Representation of the People Act 1983

Election expenses

72 Making of contracts through election agent

(1) The election agent of a candidate shall appoint every polling agent, clerk and messenger employed for payment on behalf of the candidate at an election, and hire every committee room hired on behalf of the candidate.

(2) A contract by which any election expenses are incurred shall not be enforceable against a candidate at the election unless made by the candidate himself or by his election agent, but this subsection does not relieve the candidate from the consequences of any corrupt or illegal practice having been committed by his agent.

(3) The references in this section to an election agent shall, in relation to a parliamentary election where sub-agents are allowed, be taken as references to the election agent acting by himself or a sub-agent.

73 Payment of expenses through election agent

(1) Except as permitted by section 74 below, or in pursuance of section 78 or section 79 below, no payment and no advance or deposit shall be made—

(a) by a candidate, or

(b) by any agent on behalf of a candidate, or

(c) by any other person,

at any time in respect of election expenses otherwise than by or through the candidate's election agent.

(2) Every payment made by an election agent in respect of any election expenses shall, except where less than £2, be vouched for by a bill stating the particulars and by a receipt.

(3) The references in the foregoing provisions of this section to an election agent shall, in relation to a parliamentary election where sub-agents are allowed, be taken as references to the election agent acting by himself or a sub-agent.

(4) All money provided by any person other than the candidate for any election expenses, whether as gift, loan, advance or deposit, shall be paid to the candidate or his election agent and not otherwise.

(5) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not be deemed to apply to any sum disbursed by any person out of his own money for any small expense legally incurred by him if the sum is not repaid to him.

(6) A person who makes any payment, advance or deposit in contravention of subsection (1) above, or pays in contravention of subsection (4) above any money so provided as mentioned above, shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

74 Candidate's personal expenses, and petty expenses

(1) The candidate at an election may pay any personal expenses incurred by him on account of or in connection with or incidental to the election, but the amount which a candidate at a parliamentary election may pay shall not exceed £100, and any further personal expenses so incurred by him shall be paid by his election agent.

(2) The candidate "hall send to his election agent within the time limited by this Act for sending in claims a written statement of the amount of personal expenses paid as mentioned above by the candidate.

(3) Any person may, if so authorised in writing by the candidate's election agent, pay any necessary expenses for stationery, postage, telegrams (or any similar means of communication) and other petty expenses, to a total amount not exceeding that named in the authority, but any excess above the total amount so named shall be paid by the election agent.

(4) A statement of the particulars of payments made by any person so authorised shall be sent to the election agent within the time limited by this Act for sending in claims, and shall be vouched for by a bill containing that person's receipt.

75 Prohibition of expenses not authorised by election agent

(1) No expenses shall, with a view to promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at an election, be incurred by any person other than the candidate, his election agent and persons authorised in writing by the election agent on account—

(a) of holding public meetings or organising any public display; or

(b) of issuing advertisements, circulars or publications; or

(c) of otherwise presenting to the electors the candidate or his views or the extent or nature of his backing or disparaging another candidate,

but paragraph (c) of this subsection shall not—

(i) restrict the publication of any matter relating to the election in a newspaper or other periodical or in a broadcast made by the British Broadcasting Corporation or the Independent Broadcasting Authority; or

(ii) apply to any expenses not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of 50p which may be incurred by an individual and are not incurred in pursuance of a plan suggested by or concerted with others, or to expenses incurred by any person in travelling or in living away from home or similar personal expenses.

(2) Where a person incurs any expenses required by this section to be authorised by the election agent—

(a) that person shall within 14 days after the date of publication of the result of the election send to the appropriate officer a return of the amount of those expenses, stating the election at which and the candidate in whose support they were incurred, and

(b) the return shall be accompanied by a declaration made by that person (or in the case of an association or body of persons, by a director, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of the association or body) verifying the return and giving particulars of the matters for which the expenses were incurred,

but this subsection does not apply to any person engaged or employed for payment or promise of payment by the candidate or his election agent.

(3) The return and declaration under the foregoing provisions of this section shall be in the prescribed form, and the authority received from the election agent shall be annexed to and deemed to form part of the return.

(4) A copy of every return and declaration made under subsection (2) above in relation to a parliamentary election in England, Wales or Northern Ireland shall be sent to the Clerk of the Crown within 14 days after the date of publication of the result of the election by the person making the return or declaration, and rule 57 of the parliamentary elections rules applies to any documents sent to the Clerk of the Crown under this subsection. In this subsection references to the Clerk of the Crown in relation to an election in Northern Ireland are references to the Clerk of the Crown for Northern Ireland.

