Regulated Campaigning for Scottish Parliament Elections

This is not legal advice. This blog post is a summary of where culture organisations in Scotland can find relevant information on the Electoral Commission’s rules on campaigning.


There are rules about how much non-party campaigners can spend on ‘regulated campaign activity’ in the lead up to the Scottish Parliamentary election in May 2021.

If you are unsure whether or not you have spent money on regulated campaign activity, please refer to the guidance on the Electoral Commission’s website. You can also contact them directly at pef@electoralcommission.org.uk.

Below is a summary of the regulations and links to help culture organisations in Scotland find relevant information.


What are the rules?


Individuals and organisations that campaign in the run-up to elections but do not stand as political parties or candidates are called ‘non-party campaigners’. There are rules non-party campaigners must follow on campaign spending, donations and reporting. The Electoral Commission regulate those rules.

When do these rules apply?


There is a set time when the rules on spending and donations apply called the 'regulated period'. For the 2021 Scottish Parliament Elections, this regulated period is the 6 January 2021 - 6 May 2021.

Spending Threshold & Registration


In the ‘regulated period’, if you spend above a threshold on regulated activity, then you must register with the Electoral Commission. At the time of writing this article (07/01/2021) the spending threshold in Scotland is £10’000 for general campaigns. 

Read the Electoral Commission guidance on thresholds and registration here.


What counts as ‘regulated campaign activity’?

Read the Electoral Commissions guidance on what they mean by ‘regulated campaign activity’ here.


There are five activities listed on the Electoral Commissions guidance: 


• press conferences or other media events that you organise

• transport in connection with publicising your campaign

• the production or publication of election material (such as leaflets, adverts and websites)

• canvassing and market research (including the use of phone banks)

• public rallies and public events

This activity is only regulated if it meets the Purpose & Public Tests

Spending on the above activities is only regulated if the activities are aimed at, seen or heard by, or involve the public (including social media). This is the Public test.

The Purpose test is met if the activities can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters to vote for or against political parties or categories of candidates, including political parties or categories of candidates who support or do not support particular policies or issues. 



You can work out whether your campaign meets the purpose test by looking reading the Electoral Commission Guidance here.

The Purpose test asks you to look at the following:


• whether it includes a call to action to voters

• tone

• context and timing

• how a reasonable person would see your activity

From the Electoral Commission guidance:


“If your campaign does not mention candidates, parties, or elections, then your spending is less likely to be regulated. However, your campaign might identify a political party, parties, or group of candidates implicitly, without naming them. This could happen if a policy or issue is so closely and publicly associated with a party, parties or category of candidates that it is effectively a shorthand for them in your campaign.”

“In this case, your campaign will meet the purpose test if, after assessing all the factors, it is reasonable to regard your campaign activity on the policy as intended to influence voters to vote for or against those political parties or candidates.”

There are Case Studies on the Electoral Commission website to help you establish if your activity meets these tests.

Imprint on Election Material

Whenever printed or digital election material is produced, it must contain certain details (which Electoral Commission call an ‘imprint’) to show who is responsible for the material. The aim being transparency. 



The rules on imprints apply to all non-party campaigners campaigning at Scottish Parliamentary elections, whether or not you are registered with the Electoral Commission.

Read the Electoral Commission Factsheet on Imprints campaigners campaigning at Scottish Parliamentary elections in here.

What counts as Election Material?

Published material such as leaflets, adverts and websites that can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters to vote for or against political parties or candidates that support or do not support particular policies.

Further information on Imprints contact:

• infoscotland@electoralcommission.org.uk

• 0333 103 1928

Where do you put the Imprint?

This depends on what materials you publish, please refer to the Electoral Commission Imprint Factsheet.

What does the Imprint text say?

On printed material such as leaflets and posters, you must include the name and address of:


• the printer


• the promoter


• any person on behalf of whom the material is being published (and who is not the promoter) 


For example if Culture Counts printed election material it would include the text:



Printed by Example Printer Co, 135 Print St, Glasgow.
Promoted by Culture Counts, 30 Grindley St, Edinburgh.

On digital election material containing text distributed via the internet, you must include the name and address of:



• the promoter


• any person on behalf of whom the material is being published (and who is not the promoter)



The promoter is whoever has caused the material to be published.

For example, Culture Counts have added to the below text to the footer of our website, and our twitter biog.

Promoted by Culture Counts, 30 Grindley St, Edinburgh.

Further Reading

Non-party campaigners: Where to start
This Elecotral Commission Guide will take you through each step of the regulations.

Scottish Parliamentary election May 2021:Non-party campaigners
This is a PDF Overview of the regulations for the May Elections.

Imprints for non-party campaigners – Scottish Parliamentary elections
Factsheet on the Imprint for Scottish Parliament Elections 2021.

Legal Disclaimer: Our blog is deigned to introduce you to the rules and to remind you to consider if you need to register. It is not advice in terms of how your organisation should or should not comply with legislation. We strongly encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with the official guidance; and to take legal advice as required.