Research and analysis

Costs of the 2019 UK Parliamentary General Election

Updated 6 March 2025

Foreword

This report continues the pattern of the UK Government publishing in detail the costs incurred in the delivery of national elections.

Transparency and accountability are vital to ensuring a healthy democracy. The purpose of this report is to provide taxpayers with a detailed breakdown of how their money was spent in the delivery of the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election (‘the General Election’). Alongside the report, an accompanying dataset and data dashboard is also provided. This data details the complete costs incurred in administrating the General Election and aims to enable a greater understanding of the underlying detail in administrating national polls.

Due to a number of unscheduled elections since 2017, the publication of this report has been delayed. The COVID-19 pandemic further added to these delays, as focus shifted to supporting the delivery of postponed elections in May 2020, and elections in 2021.

In publishing this data, we hope to facilitate greater sharing of good practice between Returning Officers to encourage the efficient and effective delivery of elections. It is crucial that our elections are funded properly so that they can be run fairly and securely to deliver accurate and trusted results. Alongside this, public money must be spent in as cost effective a manner as possible. It is hoped this report will prove informative to the wider public, and to Parliament.

These elections were run on the maximum recoverable amount (MRA) funding model which has resulted in a considerable improvement in the accuracy of funding allocations since it was introduced in 2014. The actual expenditure as a percentage of the overall allocated funding reflects this improvement. 

The MRA funding model is continually improved using feedback, information, and claims received from Returning Officers and electoral administrators to further refine its operation. This ensures that appropriate levels of funding are provided whilst also ensuring better value for money.

The hard work and expertise of Returning Officers, and their electoral services teams, across the UK, enables elections to be run effectively and efficiently. The information provided in this report helps to put into context the enormity of the challenge that they face in delivering a national poll; a challenge they continue to meet successfully.

Executive Summary

The total paid from the UK Government’s Consolidated Fund for the costs of the December 2019 UK Parliamentary general election was £147,415,582. The funding was administered by the Cabinet Office and the Northern Ireland Office.

This total includes the costs of all aspects of the conduct of the poll that were met from the Consolidated Fund, including the distribution of poll cards, operation of polling stations, provision of postal votes, the count, and the fees paid to Returning Officers for their services in delivering the elections. It also includes the cost of the delivery of candidates’ election leaflets (‘candidate mailings’). This report does not include any costs not met by the Consolidated Fund such as the costs of electoral registration.

Key Facts

The total cost of the conduct of the elections is broken down as follows:

Conduct Costs of the 2019 General Election
Category	Cost
Returning Officers’ services	£2.27 million
Returning Officers’ expenses	£103.75 million
Centrally incurred costs	£41.39 million
Total	£147.42 million

The actual Returning Officer spend, including services, amounts to 95% of the estimated cost attributed to Returning Officers in running the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election. In addition, £632,000 was paid back into the Consolidated Fund in forfeited candidate deposits, resulting in the total net expenditure of £146,783,582.

Electorate at the 2019 Election
Category
Registered Electors	47,567,752
Registered Postal Voters	8,183,542
People who Cast a Vote	32,280,035
Average Cost per Elector	£3.09
Average Cost per Vote	£4.55

The electoral data used within this report is collated and published by the Electoral Commission. This data includes the number of registered electors, postal voters, ballots cast, and the number of rejected ballots.  

1. Introduction

About the elections

On 12 December 2019 elections were held across the UK to return 650 Members of Parliament (MPs).

MPs were elected in 650 constituencies in the United Kingdom using the first past the post voting system.

The elections were conducted by 370 Returning Officers in Great Britain and the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland, with the support from electoral services and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI). In England and Wales, Returning Officers’ responsibilities are discharged by (Acting) Returning Officers. For simplicity, throughout this report, (Acting) Returning Officers will be referred to as Returning Officers.

The Returning Officers were responsible for:

• publishing notice of the election
• the conduct of the nomination process
• the conduct of the poll in their area
• the printing of ballot papers
• the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers
• the verification of the ballot paper accounts
• the counting of the votes given in their area
• the declaration of the result

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is the Returning Officer for all elections in Northern Ireland, and was responsible for all 18 parliamentary constituencies.

In total 32.28 million people in the UK cast a vote in the elections, out of 47.57 million on the electoral register; a turnout of 67.9%.