(5) If a person—

(a) incurs, or aids, abets, counsels or procures any other person to incur, any expenses in contravention of this section, or

(b) knowingly makes the declaration required by subsection (2) falsely,

he shall be guilty of a corrupt practice; and if a person fails to send any declaration or return or a copy of it as required by this section he shall be guilty of an illegal practice, but—

(i) the court before whom a person is convicted under this subsection may, if they think it just in the special circumstances of the case, mitigate or entirely remit any incapacity imposed by virtue of section 173 below; and

(ii) a candidate shall not be liable, nor shall his election be avoided, for a corrupt or illegal practice under this subsection committed by an agent without his consent or connivance.

(6) Where any act or omission of an association or body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, is an offence declared to be a corrupt or illegal practice by this section, any person who at the time of the act or omission was a director, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of the association or body, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence, unless he proves—

(a) that the act or omission took place without his consent or connivance; and

(b) that he exercised all such diligence to prevent the com mission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.

76 Limitation of election expenses

(1) No sum shall be paid and no expense shall be incurred by a candidate at an election or his election agent, whether before, during or after an election, on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the election, in excess of the maximum amount specified in this section, and a candidate or election agent knowingly acting in contravention of this subsection shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) That maximum amount is—

(a) for a candidate at a parliamentary election—

(i) in a county constituency, £2,700 together with an additional 3.1p for every entry in the register of electors to be used at the election (as first published); and

(ii) in a borough constituency, £2,700 together with an additional 2.3p for every entry in the register of electors to be used at the election (as first published);

(b) for a candidate at a local government election—

(i) at an election to the Greater London Council, £500 together with an additional 3p for every entry in the register of electors to be used at the election (as first published);

(ii) at any other local government election, £120 together with an additional 2.4p for every entry in the register of electors to be used at the election (as first published).

(3) The Secretary of State may by order vary a maximum amount of candidates' election expenses specified in subsection (2) above where in his opinion there has been a change in the value of money since the last occasion on which that amount was varied by such an order, and the variation shall be such as in his opinion is justified by that change.

An order under this subsection shall not be made unless a draft of the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament; and the power to make the order is exercisable by statutory instrument.

(4) If the register to be used at the election is not published before the day of publication of the notice of election then for any reference in subsection (2) above to an entry in that register there shall be substituted a reference to an entry in the electors lists for that register as first published which gives the name of a person appearing from those lists to be entitled to be registered.

(5) The maximum amount mentioned above for a candidate at a parliamentary election is not required to cover the candidate's personal expenses.

(6) Where at an election a poll is countermanded or abandoned by reason of a candidate's death, the maximum amount of election expenses shall, for any of the other candidates who then remain validly nominated, be twice or, if there has been a previous increase under this subsection, three times what it would have been but for any increase under this subsection; but the maximum amount shall not be affected for any candidate by the change in the timing of the election or of any step in the proceedings at the election.

77 Expenses limit for joint candidates at local election

(1) Where there are two or more joint candidates at a local government election the maximum amount mentioned in section 76 above shall, for each of those joint candidates, be reduced by a quarter or, if there are more than two joint candidates, by one-third.

(2) Where two or more candidates appoint the same election agent, or by themselves or any agent or agents—

(a) employ or use the services of the same clerks or messengers at the election, or

(b) hire or use the same committee rooms for the election, or

(c) publish a joint address, circular or notice at the election,

those candidates shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be joint candidates; but—

(i) the employment and use of the same clerk, messenger or committee room, if accidental or casual, or of a trivial and unimportant character, shall not be deemed of itself to constitute persons joint candidates;

(ii) nothing in this subsection shall prevent candidates from ceasing to be joint candidates.

(3) Where—

(a) any excess of expenses above the maximum allowed for one of two or more joint candidates has arisen owing to his having ceased to be a joint candidate, or to his having become a joint candidate after having begun to conduct his election as a separate candidate,

(b) the change was made in good faith,

(c) the excess is not more than under the circumstances is reasonable, and

(d) the total election expenses of the candidate do not exceed the maximum amount allowed for a separate candidate,

the excess shall be deemed to have arisen from a reasonable cause for the purposes of section 167 below.

78 Time for sending in and paying claims

(1) Every claim against a candidate or his election agent in respect of election expenses which is not sent in to the election agent within 14 days after the day on which the result of the election is declared shall be barred and not paid.

(2) All election expenses shall be paid within 28 days after that day.

(3) An election agent who pays a claim in contravention of subsection (1) or makes a payment in contravention of subsection (2) above shall be guilty of an illegal practice; but where the election court reports that it has been proved to the court by the candidate that any payment was made by an election agent without the sanction or connivance of the candidate—

(a) the candidate's election shall not be void, nor

(b) shall he be subject to any incapacity under this Act by reason only of that payment having been made in contravention of this section.

