Final report on United Kingdom’s early general election by OSCE/ODIHR recommends reviewing campaign finance provisions

The final report on the 8 June early general election in the United Kingdom, published on 28 August 2017 by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), contains several recommendations to improve campaign finance regulations and further strengthen the legal framework for press freedom.

The report notes that the country’s political finance system relies on a comprehensive and extensive regulatory framework. However, it also notes a lack of donation limits and recommends establishing annual limits on the amount a single permissible donor can donate to prevent the undue influence of large contributors. The report also recommends lowering the reporting threshold of donations to enhance the transparency of the sources of political financing.

The report assesses the media landscape as pluralistic and characterized by a strong tradition of public service broadcasting. However, it notes concerns with respect to legislative acts regarding the freedom of the press and investigative journalism that were also previously raised by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

The election expert team deployed by ODIHR on 29 May 2017 to follow the early general election focused on specific aspects of the election related to campaign financing and the media landscape.