About this report

The purpose of this report is to provide greater transparency to the public on the cost of running UK-wide elections. This includes making available the underlying dataset in an open and accessible manner.

The first section of the report sets out how elections are funded, including the legislative framework governing election funding and the administration of that funding. The second section of the report sets out the cost of the elections according to the various types of expenditure.

An interactive dashboard has also been published to accompany this report. By providing a visual presentation of the costs incurred in the conduct of the poll, the dashboard aims to make the cost of running UK-wide elections more transparent and more accessible to the public. The user can compare these costs by category, region or constituency. See the interactive dashboard for the 2019 UK Parliamentary General Election.

Further data, including a breakdown of costs by constituency and with comparisons to electorate and turnout are appended to the report.

The report does not seek to review or make recommendations about how the elections were funded or administered, or the level of funding provided.

The complete dataset underpinning this report has been published concurrently on GOV.UK.

About previous reports

Since 2014, the UK governments have committed to publishing in full the costs of UK Parliamentary, European Parliamentary, and Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections. These reports outline how elections are funded, including the legislative framework governing election funding, and the administration of that funding. These reports, along with their accompanying datasets, are available to view on gov.uk.

This report outlines the costs of the 2019 UK Parliamentary General Election. Should the reader wish to find out more about the legislation governing election funding and its administration, they may refer to the relevant information in previous reports. 

Other information about the elections

The Electoral Commission has published a report on delivering the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election. Following this, it also published a report on campaigning at the 2019 election.

The Electoral Commission also publishes a series of electoral data and detailed information on campaign expenditure and donations to political parties and registered campaign groups.

Full details of the results of the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election are available from the BBC.

2. How are elections funded?

Sources of funding

UK Parliamentary and PCC elections

The costs of conducting UK Parliamentary, PCC elections, and Recall Petitions are paid for by the UK Government from the Consolidated Fund. In 2019, management of this resourcing for was the responsibility of the Cabinet Office and the Northern Ireland Office.

In 2021, this function became the responsibility of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), now named the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and Northern Ireland Office, and is subject to approval by HM Treasury.

This applies to the elections of:

• Members of Parliament
• Police and Crime Commissioners (England and Wales only)

The funding is accounted for by the relevant government departments. Each department produces and publishes an annual statement of accounts for the expenditure incurred within the given financial year.

UK-wide referendums

Referendums held across the UK on national issues are funded in broadly the same manner as UK-wide elections. As with elections, the delivery of the poll is funded from the Consolidated Fund and the amounts allocated to counting officers are determined by the UK Government.

However, national referendums are run by the Chair of the Electoral Commission (or someone nominated by the Chair), who also takes on responsibility for administering and accounting for the funding.

Further information can be found in the Electoral Commission’s report on the costs of delivering the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.

Devolvedelections and local polls

The costs of conducting elections to devolved legislatures and local government, and local referendums, are not funded directly by the UK Government. The responsibility for resourcing these polls falls to the relevant devolved administration or local authorities.

Electoral registration and absent voting

The costs of maintaining the electoral register, including the annual canvass, and the registration process for absent voting are legally distinct from the administration of elections and are resourced by the relevant local authority in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland the cost of registration is borne by the EONI with funding from the Northern Ireland Office.

The legislative framework

Under section 29 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, Returning Officers at a UK Parliamentary general election are entitled to recover charges in respect of their services rendered and expenses incurred in conducting the poll. This legislation requires that these charges are to be paid from the Consolidated Fund.

Charges orders

The maximum recoverable amounts that Returning Officers can claim for their services and expenses in relation to UK Parliamentary elections are set out in statutory instruments called Charges Orders.

For the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election these were The Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers’ Charges) Order 2019 which was made on 4 November 2019 and had effect in Great Britain, and The Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) (Northern Ireland) Order 2017, which was made on 9 May 2017 and had effect in Northern Ireland.

In addition to setting the maximum recoverable amounts, the Charges Order specifies the types of expenses that Returning Officers can claim (this does not apply to the Charges Order for Northern Ireland), such as for printing of ballot papers and undertaking the count process. Expenditure that Returning Officers incur must be reasonable and necessary for the efficient and effective conduct of the polls.