(4) The claimant or the candidate or his election agent may apply to the High Court or to a county court for leave to pay a claim for any election expenses, although sent in after that period of 14 days or although sent in to the candidate and not to the election agent, and the court on cause shown to their satisfaction may by order grant the leave.

In relation to an application in respect of expenses for a local government election in Scotland the reference in this subsection to the High Court shall be omitted.

(5) Any sum specified in the order of leave may be paid by the candidate or his election agent and when paid in pursuance of the leave shall not be deemed to be in contravention of subsection (2) above.

(6) Except in Scotland, the jurisdiction vested by subsection (4) above in the High Court in matters relating to parliamentary elections shall, subject to rules of court, be exercised by—

(a) one of the judges for the time being on the rota for the trial of parliamentary election petitions,

(b) in Northern Ireland, one of the judges of the High Court or the Court of Appeal for the time being selected under section 108 of the [1978 c. 23.] Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978,

sitting either in court or at chambers, or by a master of the Supreme Court in manner directed by and subject to an appeal to those judges.

(7) The jurisdiction vested by subsection (4) in a county court may, except in Northern Ireland, be exercised otherwise than in open court and, in Northern Ireland, shall be exercised in such manner as may be provided by rules of court.

An appeal lies to the High Court from any order of a county court made by virtue of subsection (4).

79 Disputed claims

(1) If the election agent disputes any claim sent in to him within the period of 14 days mentioned in section 78 above or refuses or fails to pay the claim within the period of 28 days so mentioned, the claim shall be deemed to be a disputed claim.

(2) The claimant may, if he thinks fit, bring an action for a disputed claim in any competent court, and any sum paid by the candidate or his agent in pursuance of the judgment or order of the court shall not be deemed to be in contravention of section 73(1) above or of section 78(2).

(3) If the defendant in the action admits his liability but disputes the amount of the claim, that amount shall, unless the court on the plaintiff's application otherwise directs, be forthwith referred for taxation—

(a) to a Circuit judge nominated under subsection (1)(a) of section 68 of the [1981 c. 54.] Supreme Court Act 1981, or

(b) to the master, registrar or other proper officer of the court,

and the amount found due on the taxation shall be the amount to be recovered in the action in respect of the claim.

(4) Subsections (4) to (7) of section 78 apply in relation to a disputed claim as they apply in relation to a claim for election expenses sent in after that period of 14 days.

80 Election agent's claim

So far as circumstances admit, this Act applies to an election agent's claim for his remuneration and to its payment in like manner as if he were any other creditor, and if any difference arises about the amount of the claim, the claim shall be a disputed claim within the meaning of this Act and be dealt with accordingly.

81 Return as to election expenses

(1) Within 35 days after the day on which the result of the election is declared, the election agent of every candidate at the election shall transmit to the appropriate officer a true return in the form set out in Schedule 3 to this Act, or to the like effect, containing as respects that candidate a statement of all payments made by the election agent together with all the bills and receipts.

(2) The return shall deal under a separate heading or subheading with any expenses included in it—

(a) as respects which a return is required to be made under section 75(2) above ; or

(b) which are on account of the remuneration or expenses of speakers at public meetings.

(3) The return shall also contain as respects that candidate—

(a) a statement of the amount of personal expenses, if any, paid by the candidate;

(b) a statement of all disputed claims of which the election agent is aware;

(c) a statement of all the unpaid claims, if any, of which the election agent is aware, in respect of which application has been or is about to be made to the High Court or county court;

(d) a statement of all money, securities and equivalent, of money received by the election agent from the candidate or any other person for the purposes of election expenses incurred or to be incurred, with a statement of the name of every person from whom they may have been received.

(4) Where the candidate is his own election agent, a statement of all money, securities and equivalent of money paid by the candidate shall be substituted in the return as to election expenses for the statement of money, securities and equivalent of money received by the election agent from the candidate.

(5) Where after the date at which the return as to election expenses is transmitted, leave is given by the court under section 78(4) above for any claim to be paid, the candidate or his election agent shall, within seven days after its payment, transmit to the appropriate officer a return of the sums paid in pursuance of the leave, accompanied by a copy of the order of the court giving the leave, and in default he shall be deemed to have failed to comply with the requirements of this section without such authorised excuse as is mentioned in section 86 below.

82 Declarations as to election expenses

(1) The return transmitted under section 81(1) above shall be accompanied by a declaration made by the election agent in the form in Schedule 3 to this Act.

