act also permitted the introduction of individual electoral registration in Great Britain and made changes to the structure of the Electoral Commission, including allowing for the appointment of four new electoral commissioners who are nominated by political parties.
There was widespread controversy surrounding the
2010 UK general election including allegations of fraudulent postal voting,
polling stations being unprepared for an evening surge of voters,
policing of voters protesting at one polling station,
and only enough ballot papers for 80% of voters. The Electoral Commission was also criticized for its handling of the election.
Responsibilities and objectives
Integrity and transparency of party election finance
As the regulator of political party funding in the UK, the Commission's role is to ensure the integrity and transparency of party and election finance.
Political parties must submit annual statements of accounts, detailing income and expenditure, to the Electoral Commission. The Commission publishes these on its website. Political parties and regulated donees are required to submit reports of all donations they receive to the Commission. The Commission maintains a publicly available and searchable register of these donations on its website.
At general elections to the UK Parliament, EU Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly political parties are required to submit campaign spending returns to the Electoral Commission.
The Commission may impose financial civil penalties on political parties and their accounting units if they fail to submit donation and loans returns, campaign spending return or statements of account. The Commission also has the power to seek forfeiture of impermissible donations accepted by political parties.
Registering political parties
The Commission registers political parties and regulates party compliance. The Commission maintains the registers of political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Electoral registers and the electoral registration process
The commission produces guidance and gives advice on
electoral registration to
electoral registration officers in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. The commission has published performance standards for electoral registration in Great Britain. Electoral registration officers are required to report against these standards and the commission will make this information publicly available.
As part of this work, the commission runs a series of public awareness campaigns ahead of elections and throughout the year to encourage people to register to vote. These focus on audiences that research indicates are less likely to be on the electoral register, including recent home-movers, students and UK citizens living overseas.
Well-run elections and referendums
The Commission produces guidance and gives advice on electoral administration to
returning officers and electoral administrators in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. The Commission has set performance standards for returning officers and referendum counting officers in Great Britain. These standards do not apply to local government elections in Scotland as they are a devolved matter. The Commission has a statutory duty to produce reports on the administration of certain elections (for example
UK Parliamentary general elections) and may be asked to report on other types of election (such as
local government elections).
EU seat distribution
The Electoral Commission was responsible for recommending which regions were allocated how many of the
73 seats that the United Kingdom held at the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020.
Referendum responsibilities
The Electoral Commission has a number of responsibilities in relation to
referendums
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
. These include:
*commenting on the wording of the referendum question (the government is responsible for proposing the wording)
*registration of campaigners
*designating lead campaign organisations and the making of grants
*monitoring referendum expenditure limits and donations
*certifying and announcing the result.
*As with other electoral events, the Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to prepare and publish a report on the administration of a relevant referendum and to give guidance and advice to administrators and campaigners.
*The chair of the commission, or someone appointed by the chair, will also be appointed as Chief Counting Officer.
As of 2017, the Electoral Commission has overseen the holding of two UK-wide referendums. The first was the
2011 AV Referendum, and the second and most notable was the
2016 EU Referendum
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
. On both occasions the then chair of the Electoral Commission
Jenny Watson acted as the appointed Chief Counting Officer. The commission also oversaw the
2004 North East England Devolution Referendum
The North East England devolution referendum was an all postal ballot referendum that took place on 4 November 2004 throughout North East England on whether or not to establish an elected assembly for the region. Devolution referendums in the ...
, the
2011 Welsh Devolution Referendum
The Referendum on the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales was a non-binding referendum held in Wales on 3 March 2011 on whether the National Assembly for Wales should have full law-making powers in the twenty subject areas where ...
and also the
2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. The commission has no legal position in the legislation concerning referendums proposed by the devolved Scottish and Welsh administrations.
Organisation
Executive Team and Commissioners
* Bob Posner, Chief Executive. Formerly Director of Political Finance and Regulation and Legal Counsel, he was appointed Chief Executive in April 2019 having served as interim since January 2019 following the departure of Claire Bassett.
* Aisla Irvine, Director of Electoral Administration and Guidance
*Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation
*Craig Westwood, Director of Communications, Policy and Research
*Kieran Rix, Director of Finance and Corporate Services
From 1 October 2010, additional Commissioners serve on a part-time basis who are nominated by the leaders of political parties, scrutinised by the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission and approved by the House of Commons by means of an Address to the Queen requesting their appointment. Those nominated by the three largest parties serve terms of four years, while the Commissioner nominated by a smaller party serves for a two-year term. The appointments of nominated Commissioners are renewable once.