Candidate mailings

Under section 91 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, candidates at UK Parliamentary elections are entitled to have one election address (typically called a ‘candidate mailing’) delivered at public expense to either each named elector or each household. This is essentially a paper leaflet setting out the candidate or party’s policies. It is at the discretion of the candidate whether the mailing is sent to each elector or to each household. The candidate is responsible for funding the cost of producing the leaflet.

The main purpose of allowing candidates to have one communication delivered free of charge is to provide a facility to inform the electorate of the policies of standing candidates and/or parties and to help them to make informed choices when casting their vote.

As the universal service provider, Royal Mail has the responsibility for the delivery of candidate mailings and was paid for providing this service under the terms of a service level agreement with the relevant government department.

Administration of the funding

In advance of a UK Parliamentary general election and Police and Crime Commissioner election, officials calculate the level of funding necessary for their effective conduct in Great Britain. In 2019 this function was the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. The Northern Ireland Office calculates the level of funding necessary for their effective conduct in Northern Ireland.

This includes determining the amounts to allocate to each Returning Officer for their services and expenses and the expected cost for the delivery of candidate mailings. These projected costs are the agreed with HM Treasury so that funds can be made available from the Consolidated Fund once the relevant Charges Orders have been made by the appropriate Ministers.

Following the final settlement of all expenditure incurred in respect of the elections, any remaining funds are returned to the Consolidated Fund.

Returning Officers’ services and expenses – England, Scotland and Wales

Before the 2019 election, the Cabinet Office paid an initial advance to each Returning Officer of up to 75% of the allocation set out in legislation. Returning Officers could subsequently request further payments, for instance to cover invoices that need to be paid urgently, up to a maximum of 90%. This policy continues with UK Parliamentary and PCC elections, with the responsibility now residing with MHCLG (formerly DLUHC) rather than the Cabinet Office.

Prior to an election, each Returning Officer, with the support of their electoral services team, is responsible for delivering the election within their funding allocation. This necessarily means careful planning of how best to use the funding to ensure the election is run efficiently and effectively, whilst also giving due consideration to value for money.  

Following an election, Returning Officers are required to submit a statement of accounts showing the actual costs incurred in running the poll.

These accounts are then subjected to a scrutiny process. Once this is complete, where the costs incurred are in excess of the advance, MHCLG reimburse the Returning Officer the balance.

Should an advance exceed the total costs incurred, the Returning Officer must return the excess funds.

In cases where the total cost of a claim exceeds the maximum recoverable amount allocated, the relevant Minister has the discretion to pay the additional expenses if the returning officer can provide evidence that the expenditure was necessary and reasonable for the effective and efficient conduct of the poll.

Funding review

In 2013-14 The Cabinet Office undertook a wide-ranging review of the elections funding model used for national polls. Following this review, subsequent elections, including the 2019 European Parliamentary Election, were delivered using the new methodology for calculating funding allocations for Returning Officers.

This approach uses the actual settled expenditure at the previous poll of the same type as the basis for calculating future funding, whilst adjusting it for price inflation, electorate size, registered postal voters, and combination, to create a more accurate estimate of expected costs.

The Elections Claims Unit

The Elections Claims Unit (ECU) is a team within MHCLG, previously in the Cabinet Office, that is responsible for the administration of the scrutiny process and settlement of claims.

Returning Officers submit their election claims to the ECU. The ECU is then responsible for checking that costs have been accounted for correctly, that the necessary supporting evidence has been supplied and that the items claimed are reimbursable.

As part of this process, the ECU may request additional information or evidence from the Returning Officer and query items of expenditure.

Once a claim has been scrutinised and all queries have been resolved, the ECU is responsible for raising the payment of the remaining balance to the Returning Officer

Returning Officers’ expenses – Northern Ireland

Prior to the 2019 election, the Northern Ireland Office makes available to the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland the allocation for Northern Ireland that is set out in legislation. Funding is drawn down by the Chief Electoral Officer as necessary.

The Chief Electoral Officer, with the support of the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI), is responsible for delivering the election efficiently and effectively within the Northern Ireland funding allocation.

For UK Parliamentary elections, the Chief Electoral Officer presents their Returning Officer’s Expenses to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on an annual basis and the report is laid before Parliament. The Returning Officer’s Expenses were approved as part of the Northern Ireland Office’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Costs met centrally

Some elements of the costs of conducting an election are not incurred by Returning Officers and can be paid for centrally from resources drawn from the Consolidated Fund.

