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Public Bill Committee: 4th November 2008                

30

 

Political Parties and Elections Bill, continued

 
 

Mr Fabian Hamilton

 

Mr Denis MacShane

 

9

 

Schedule  3,  page  34,  line  4,  at beginning insert—

 

  ‘(A1)  

In paragraph 1 of Schedule 7 to the 2000 Act (prohibition on accepting

 

donations from impermissible donors), at the end of sub-paragraph (8)(a) there

 

is inserted—

 

“(aa)    

member of the House of Lords;”’.

 

Mr Fabian Hamilton

 

Mr Denis MacShane

 

11

 

Schedule  3,  page  39,  line  11,  leave out paragraph 10 and insert—

 

‘10      

Omit Schedule 20 (penalties).’.

 


 

New Clauses Relating to Political Donations and Expenditure

 

Limits on party expenditure

 

David Howarth

 

Mr Alan Reid

 

NC3

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

A registered political party that has contested 100 or more seats at a general

 

election may spend in total, including expenditure by any of its national, regional,

 

local or other organs, no more than £100 million on qualifying expenditure in any

 

period of 61 months following each general election.

 

(2)    

A registered political party that has contested fewer than 100 seats at a general

 

election may spend in total, including expenditure by any of its national, regional,

 

local or other organs, no more than £152,250 multiplied by the number of seats

 

that it did contest, plus £2,500 multiplied by the number of additional seats it

 

fights in the following election for each month or part of a month between the

 

previous general election and the following general election.

 

(3)    

If more than one general election occurs during the period of 61 months following

 

the previous general election, the Electoral Commission shall have power to

 

increase the sum referred to in subsection (1) by an amount it reasonably believes

 

to be proportionate.

 

(4)    

“Qualifying expenditure” shall include expenditure, whether or not made to

 

promote a particular candidate at a particular election, on—

 

(a)    

party political broadcasts;

 


 

expenses in respect of such broadcasts include agency fees, design costs

 

and other costs in connection with preparing or producing such

 

broadcasts;

 

(b)    

advertising of any nature (whatever the medium used);

 


 

expenses in respect of such advertising include agency fees, design costs

 

and other costs in connection with preparing, producing, distributing or

 

otherwise disseminating such advertising or anything incorporating such


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 4th November 2008                

31

 

Political Parties and Elections Bill, continued

 
 

advertising and intended to be distributed for the purpose of

 

disseminating it;

 

(c)    

unsolicited material addressed to electors (whether addressed to them by

 

name or intended for delivery to households within any particular area or

 

areas);

 


 

expenses in respect of such material include design costs and other costs

 

in connection with preparing, producing or distributing such material

 

(including the cost of postage);

 

(d)    

any manifesto or other document setting out the party’s policies;

 


 

expenses in respect of such a document include design costs and other

 

costs in connection with preparing or producing or distributing or

 

otherwise disseminating any such document;

 

(e)    

market research or canvassing conducted for the purpose of ascertaining

 

polling intentions or for the purpose of increasing the support of that

 

party or reducing the support of other parties,

 

(f)    

the provision of any services or facilities in connection with press

 

conferences or other dealings with the media,

 

(g)    

transport (by any means) of persons to any place or places with a view to

 

obtaining publicity for the party, its policies, its representatives or its

 

views,

 

(h)    

rallies and other events, including public meetings (but not annual or

 

other party conferences) organised so as to obtain publicity for the party,

 

its policies, its representatives or its views;

 


 

expenses in respect of such events include costs incurred in connection

 

with the attendance of persons at such events, the hire of premises for the

 

purposes of such events or the provision of goods, services or facilities at

 

them;

 

(i)    

any expenditure by third parties on the matters referred to in (a) to (h) that

 

is reasonably believed by the Electoral Commission to be intended to

 

increase support for that party or to reduce support for other parties.

