Electoral Commission
UK elections and party finance regulator since 2000; exposed crypto donation gap in 2026 electoral cycle.
The Electoral Commission's donations register for April to June, published on 3 September 2026, showed Reform UK banking £5,437,360, while £72m in later gifts reported by PA Media awaits its next quarterly release.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
Can an elections regulator designed for the pre-crypto era stop a donor laundering political money through offshore processors?
Timeline for Electoral Commission
Mentioned in: Peers table 160 changes to voting Bill
UK Local Elections 2026Opened a review of campaign spending limits
UK Local Elections 2026: Electoral Commission to review spend capsMentioned in: Peers table four caps on party donors
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Delo and Harborne give Reform £72m
UK Local Elections 2026Published the quarter's donations register
UK Local Elections 2026: Delo's £4m arrived as cash, not cryptoBackground
The Electoral Commission is the UK's Independent regulator of elections and party finance, set up under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It registers political parties, publishes their donations and loans each quarter, oversees campaign-spending rules and guides electoral administrators. Its chief executive is Vijay Rangarajan.
The Electoral Commission's enforcement powers are civil: it can investigate, fine and refer suspected criminal matters to police, but it does not prosecute. It also explains rules to voters, as with its February 2026 research on voter ID awareness.
On 20 September 2026 the Commission opened a review of the whole campaign-spending framework, including party and candidate limits and reporting requirements, at ministers' request. Recommendations are due in July 2027. On 20 September, Rangarajan linked the level of permitted spending to public trust in the fairness of elections.
The register lags the biggest gifts
the Commission's second-quarter register, published on 3 September, showed Reform UK taking £5,437,360 between April and June, more than any rival, with £4m of it in two cash cheques from Ben Delo. Parties as a whole had accepted £24,507,274 in the first quarter of 2026. Two £36m gifts to Reform from Delo and Christopher Harborne, reported by PA Media on 11 and 12 September, will not appear until the third-quarter release.
On Cryptocurrency, the Commission said on 13 April that it could not verify Reform's crypto donations because the party had not supplied wallet addresses. On 14 July it confirmed that the government's crypto donation ban would apply from 25 March.
Most voters missed the free ID
Commission research from February 2026, based on 5,763 people, found that 55% of voters in areas with 7 May elections did not know free photo ID was available through the Voter Authority Certificate. Only 38% of people without qualifying ID felt confident about how to apply.
the Commission ran its registration push towards young voters, students and recent movers before the 20 April registration deadline, with 28 April the last day to apply for a certificate. At the 2024 local elections, only 22,749 certificates were issued, which is why awareness of the free route matters to turnout among people who lack a passport or driving licence.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 7 October 2026. Editorial standards.