Political Funding in the USA and UK

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Main routes. 

Individuals give directly to candidates and parties within funding limits. Companies, unions and groups fund politics through committees and advocacy organisations. Parties also raise and spend.
 

Key limits that matter.

• Individual to a federal candidate: up to $3,500 per election in 2025-26.
• PAC to a federal candidate: up to $5,000 per election.
• Individual to a national party: $44,300 per year, plus higher caps for special party accounts.
  These are indexed and reset every two years.
   

What a traditional PAC can fund. 

Contributions to candidates and parties within caps. Independent ads. Voter contact, mail, phones, digital, events. Polling and compliance. Legal costs that are election-specific, such as ballot-access fights or recounts. Not general corporate lawsuits.
 

What a Super PAC is - and does. 

A Super PAC is an “independent-expenditure-only” committee. It may take unlimited money, including from companies and unions, and may spend unlimited sums on ads. It must act independently - no strategy, content or spending coordination with a candidate or party. It cannot give money to candidates or parties.
 

Independent means what, exactly. 

The ad must be created and paid for without cooperation, consultation, or a back-and-forth with the candidate or party. Sharing vendors, private plans, or tailored feedback can turn an “independent” ad into an illegal or limited in-kind contribution. Firewalls and public-only information are the safe harbours.
 

Litigation and “anti-lobbying” campaigns. 

PAC or Super PAC money is for elections. You can’t use it for general litigation or to bankroll policy lobbying unrelated to electing or defeating candidates. You can run hard-edged election ads attacking a politician seen as close to an industry. For year-round policy and court fights, set up a separate advocacy non-profit or trade group with its own bank account and rules.

Advocacy Groups.

Options: Alongside a Super PAC (independent-expenditure committee that cannot coordinate with candidates), add a social-welfare nonprofit (can lobby and run public campaigns year-round; limited election work is fine if not primary), a charity (can fund lawsuits and public education but not candidate support), and a trade association (business-member body pooling dues to lobby and set standards). 

If you need both capped donations to candidates and unlimited independent spend, use a “Carey committee” (one capped contributions account, one unlimited independent-spend account, with strict firewalls). 

• Example model 1: charity litigates product-safety cases, social-welfare arm drives policy pressure, Super PAC runs independent ads. 
• Example model 2: trade association fronts the industry push, Carey committee backs aligned candidates, social-welfare arm sustains public mobilisation.
   

If you’re a non-affiliated campaign group in the US.
 

• To influence who wins: form a Super PAC for independent election ads.
• To push policy and organise year-round: form a separate advocacy organisation.
• To donate to candidates: form a traditional PAC funded by eligible donors.
  Keep walls between entities, keep books clean, and use clear disclaimers on ads.

Main routes. Parties, local accounting units and candidates raise donations and loans from “permissible” UK sources - registered voters, UK-registered companies carrying on business here, trade unions, etc. There’s no cap on donation size, but the source must be permissible and reported.
 

Party spending limits. National party spend is capped during the regulated period using a formula per seat contested, currently £54,010 per constituency in Great Britain - about £34m if you contest all GB seats. Caps were raised for the 2024 election.
 

Non-party (third-party) campaigners - who they are. Any person or organisation that campaigns to influence voters without standing candidates. Once planned spend passes registration thresholds, you must register, take money only from permissible UK sources, and follow spending and reporting rules. Donation reporting to the Commission applies over set thresholds.
 

Registration thresholds and caps. If you plan to spend over £20,000 in England or £10,000 in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland during the regulated period, you must register as a “recognised” campaigner. National and constituency-level caps then apply to your spend.
 

What third-party money can fund. Leaflets, mail, canvassing, phone banks, digital ads, billboards, events and rallies aimed at the public that could reasonably be seen as encouraging voters to support or oppose parties or candidates. Research, polling, compliance and staff delivering those activities. Ads must carry imprints. Coordination rules and joint-campaign rules can apply.
 

Litigation and lobbying. Election funds are to persuade voters. General court cases or policy lobbying that aren’t election campaigning sit outside these rules and should be funded and accounted for separately. Some organisations - for example, charities - have additional charity-law limits on political activity.
 

If you’re a non-affiliated campaign group in the UK.
 

• If below £20k England/£10k elsewhere: you can campaign, but once you plan to cross a threshold you must register.
• After registering: accept only permissible UK donations, follow national and local caps, file returns, and add imprints to material. 
• You may not use foreign money. Keep clear records and avoid covert coordination with parties.
   

Context. 2024 spending hit record levels under higher legal limits, with most money going on advertising and unsolicited voter contact.