In such instances, the department with responsibility for elections (at the time this was the Cabinet Office and is now MHCLG) will typically agree a service level agreement with the relevant service providers.

An example of this approach is the centralised funding of postal vote ‘sweeps’ across Great Britain (EONI negotiated its own contract for postal vote sweeps), which occurs at some polls.

In addition, the cost of delivering candidate mailings is paid centrally to Royal Mail by the relevant government department or EONI.

Combination of polls

Combination of polls refers to the practice by which aspects of the conduct of two or more polls are administered together where the elections coincide.

In such cases, it is usually mandatory for the polls to use the same polling stations which is how they become ‘combined’ by taking place together.  Other elements of a poll may be voluntarily combined at the discretion of the relevant Returning Officer. This might include issuing a single poll card with details of all the polls that have been combined or postal ballot packs with all ballot papers in the same envelope.

There are clear benefits associated with sharing procedures across multiple elections. It avoids confusion for electors in receiving multiple poll cards or ballot packs for each election and provides efficiencies to the administration by eliminating duplication of elements that can be shared across polls. Efficiencies in process also make combination more cost-effective than if the elections were run separately, reducing the overall level of funding required from each relevant source.

Combination has also been shown to increase turnout in instances where a poll that traditionally experiences low turnout is combined with a poll where turnout is higher.

It is not always the case that two polls occurring on the same day are combined and some types of polls cannot be combined with one another. It is, however, mandatory for polls at certain elections to be combined. Where they coincide, UK Parliamentary general election polls must be combined with ‘ordinary local government elections’. An ‘ordinary local government election’ is one that occurs according to the regular electoral cycle and not as a result of a vacancy.

It is possible for more than two polls to be combined. For instance, a UK Parliamentary poll may be combined with a district council poll and a parish council poll.

In the 2019 UK Parliamentary elections, only a small number of parliamentary constituencies were subject to some degree of combination.

In circumstances where polls are subject to combination, the costs of the shared aspects are divided equally between each of the polls.

For example, where poll cards for a UK Parliamentary general election are combined with poll cards for a district council election, half of the cost of printing and delivery is paid for by the Consolidated Fund and half by the local authority. If the polls were also combined with a parish council election, a third of the cost would be payable by the Consolidated Fund and two thirds (a third for the district council election and a third for the parish council election) would be payable from the local authority sources.

Efficiencies introduced by combination will often result in lower overall costs to public funds both in respect of the Consolidated Fund and the relevant devolved administration or local authority sources.

Combination of polls is factored into the calculation of the funding allocations for Returning Officers. If required, the relevant Charges Order will specify different maximum recoverable amounts for constituencies that are subject to combination and those that are not.

Returning Officers are required to record clearly which costs have been combined when submitting their accounts to the ECU and can only be reimbursed from the Consolidated Fund for the appropriate proportion.

3. What did the election cost?

The cost to the Consolidated Fund for the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election was £147,415,582.

This cost consists of the payments to Returning Officers for their expenses incurred and services rendered, and payments to Royal Mail for candidate mailings and postal vote sweeps. This figure excludes the £632,000 paid back into the Consolidated Fund in forfeited candidate deposits

It covers all spending in the UK that was administered by the Cabinet Office and Northern Ireland Office and paid from the Consolidated Fund in relation to the conduct of the poll.

It does not include any costs incurred in relation to the elections that were not met from the Consolidated Fund, such as expenditure by candidates and parties on campaigning, expenditure by the Electoral Commission, or costs incurred by local authorities for administering local polls or for electoral registration activity.

Appendix A provides further summary information, including comparisons between the allocated and actual costs and the costs per elector/vote cast.

The full dataset and interactive dashboard is available online.

Returning Officers’ expenses

The total amount paid to Returning Officers for the expenses incurred in conducting the elections was £103,748,517.

It is important to recognise that constituencies vary widely in terms of size, population, demographic composition and combination with other polls. Any comparison must pay careful consideration to the impact of these factors.

Returning Officers’ expenditure is grouped into categories reflecting the different aspects of running the poll:

• polling stations
• postal votes
• poll cards
• the count
• other costs

Each of these categories is then further divided into a number of sub-categories, which specify the type of expenditure.