 

(5)    

The following do not count as qualifying expenditure—

 

(a)    

any expenses incurred in respect of unsolicited material addressed to

 

party members;

 

(b)    

any expenses in respect of any property, services or facilities so far as

 

those expenses fall to be met out of public funds;

 

(c)    

any expenses incurred in respect of the remuneration or allowances

 

payable to any member of the staff (whether permanent or otherwise) of

 

the party; or

 

(d)    

any expenses incurred in respect of an individual by way of travelling

 

expenses (by any means of transport) or in providing for his

 

accommodation or other personal needs to the extent that the expenses

 

are paid by the individual from his own resources and are not reimbursed

 

to him.

 

(6)    

For the avoidance of doubt, the following shall count as qualifying expenditure—

 

(a)    

any expenses in respect of newsletters or similar publications issued by

 

or on behalf of the party with a view to giving electors in a particular

 

electoral area information about the opinions or activities of, or other

 

personal information relating to, their elected representatives or existing

 

or prospective candidates;


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 4th November 2008                

32

 

Political Parties and Elections Bill, continued

 
 

(b)    

any expenditure paid out of the House of Commons Communications

 

Allowance.’.

 


 

Cap on donations

 

David Howarth

 

Mr Alan Reid

 

NC4

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

In section 54 of the 2000 Act, after subsection (1) there is inserted—

 

“(1A)    

A donation received by a registered party from a permissible donor must

 

not be accepted by the party in so far as the amount of that donation and

 

of any other donations accepted by the party from that donor during the

 

previous 12 months exceeds £50,000.

 

(1B)    

Subsection (1A) does not apply to donations to which subsections (1) and

 

(2) of section 55 apply.”.

 

(2)    

In section 56 of the 2000 Act, after subsection (2) there is inserted—

 

“(2A)    

If a registered party receives a donation which it is prohibited from

 

accepting by virtue of section 54(1A), subsection (2) applies to that

 

donation only in so far as the amount of that donation and of any other

 

donations accepted by the party from that donor during the previous 12

 

months exceeds £50,000.”.

 

(3)    

In subsection 58(1)(a) of the 2000 Act, after “(b)”, there is inserted “or (1A)”’.

 


 

Remaining New Clauses

 

Review of the Act

 

Mr Fabian Hamilton

 

Mr Denis MacShane

 

NC5

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

The Secretary of State shall appoint a committee to conduct a review of this Act.

 

(2)    

He must seek to secure that at any time there are not fewer than seven members

 

of the committee.

 

(3)    

A person may be a member of the committee only if he is a member of the Privy

 

Council.

 

(4)    

The committee shall complete the review and send a report to the Secretary of

 

State not later than the end of two years beginning with the day on which this Act

 

is passed.

 

(5)    

The Secretary of State shall lay a copy of the report before Parliament as soon as

 

is reasonably practicable.


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 4th November 2008                

33

 

Political Parties and Elections Bill, continued

 
 

(6)    

The Secretary of State may make payments to persons appointed as members of

 

the committee.’.

 

 

Order of the House [20th OCTOBER 2008] as amended by order of

 

27th october

 

That the following provisions shall apply to the Political Parties and Elections Bill:

 

Committal

 

1.    

The Bill shall be committed to a Public Bill Committee.

 

Proceedings in Public Bill Committee

 

2.    

Proceedings in the Public Bill Committee shall (so far as not previously

 

concluded) be brought to a conclusion on Thursday 20th November 2008.

 

3.    

The Public Bill Committee shall have leave to sit twice on the first day on

 

which it meets.

 

Consideration and Third Reading

 

4.    

Proceedings on consideration shall (so far as not previously concluded) be

 

brought to a conclusion one hour before the moment of interruption on the

 

day on which those proceedings are commenced.

 

5.    

Proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be

 

brought to a conclusion at the moment of interruption on that day.

 

6.    

Standing Order No. 83B (Programming committees) shall not apply to

 

proceedings on consideration and Third Reading.

 

Other proceedings

 

7.    

Any other proceedings on the Bill (including any proceedings on

 

consideration of Lords Amendments or on any further messages from the

 

Lords) may be programmed.

 


 
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