These current Commissioners are:
*
Alasdair Morgan
Alasdair Neil Morgan (born 21 April 1945) is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was Depute Leader of the SNP from 1990–91 and served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Galloway and Upper Nithsd ...
* Sarah Chambers
*
Lord Gilbert of Panteg
*Professor Dame
Elan Closs Stephens
Dame Elan Closs Stephens (' Roberts; born 16 June 1948) is a Welsh educator and Wales' representative on the BBC Board. She specialises in cultural and broadcasting policy. She also serves as a non-executive director of the Welsh Government's Boa ...
CBE
*
Joan Walley
Joan Lorraine Walley (born 23 January 1949) is a British Labour Party politician, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent North from the 1987 general election until 2015.
Early life
She attended Biddulph Grammar School (now ...
* Rob Vincent CBE
National commissions
To reflect the views of stakeholders and the distinctive procedures and practices in the
countries of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises three constituent countries and a region: England, Scotland, and Wales (which collectively make up the region of Great Britain), as well as Northern Ireland, ...
there are devolved electoral commissions for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
English regional offices
Since February 2007, the Commission has had regional offices across England in the South West, Eastern and South East, London, Midlands, and North of England regions.
Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission
The Electoral Commission is answerable to Parliament via the Speaker's Committee (established by PPERA 2000). The Commission must submit an annual estimate of income and expenditure to the Committee. The Committee, made up of Members of Parliament, is responsible for answering questions on behalf of the Commission. The Member who takes questions for the Speaker's Committee is
Bridget Phillipson
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (born 19 December 1983) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Education since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2 ...
.
Parliamentary Parties Panels (PPP)
The PPP is composed of representatives from all UK parliamentary political parties with two or more sitting MPs. The PPP was established by PPERA and meets quarterly to submit views to the Commission on matters affecting political parties.
There are equivalent non-statutory bodies for the devolved legislatures in Scotland (Scottish Parliament Political Parties Panel), Wales (Wales Political Parties Panel) and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Assembly Parties Panel).
Publications
The commission conducts a wide variety of research into electoral administration, electoral registration and the integrity and transparency of party finance, and a variety of guidance materials for political parties, regulated donees, and electoral administrators.
Criticism
On 5 June 2015,
Lord Nigel Vinson criticized the Electoral Commission for its failure to remain politically non-partisan and called for it to be reformed.
On 14 September 2018, whilst the British
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...
agreed that the
Vote Leave
Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leav ...
campaign during the EU referendum had broken the law on spending limits, it also ruled that the Electoral Commission had misinterpreted the rules prior to the referendum taking place in advice it gave to the Vote Leave campaign, allowing them to break the law without even being aware. Anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Adonis
Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, (born Andreas Adonis; 22 February 1963) is a British Labour Party politician and journalist who served in HM Government for five years in the Blair ministry and the Brown ministry. He served as Secretary of State ...
criticized the commission's incompetence, and said that "a rather more fit and proper body" should be in charge of any future referendums that might take place.
On 13 May 2020, during
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...
, Conservative MP
Peter Bone
Peter William Bone (born 19 October 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons in 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wellingborough since 2005. He campaigned for Brexi ...
attacked the Electoral Commission for its investigations into four separate members of pro-Leave campaigns, who were all found innocent of any wrongdoing. He called the commission "politically corrupt, totally biased and morally bankrupt".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded by saying that he had hoped "all those who spent so much time and energy drawing attention to their supposed guilt would spend just as long drawing attention to their genuine innocence".
On 29 August 2020, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party
Amanda Milling
Amanda Anne Milling (born 12 March 1975) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cannock Chase since the 2015 general election. She served as Minister without Portfolio in the UK cabinet and, alongside Ben Elliot, as C ...
called for major reform of the Commission in a piece in
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
, accusing the organisation of a "lack of accountability" and of operating by an "unclear rulebook".
Proposed changes to legislation governing the Commission
In February 2022, the Commission sent a public letter to ministers expressing concern about proposed changes to legislation governing the operation of the Commission. The letter said that the proposed provision in the elections bill for ministers to draw up a “strategy and policy statement”, enabling the government to guide the work of the commission, was “inconsistent with the role that an independent electoral commission plays in a healthy democracy” . The letter was signed by the full board of the commission except the Conservative peer Stephen Gilbert.
See also
*
Election commission for similar organizations in other countries
*Political events overseen by the Electoral Commission:
**
Elections in the United Kingdom
**
Referendums in the United Kingdom
*
:Boundary commissions in the United Kingdom
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2001 establishments in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
Elections in the United Kingdom
Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government
Political funding in the United Kingdom