Polling Stations

£43,438,829 was spent by Returning Officers and the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland on polling stations.

This is composed of:

• accommodation, staff and equipment for polling stations; and
• the printing of the ballot papers.

The costs of purchasing equipment, such as ballot boxes and polling booths, for use at more than one election have an equal proportion charged to each of the scheduled polls within their usable lifespan.

At the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election there were 39,722 polling stations. This figure is based on the data provided to the Elections Claims Unit by ROs for each parliamentary constituency as part of their electoral expenses’ submissions.

32.28 million votes were cast at the 2019 UK parliamentary general election, representing a turnout of 67.9%. Of these, 25.41 million were cast at polling stations.

Polling station costs at the 2019 UK General Election
Category	Cost
Presiding officers	£9,251,038
Poll clerks	£9,658,037
Supervising officers	£1,323,066
Travel and subsistence	£800,713
Training	£2,788,410
Permanent accommodation	£7,113,857
Temporary accommodation	£2,012,222
Preparation and transport	£4,526,859
Equipment	£2,127,990
Printing ballot papers	£3,836,637

Postal Votes

£20,496,458 was spent by Returning Officers on postal votes.

This is composed of:

• production of the postal ballot packs
• preparing, issuing and delivering packs
• return postage for completed packs
• opening and verifying returned packs, including signature checking

It does not include costs incurred by Electoral Registration Officers in administering the postal vote application process.

Postal ballot papers are included in the same count as the ballot papers from polling stations. The costs of counting postal votes are therefore included in the cost of the overall count.

8.18 million electors were issued a postal ballot at the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election and 6.87 million postal ballots were returned to Returning Officers before the close of poll, a return rate of 84%. Of those postal ballots returned, 148,824 were rejected.

Postal vote costs at the 2019 UK General Election
Category	Cost
Staff: preparation and issue	£514,595
Staff: opening and verification	£2,818,297
Training	£31,683
Printing and stationery	£6,305,246
Postage: outbound	£4,928,013
Postage: inbound	£4,026,060
Accommodation	£914,316
Equipment	£958,245

Poll Cards

£19,222,975 was spent by Returning Officers on poll cards.

This is composed of:

• preparing and printing poll cards; and
• posting or delivering poll cards.

Under legislation each Returning Officer must issue poll cards to electors, excluding overseas electors, within each parliamentary constituency.

The poll card contains specific information, including the date of the poll and the location of the elector’s polling station.

Poll cards may be sent in more than one batch to ensure that they arrive in a timely manner and are received by all those electors registered by the deadline for registration.

Poll card costs at the 2019 UK General Election
Category	Cost
Staff: preparation	£119,914
Equipment	£4,863
Printing and stationery	£2,558,194
Postage/delivery	£16,540,005

The Count

£14,964,520 was spent by Returning Officers on the verification and counting of votes and collation of results.

This comprises the costs for all aspects of the count process, including:

• verifying that the number of ballots received does not exceed the number issued; and
• counting the ballot papers.

Verification took place immediately following the close of polls in the UK and counting was required to commence by 2am on the day following the close of polls.

32.28 million ballots were counted of which 117,101 were rejected ballot papers.

Count costs at the 2019 UK General Election
Category	Cost
Count staff	£5,800,119
Supervising staff	£3,095,230
Travel and subsistence	£97,327
Training	£242,506
Accommodation	£3,357,414
Equipment	£981,377
Transport	£962,121
Security	£428,426

Other Costs

£5,625,736 was claimed by Returning Officers for other costs.

Returning Officers may claim under this heading for costs that they necessarily incur for the conduct of the poll that cannot be classified under any of the other categories.

This includes items such as general administration, travel, subsistence, and training, which are not specifically or exclusively related to one aspect of the poll.

It also includes the following specific costs:

• costs for running the nominations process
• publishing notice of election and statement of persons nominated
• translation services
• legal advice
• employer pension contributions for elections staff

Other costs at the 2019 General Election
Category	Cost
Staffing costs	£3,381,180
Travel and subsistence	£32,792
Training	£662,986
Materials and services	£1,419,012
Nominations	£44,269
Translation	£1,623
Legal advice	£12,227
Election Staff superannuation	£15,177
Holiday cancellation payments	£56,469

Returning Officers’ services

The total amount paid to, or, on behalf of, Returning Officers in Great Britain for their own services in conducting the elections was £2,274,163.

