Party and Election Finance in Britain and America: A Comparative Analysis

In recent years major new laws have been passed in both the UK and USA reforming the systems of party and election campaign funding. In the UK the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act of 2000 established for the first time a regulatory framework for party finance at national level, while in the US the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 was the first major overhaul of election finance law since the mid-1970s. This article looks firstly at spending and sources of finance in elections in both countries and then considers the background to and the major provisions of the new laws. It proceeds to examine a number of key issues related to the regulation of campaign and party finances by comparing and contrasting practices in the two political systems.