Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

64 Exemptions from section 63

(1) Section 63(1) shall not apply in relation to a registered party in respect of a general election period if the party has made an exemption declaration which covers the general election in question.

(2) A registered party shall be taken to have made an exemption declaration which covers a particular general election if a declaration that the party does not intend to have any candidates at that election—

(a) is signed by the responsible officers of the party; and

(b) is sent to the Commission within the period of seven days beginning with the date mentioned in section 63(6)(a).

(3) A registered party shall also be taken to have made an exemption declaration which covers a particular general election if the party’s application for registration was accompanied by a declaration that the party was not intending to have candidates at parliamentary elections and either—

(a) the poll for the general election in question takes place within the period of twelve months beginning with the date of its registration; or

(b) the declaration has been confirmed in the party’s most recent notification given to the Commission under section 32 and the poll for the general election in question takes place within the period of twelve months beginning with the date when that notification was so given.

(4) An exemption declaration shall, however, not cover a particular general election if the party in question withdraws its declaration by a notice—

(a) signed by the responsible officers of the party, and

(b) sent to the Commission,

before the beginning of the general election period.

(5) Where—

(a) a registered party has made an exemption declaration which (apart from this subsection) would cover a particular general election, but

(b) the party has one or more candidates at that election,

the exemption declaration shall be treated as if it had been withdrawn at the beginning of the general election period (and the requirements of section 63 shall accordingly apply retrospectively as from the beginning of that period).

(6) Subsection (3) shall apply to a party registered immediately before the date on which this section comes into force as if it referred to a declaration in the terms mentioned in that subsection having been—

(a) signed by the responsible officers of the party, and

(b) sent to the Commission within the period of six weeks beginning with that date.

(7) For the purposes of this section “the responsible officers” are—

(a) the registered leader;

(b) the registered nominating officer; and

(c) where the leader and the nominating officer are the same person, any other registered officer.

(8) If any responsible officer is unable to sign a declaration or notice for the purposes of any provision of this section—

(a) the holder of some other office in the party may sign in his place, and

(b) the declaration or notice must include a statement of the reason why the responsible officer is unable to sign and a declaration that the holder of the other office is authorised to sign in his place.

(9) For the purposes of this section and section 65 a registered party shall be taken to have a candidate at a general election if any statement published, in connection with the election, under rule 14 of the rules set out in Schedule 1 to the Representation of the [1983 c. 2.] People Act 1983 (parliamentary election rules) contains the name of a candidate standing in the name of the party.