(2) At the same time that the election agent transmits that return, or within seven days afterwards, the candidate shall transmit or cause to be transmitted to the appropriate officer a declaration made by him in the form in that Schedule.

(3) Where the candidate is out of the United Kingdom when the return is so transmitted—

(a) the declaration required by subsection (2) above may be made by him within 14 days after his return to the United Kingdom, and

(b) in that case, the declaration shall be forthwith trans mitted to the appropriate officer,

but the delay authorised by this provision in making the declaration shall not exonerate the election agent from complying with the provisions of this Act relating to the return and declaration as to election expenses.

(4) An election agent's or a candidate's declaration as to election expenses under this section may be made either before a justice of the peace or before any person who is—

(a) in England and Wales, the chairman or proper officer of the Greater London Council, a county council or a district council, or the mayor or proper officer of a London borough;

(b) in Scotland, the proper officer of a regional, islands or district council;

(c) in Northern Ireland, the clerk of a district council.

(5) Whore the candidate is his own election agent, the declaration by an election agent as to election expenses need not be made and the declaration by the candidate as to election expenses shall be modified as specified in the form in Schedule 3.

(6) If a candidate or election agent knowingly makes the declaration required by this section falsely, he shall be guilty of a corrupt practice.

83 Where no return and declarations needed at parliamentary elections

Notwithstanding anything in sections 81 and 82 above, no return or declaration as to election expenses shall be required in the case of a person—

(a) who is a candidate at a parliamentary election, but is so only because he has been declared by others to be a candidate; and

(b) who has not consented to the declaration or taken any part as a candidate in the election.

84 Penalty for failure as respects return or declarations

Subject to the provisions of section 86 below, if a candidate or election agent fails to comply with the requirements of section 81 or section 82 above he shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

85 Penalty for sitting or voting where no return and declarations transmitted

(1) If, in the case of any candidate, the return and declarations as to election expenses are not transmitted before the expiry of the time limited for the purpose, that candidate shall not, after the expiry of that time, sit or vote in the House of Commons as member for the constituency for which the election was held until—

(a) either that return and those declarations have been transmitted, or

(b) the date of the allowance of an authorised excuse for the failure to transmit that return and those declarations,

and if he sits or votes in contravention of this subsection he shall forfeit £100 for every day on which he so sits or votes.

(2) In the application of subsection (1) above to a candidate at a local government election—

(a) the reference to sitting or voting in the House of Commons for the constituency for which the election was held shall be taken as a reference to sitting or voting in the council for the local government area for which the election was held; and

(b) £50 shall be substituted for £100 and, instead of civil proceedings for a penalty, summary proceedings may be instituted under the [1980 c. 43.] Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, or, in Scotland, in the sheriff court, and the person charged shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding the amount of the penalty which would be recoverable in civil proceedings.

(3) A proceeding for an offence under this section shall be commenced within one year after the offence was committed and the time so limited by this section shall, in the case of any proceeding under the [1980 c. 43.] Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, be substituted for any limitation of time contained in that Act.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) above—

(a) where the service or execution of the writ or other pro cess on or against the alleged offender is prevented by the absconding or concealment or act of the alleged offender, the issue of a writ or other process shall be deemed to be a commencement of a proceeding; but,

(b) where paragraph (a) does not apply, the service or execution of the writ or other process on or against the alleged offender, and not its issue, shall be deemed to be the commencement of the proceeding.

(5) Subsections (3) and (4) above do not apply in Scotland;

86 Authorised excuses for failures as to return and declarations

(1) A candidate or his election agent may apply for relief under this section to—

(a) the High Court, except in relation to a local government election in Scotland;

(b) an election court; or

(c) a county court.

(2) Relief under this section may be granted—

(a) to a candidate, in respect of any failure to transmit the return and declarations as to election expenses, or any part of them, or in respect of any error or false statement in them; or

(b) to an election agent, in respect of the failure to transmit the return and declarations which he was required to transmit, or any part of them, or in respect of any error or false statement in them.

(3) The application for relief may be made on the ground that the failure, error or false statement arose—

(a) by reason of the applicant's illness; or

(b) where the applicant is the candidate, by reason of the absence, death, illness or misconduct of his election agent or sub-agent or of any clerk or officer of such agent; or

(c) where the applicant is the election agent, by reason of the death or illness of any prior election agent of the candidate, or of the absence, death, illness or misconduct of any sub-agent, clerk or officer of any election agent of the candidate ; or

(d) by reason of inadvertence or any reasonable cause of a like nature,

and not by reason of any want of good faith on the applicant's part.

