Royal Assent
Monarch's formal approval converting a bill into an Act of Parliament.
Last refreshed: 22 May 2026
When will the Representation of the People Bill receive Royal Assent before polling day?
Timeline for Royal Assent
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UK Local Elections 2026- What is Royal Assent and when does it happen?
- Royal Assent is the formal approval by the monarch that turns a bill into law. It is the final stage of the legislative process and is conventionally granted on the advice of ministers.
- Has the Representation of the People Bill received Royal Assent yet?
- No confirmed date for Royal Assent has been announced. The 30-day return window for unlawful crypto donations only begins once Royal Assent is granted.
- Can the King refuse Royal Assent?
- In theory yes, but no monarch has refused Royal Assent since Queen Anne in 1708. It is considered a constitutional formality.
- What is Royal Assent and why does it matter for the cryptocurrency donations ban?
- Royal Assent is the Sovereign's formal approval that converts a bill into an Act of Parliament. The Representation of the People Bill would have triggered a 30-day return window for Cryptocurrency donations from the date of Royal Assent, but the bill was excluded from the April 2026 wash-up and never received Royal Assent before polling day.Source: Lowdown
- Did the Representation of the People Bill receive Royal Assent before the May 2026 elections?
- No. Parliament prorogued on 29 April 2026 with the RPA Bill excluded from the four-bill wash-up programme. The bill did not receive Royal Assent and the crypto donation return window never opened before polling day.Source: Lowdown
- Is the Representation of the People Bill included in the 2026 King's Speech?
- No. The King's Speech on 13 May 2026 contained 27 bills but did not include any Representation of the People or electoral-finance legislation, deferring the crypto donation return obligation to at least the following parliamentary session.Source: Lowdown
Background
Royal Assent is the formal mechanism by which the Sovereign approves an Act of Parliament, converting it from a bill passed by both Houses into statute law. In practice, Royal Assent has not been withheld since 1708 and is granted either in person at a ceremonial session of Parliament or, more commonly today, through written notification under the Royal Assent Act 1967.
The date of Royal Assent is legally significant because it marks the commencement point for many statutory obligations. In the case of the Representation of the People Bill, the 30-day window within which parties must return unlawful Cryptocurrency donations runs from the moment Royal Assent is granted, making the timing of the bill's passage directly relevant to compliance ahead of the May 2026 elections. Parliament prorogued on 29 April 2026 with the RPA Bill excluded from the four-bill wash-up programme; the bill accordingly failed to receive Royal Assent before polling day.
The King's Speech on 13 May 2026 set out a 27-bill programme but omitted any Representation of the People or electoral-finance legislation, meaning the RPA Bill's Royal Assent is deferred to at least the following parliamentary session and Christopher Harborne's £12 million Cryptocurrency donations to Reform UK remain outside the retrospective return window. Royal Assent on future electoral-finance legislation will therefore be the next legally significant date for the compliance thread running from the Spotlight on Corruption report of April 2026.