A General Election across the United Kingdom has been called for Thursday 4th July 2024. It is important that charities understand there are rules that govern the activity they can undertake during a regulated period.
This resource is designed as an introduction and overview to campaigning activity during the General Election period. It does not constitute advice and we recommend charities take appropriate professional advice if you have questions over your proposed activities.
More detailed information can also be found at:
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Q&A: Charity and election law for campaign charities | Stone King
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Charities, Elections and Referendums - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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Charity Commission for Northern Ireland – Charities and politics
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OSCR – Charities and campaigning on political issues
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Political activity and campaigning by charities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- NCVO Guidance
Note: This resource is focussed on charities. Other governance structures like Community Interest Companies are governed by slightly different rules, although note that CICs are not allowed to undertake political campaigning activity.
Campaigning is part of the day to day work of charities, but it must always have the purpose of advancing your charitable purposes. This can continue during a GE period, but you must ensure it is not the sole activity of the charity, it is non-party political (as it must always be) as well as assessing if you’re activities are considered regulated activity during this period.
Campaigning during a General Election is period is regulated by a combination of charity law and electoral law. Under electoral law, any charity that spends more than £10,000 on regulated campaign activity may need to notify and register with the Electoral Commission. Click here for more information on regulated activity.
There are a wide range of activities that could be considered regulated activity, including:
- Materials or publications that are made available to the public or a section of the public.
- Canvassing and market research that seeks the views of the public or asks them for information.
- Press conferences or media events.
- Transport use to publicise campaigns.
- Public rallies or events.
- Manifestos.
Note that the £10,000 might sound like a lot, but it consists of any expenditure around regulated activities, including staff time. If you are undertaking lots of election run-up activities, or are working in partnership with others on campaigns, this has the potential for costs adding up quickly so ensure you are tracking anything that could be considered regulated activity as it is the charity’s responsibility to register if needed.
The easy answer is yes, the rules apply to all charities. However, when it comes to regulated activity and spending limits, it is unlikely you will meet the threshold of spending as a small charity. However, it is important to note that if you undertake activity with others on anything regulated, there is a combined spending total.
If it is part of your every day work and nothing is changing then you can of course carry on—just consider the heightened noise during this short period. In the run up to the General Election, if it can reasonably be considered that your charity is trying to influence voters in a particular way, it is likely considered regulated activity. Given the heightened political focus on our communities, it might be prudent to take a more cautious approach. Carefully assess whether by asking people to consider LGBT+ issues when deciding who to vote for, may be seen as intended to influence votes in a particular way.
It will be up to your charity to decide whether or not your intended activity is likely to influence voters, and you must consider the purpose test as a key decision making tool.
Yes. Campaigns that centre on encouraging people to register to vote, and do not in any way advise people to vote in a particular way, aren't considered regulated activity. The same applies with encouraging people to be aware of voter ID requirements.
However people choose to vote, we want to see as many eligible voters registered as possible, and using their democratic right.
Continue your day to day work! The charity should just be mindful of any external activity it undertakes and whether that could be construed as being political in nature.
You can reach out to prospective parliamentary candidates to seek their views and to ask they consider LGBT+ issues. If you then publicly share this information and only share it from one Party, this could be seen as regulated activity.
The same rules apply as for any other communications methods, but with so much social media being time sensitive, it would be prudent to consider who can authorise posts and what you are posting for an added check and balance. For example, with June being Pride Month, there will likely be lots of pictures with people celebrating - which in itself is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the inclusivity and positive parts of our LGBT+ communities. What you should be careful of is what those images may also show. If you post a picture and in the background someone is visibly holding a politically motivated message, you may want to avoid using that particular image. It could be considered that you are inadvertently trying to influence voters in one way or another.