While the individuals are also employees of local authorities, the role of the Returning Officer is statutory and legally independent of the local authority and the Returning Officer is personally responsible by law for the effective conduct of the poll. He or she is, therefore, entitled by law to receive a fee for their own services rendered in delivering the poll.

Fee for services

The majority of the cost of Returning Officers’ services is made up of the fee itself. The total amount paid to Returning Officers in fees for their services was £2,156,325.

The fee for Returning Officers was calculated at a rate of £475 per 10,000 electors. Where this total amount would be less than £2,500 they were entitled to a minimum of £2,500 to recognise a minimum level of work that is required regardless of the size of the electorate.

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland does not receive a fee as the conduct of elections is part of their full-time, salaried role.

Where a poll was combined, the fee for Returning Officers was further uplifted to take account of the added complexity of running combined polls – this is usually calculated as 20% of the original fee, with the Consolidated Fund then paying a share of this in line with the level of poll combination (if two polls, the Consolidated Fund would effectively pay an uplift of 10%).

It is at the discretion of the Returning Officer whether they claim the whole fee, part of the fee, or do not claim for it at all. 15 of 632 Returning Officers opted not to claim some or the fee. 4 opted to not claim any of their fee. There is no fee payable for services in Northern Ireland.

A Returning Officer may also opt to give a proportion of their fee to another individual, to whom they have delegated the work for an aspect of the conduct of the poll. This does not alter the maximum amount that can be claimed.

There is a provision for part or all of the fee to be withheld on the advice of the Electoral Commission, where delivery of a poll was not administered correctly or effectively.

Superannuation

The total cost of superannuation payments to Returning Officers in Great Britain was £117,838.

The Representation of the People Act 1983 requires that, where the superannuation payments made by a local authority on behalf of an individual are increased as a result of any payment made for Returning Officers’ services, the increase will be met from the Consolidated Fund.

Under the terms of the Local Government Pension Scheme, fees paid in respect of UK Parliamentary elections are considered to be pensionable.

Insurance and indemnity

As indicated previously, Returning Officers are statutorily independent of central and local government and, as a result, are personally liable for a variety of costs. These include legal costs if an election is challenged and any public or employer liability claims.

Returning Officers in Great Britain have insurance to cover public liabilities, employers’ liabilities, liabilities incurred in their professional role, and liabilities for personal injury in respect of their duties at General Elections.

UK governments have provided a further indemnity to cover any gaps in the existing insurance arrangements.

The indemnity did not cover the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland, who was covered by an existing Crown Indemnity.

No costs were incurred or paid under this indemnity arrangement at the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election.

Centrally funded expenditure

The total cost of payments made directly to suppliers by the Cabinet Office and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland in respect of the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election was £41,392,902.

This cost consisted solely of payments to Royal Mail.

Delivery of candidate mailings

The total cost for the delivery of candidate mailings was £41,161,302.

This cost only includes the amount paid to Royal Mail for the delivery of the leaflets. All costs incurred in designing and printing of the candidate mailings were paid for by the candidates or the political parties.

Postal vote ‘sweeps’

The total payment to Royal Mail for conducting postal vote ‘sweeps’ was £231,600.

This is a practice by which Royal Mail undertake a ‘sweep’ of sorting offices on polling day to identify any postal vote return envelopes yet to be delivered to Returning Officers. Those relating to elections in the surrounding area can then be gathered and delivered to local Returning Officers before the close of the poll so that they can be included in the count.

Although these costs are incurred under the legislative provision for Returning Officers’ expenses, it is more efficient and reduces costs overall for these activities to be paid for centrally and direct to Royal Mail on behalf of the Returning Officers.

Postal vote ‘sweeps’ are not mandatory. In the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election a total of 420 ‘sweeps’ were carried out. The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland reached a separate agreement in respect of the 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland.

Overseas postal votes

The annual licence fee required to receive overseas postal votes was covered by the centrally incurred costs for the European Parliamentary elections held in May 2019. More detail about this licence fee can be found in the report on the Costs of the 2019 European Parliamentary Election.