(4) The court may—

(a) after such notice of the application in the constituency or local government area, as the case may be, as it considers fit, and

(b) on production of such evidence of the grounds stated in the application and of the good faith of the application, and otherwise, as it considers fit,

make such order for allowing an authorised excuse for the failure, error or false statement as it considers just.

(5) Where it is proved to the court by the candidate—

(a) that any act or omission of the election agent in relation to the return and declarations was without the sanction or connivance of the candidate, and

(b) that the candidate took all reasonable means for preventing the act or omission,

the court shall relieve the candidate from the consequences of the act or omission of his election agent.

(6) An order under subsection (4) above may make the allowance conditional on the making of the return and declaration in a modified form or within an extended time, and upon the compliance with such other terms as to the court seem best calculated for carrying into effect the objects of this Part of this Act.

(7) An order under subsection (4) shall relieve the applicant for the order from any liability or consequences under this Act in respect of the matter excused by the order.

(8) The date of the order, or if conditions and terms are to be complied with, the date at which the applicant fully complies with them, is referred to in this Act as the date of the allowance of the excuse.

(9) Except in Scotland, the jurisdiction vested by the foregoing provisions of this section in the High Court in matters relating to parliamentary elections shall, subject to rules of court, be exercised by—

(a) one of the judges for the time being on the rota for the trial of parliamentary election petitions,

(b) in Northern Ireland, one of the judges of the High Court or the Court of Appeal for the time being selected under section 108 of the [1978 c. 23.] Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978,

sitting either in court or at chambers, but shall not be exercisable by a master.

(10) The jurisdiction vested by this section in a county court may, except in Northern Ireland, be exercised otherwise than in open court and, in Northern Ireland, shall be exercised in such manner as may be provided by rules of court.

(11) An appeal lies to the High Court from any order of a county court made by virtue of this section.

87 Court's power to require information from election agent or sub-agent

(1) Where on an application under section 86 above it appears to the court that any person who is or has been an election agent or sub-agent has refused or failed to make such return, or to supply such particulars, as will enable the candidate and his election agent respectively to comply with the provisions of this Act as to the return or declarations as to election expenses, the court, before making an order under that section, shall order that person to attend before the court.

(2) The court shall on the attendance of that person, unless he shows cause to the contrary, order him—

(a) to make the return and declaration, or

(b) to deliver a statement of the particulars required to be contained in the return,

as the court considers just, within such time, to such person and in such manner as it may direct, or may order him to be examined with respect to the particulars.

(3) If a person fails to comply with any order of the court under this section, the court may order him to pay a fine not exceeding £500.

88 Publication of time and place for inspection of returns and declarations

At a parliamentary election—

(a) the returning officer shall, within 10 days after the end of the time allowed for transmitting to him returns as to election expenses, publish in not less than two newspapers circulating in the constituency for which the election was held, and shall send to each of the election agents, a notice of the time and place at which the returns and declarations (including the accompanying documents) can be inspected ; but

(b) if any return or declaration has not been received by the returning officer before the notice is despatched for publication, the notice shall so state, and a like notice about that return or declaration, if afterwards received, shall within 10 days after the receipt be published in like manner and sent to each of the election agents other than the agent who is in default or is agent for the candidate in default.

89 Inspection of returns and declarations

(1) Any returns or declarations (including the accompanying documents) sent to the appropriate officer under section 75, section 81 or section 82 above—

(a) shall be kept at the appropriate officer's office or some convenient place appointed by him, and

(b) shall at all reasonable times during the two years next after they are received by him be open to inspection by any person on payment of the prescribed fee,

and the appropriate officer shall on demand and at the prescribed fee provide copies of them or any part of them.

(2) After the expiry of those two years the appropriate officer—

(a) may cause those returns and declarations (including the accompanying documents) to be destroyed, or

(b) if the candidate or his election agent so require, shall return them to the candidate.

(3) Any returns or declarations sent under section 75 shall be returned not to the candidate (if he or his election agent so require) but to the person sending them, if he so requires.

90 Election expenses at elections where election agent not required

(1) In relation to an election of parish councillors in England or of community councillors in Wales—

(a) section 76(1) above has effect as if for the references to an election agent there were substituted references to any agent of the candidate;

(b) sections 72 to 75 and 78 to 89 above do not apply, and instead the provisions of Schedule 4 to this Act have effect but the form of declaration as to election expenses shall be that prescribed by rules under section 36 above relating to the election of parish or, as the case may be, community councillors, or a form to the like effect.

(2) At an election under the local government Act which is not a local government election, sections 72 to 89 do not apply, and if a candidate at that election or any person on behalf of a candidate at that election knowingly pays any sum or incurs any expense, whether before, during or after that election, on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the election he shall be guilty of an illegal practice.