Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

54 Permissible donors.U.K.

(1)A donation received by a registered party must not be accepted by the party if—

(a)the person by whom the donation would be made is not, at the time of its receipt by the party, a permissible donor; or

(b)the party is (whether because the donation is given anonymously or by reason of any deception or concealment or otherwise) unable to ascertain the identity of that person.

(2)For the purposes of this Part the following are permissible donors—

(a)an individual registered in an electoral register;

(b)a company—

(i)registered under the M1Companies Act 1985 or the M2Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, and

(ii)incorporated within the United Kingdom or another member State,

which carries on business in the United Kingdom;

(c)a registered party[F1, other than a Gibraltar party whose entry in the register includes a statement that it intends to contest one or more elections to the European Parliament in the combined region];

(d)a trade union entered in the list kept under the M3Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 or the M4Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992;

(e)a building society (within the meaning of the M5Building Societies Act 1986);

(f)a limited liability partnership registered under the M6Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000, or any corresponding enactment in force in Northern Ireland, which carries on business in the United Kingdom;

(g)a friendly society registered under the M7Friendly Societies Act 1974 or a society registered (or deemed to be registered) under the M8Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 or the M9Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969; and

(h)any unincorporated association of two or more persons which does not fall within any of the preceding paragraphs but which carries on business or other activities wholly or mainly in the United Kingdom and whose main office is there.

[F2(2A)As respects a registered party whose entry in the register includes a statement that it intends to contest one or more elections to the European Parliament in the combined region, the following are also permissible donors for the purposes of this Part—

(a)a Gibraltar elector;

(b)a company—

(i)registered under the Companies Ordinance; and

(ii)incorporated within Gibraltar, the United Kingdom or another member State, which carries on business in Gibraltar;

(c)a Gibraltar party whose entry in the register includes a statement that it intends to contest one or more elections to the European Parliament in the combined region;

(d)a trade union within the meaning of the Trade Union and Trade Disputes Ordinance;

(e)a building society within the meaning of the Banking (Extension to Building Societies) Ordinance 1997;

(f)a limited liability partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Ordinance, which carries on business in Gibraltar; and

(g)any unincorporated association of two or more persons which does not fall within any of the preceding paragraphs but which carries on business or other activities wholly or mainly in Gibraltar and whose main office is there,

but, in the case of a party other than a Gibraltar party, only where the donation is received by the party within the period of four months ending with the date of the poll for an election to the European Parliament in the combined region.]

(3)In relation to a donation in the form of a bequest subsection (2)(a) shall be read as referring to an individual who was, at any time within the period of five years ending with the date of his death, registered in an electoral register.

[F3(3A)In relation to a donation in the form of a bequest subsection (2A)(a) shall be read as referring to an individual who was, at any time within the period of five years ending with the date of his death, a Gibraltar elector.]

(4)Where any person (“the principal donor”) causes an amount (“the principal donation”) to be received by a registered party by way of a donation—

(a)on behalf of himself and one or more other persons, or

(b)on behalf of two or more other persons,

then for the purposes of this Part each individual contribution by a person falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of more than £200 shall be treated as if it were a separate donation received from that person.

(5)In relation to each such separate donation, the principal donor must ensure that, at the time when the principal donation is received by the party, the party is given—

(a)(except in the case of a donation which the principal donor is treated as making) all such details in respect of the person treated as making the donation as are required by virtue of paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to be given in respect of the donor of a recordable donation; and

(b)(in any case) all such details in respect of the donation as are required by virtue of paragraph 4 of Schedule 6 to be given in respect of a recordable donation.

(6)Where—

(a)any person (“the agent”) causes an amount to be received by a registered party by way of a donation on behalf of another person (“the donor”), and

(b)the amount of that donation is more than £200,

the agent must ensure that, at the time when the donation is received by the party, the party is given all such details in respect of the donor as are required by virtue of paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to be given in respect of the donor of a recordable donation.

(7)A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he fails to comply with subsection (5) or (6).

(8)In this section “electoral register” means any of the following—

(a)a register of parliamentary or local government electors maintained under section 9 of the Representation of the M10People Act 1983;

(b)a register of relevant citizens of the European Union prepared under [F4the European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001]; or

(c)a register of peers prepared under regulations under section 3 of the Representation of the M11People Act 1985.