Other election related expenditure

The costs detailed above include only those charged to the Consolidated Fund. Some costs may have been incurred by Returning Officers and local authorities that were not claimed from the Consolidated Fund or which could not be claimed from the Consolidated Fund.

There are also several other types of associated expenditure not related to the conduct of elections which are not met from the Consolidated Fund. These are incurred by groups other than the Government, such as the Electoral Commission and political parties and candidates. 

Since these costs are not part of the cost of conducting the election, and – with the exception of costs incurred by the Electoral Commission – are not paid from public funds, they are not included in this report. However, these categories of expenditure are summarised below.

Party and independent candidate deposits

Candidates who stand in a UK Parliamentary general election are required to pay a deposit.

In the case of a UK Parliamentary election a deposit of £500 is payable by each candidate.

The deposit is held by the Returning Officer and will be returned only if the candidate receives more than 5% of the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency in which they stand.

If they do not reach this threshold the deposit is forfeited. Returning Officers are then obliged to surrender forfeited deposits to the Consolidated Fund within 24 hours of the result being declared.

Following the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election, £632,000 was paid into the Consolidated Fund in forfeited deposits.

Election expenses

Election expenses are certain costs incurred by candidates for the purpose of procuring or promoting their election after the date at which they become a candidate.

There are limits to the amount of election expenses a candidate can incur and candidates or their agents must complete and submit a spending return to the Returning Officer following the election.

Spending returns are kept for a period of two years after the election and are available for viewing by the public on request. The Returning Officer will then destroy the return or, where requested, return it to the candidate or agent. 

The Electoral Commission collates and publishes aggregate data on candidate spending following elections, which is available on its website.

Campaign expenditure

Campaign expenditure relates to certain costs incurred by political parties in promoting or procuring the election of their candidates or otherwise increasing the standing of the party or their candidates at an election.

This expenditure is regulated by the Electoral Commission. There are limits on how much can be spent and parties must submit a spending return, which is published on the Electoral Commission’s website.

Non-party campaign spending

Non-party campaign spending relates to certain costs incurred by individuals or organisations who are not candidates or political parties. This spending relates to activities which can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters to vote for or against a political party or category of candidate.

Campaigners spending more than a certain amount are required to register with the Electoral Commission. There are limits on how much can be spent and campaigners must submit a spending return, which is published on the Electoral Commission’s website.

The Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is an independent body that was established by Parliament to regulate party and election finance and set standards for Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers in undertaking electoral registration and conducting elections and recall petitions effectively and in accordance with the law. 

In fulfilling its statutory responsibilities, the Electoral Commission necessarily incurs costs relating to elections held within the UK.

The Electoral Commission produces an annual report and accounts each financial year, providing a comprehensive statement of the costs of its activities to the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and Senedd respectively. The Annual Report and Accounts for 2019-20 covers the period of the 2019 UK Parliamentary General Election.

Regulation of party and election finance

As the regulator of party and election finance, the Electoral Commission is responsible for ensuring that parties and non-party campaigners submit complete and accurate accounts of their spending.

It also has a duty to publish details of party and non-party campaign spending and to investigate potential breaches of the spending rules for parties and non-party campaigners.

The costs of these activities are met from its operating costs, which are approved by the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd.

Public awareness activities

The Electoral Commission also has a statutory responsibility for increasing public awareness of UK elections. This includes undertaking activities designed to increase participation in elections, in terms of both registration and voting, which will involve incurring costs in respect of elections generally.

Campaign broadcasts

Section 333 of the Communications Act 2003 requires that licensed public service television and radio broadcasters must carry party election and referendum campaign broadcasts on behalf of registered political parties and designated referendum organisations in accordance with rules set by Ofcom.

Whilst there is no defined cost of airing party election broadcasts, this does provide a nominal benefit to the political parties. The costs of producing a broadcast are the responsibility of the respective party.

Appendix A: Summary Data

Financial Summary

	Credit (£000s)	Debit (£000s)
Payments to Returning Officers
…in respect of services		2,274
…in respect of expenses		103,749
Payments to Royal Mail
…in respect of postal ‘sweeps’		232
…in respect of delivery of candidate mailings		41,161
…in respect of administration fees		0
Forfeited candidate deposits	632
Total	632	147,416
Total Expenditure		146,784

Allocated and actual costs

Returning Officers’ services
Region	Funding allocation (MRA) (£)	Actual expenditure* (£)	+/-(£)
East Midlands	164,207	164,207	0
Eastern	213,275	213,275	0
London	262,873	260,460	-2,413
North East	93,259	89,919	-3,340
North West	254,981	254,981	0
Northern Ireland **	0	0	0
Scotland	194,481	188,274	-6,208
South East	313,152	313,141	-11
South West	200,719	200,719	0
Wales	112,122	99,106	-13,016
West Midlands	198,602	191,874	-6,728
Yorkshire and the Humber	188,851	180,369	-8,482
Total	2,196,522	2,156,325	-40,198

*Excludes superannuation, which is payable by law in addition to the Maximum Recoverable Amount.
**MRA for services does not apply to Northern Ireland.

Returning Officers’ expenses
Region	Funding allocation (MRA) (£)	Actual expenditure (£)	+/- (£)
East Midlands	7,715,973	7,152,608	-563,365
Eastern	9,340,504	8,854,393	-486,111
London	15,720,882	15,380,185	-340,697
North East	4,216,760	3,966,477	-250,283
North West	11,623,589	11,034,128	-589,461
Northern Ireland	3,229,721	3,229,721	0
Scotland	11,098,586	10,862,057	-236,529
South East	14,036,191	13,098,190	-938,001
South West	9,412,405	8,888,240	-524,165
Wales	5,348,017	5,005,269	-342,748
West Midlands	8,874,193	8,445,243	-428,950
Yorkshire and the Humber	8,508,697	7,832,008	-676,689
Total	109,125,518	103,748,517	-5,377,001

Other costs
Cost type	Funding allocation (£)	Actual expenditure (£)	+/- (£)
Candidate mailings	51,643,301	41,161,302	-10,481,999
Postal vote ‘sweeps’	242,225	231,600	-10,625
Overseas postal voting licence	61,499	0	-61,499
Total	51,947,025	41,392,902	-10,554,123

Average costs per elector/vote/unit

Per elector/vote costs by region*
Region	Total cost (£)	Electorate	Votes cast	Cost per elector (£)	Cost per vote (£)
East Midlands	7,330,625	3,482,270	2,359,115	2.10	3.11
Eastern	9,063,527	4,495,896	3,094,444	2.02	2.94
London	15,394,705	5,581,948	3,796,297	2.80	4.12
North East	4,102,620	1,946,969	1,261,347	2.09	3.22
North West	11,402,847	5,370,646	3,557,599	2.10	3.17
South East	13,425,584	6,628,245	4,691,016	2.03	2.86
South West	9,152,778	4,242,639	3,076,247	2.15	2.96
West Midlands	8,648,771	4,194,011	2,732,365	2.06	3.17
Yorkshire and the Humber	8,095,827	3,958,411	2,571,863	2.03	3.12
England	86,617,284	39,901,035	27,140,293	2.17	3.19
Northern Ireland	3,229,721	1,293,971	803,827	2.50	4.02
Scotland	11,061,436	4,053,056	2,777,396	2.73	3.98
Wales	5,114,239	2,319,690	1,558,519	2.20	3.28
Great Britain	102,792,959	46,273,781	31,476,208	2.22	3.27
United Kingdom	106,022,680	47,567,752	32,280,035	2.23	3.28

*Excludes centrally incurred costs such as candidate mailings.

Per elector/vote costs by category
Category	Total cost (£)	Electorate	Votes cast*	Cost per elector (£)	Cost per vote (£)
Returning Officers’ services	2,274,162	47,567,752	32,280,035	0.05	0.07
Polling stations**	43,438,829	39,384,210	25,413,541	1.10	1.71
Postal votes***	20,496,458	8,183,542	6,866,494	2.50	2.98
Poll cards	19,222,975	47,567,752	32,280,035	0.40	0.60
The count	14,964,520	47,567,752	32,280,035	0.31	0.46
Other costs	5,625,736	47,567,752	32,280,035	0.12	0.17
Candidate mailings	41,161,302	47,567,752	32,280,035	0.87	1.28

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*Includes both ballot box votes and postal votes rejected at the count.

**Excludes postal votes and electors registered to vote by post.

***Only includes postal votes and electors registered to vote by post.