Both the United Kingdom and Canada recently implemented substantial revisions to their electoral laws, including policy measures designed to regulate third parties. Despite similar policy objectives, the limits placed on third parties vary significantly between the two countries, leaving the potential for significant differences in practice. Using an original dataset, this article undertakes a comparative study of recent national elections in each country (UK: 2005, 2010; Canada: 2004, 2006, 2008) to evaluate policy outcomes. Our analysis finds that while there are differences in both the number of third parties and the range of spending in Canada and the UK, one commonality is apparent: there is no “typical” third party in either country. As anticipated, given differences in spending limits, UK third parties outspent their Canadian counterparts; however, in both countries third parties rarely came close to spending to their limits. Rather, third parties are found to play a limited role, at least as measured via absolute spending.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AnsolabehereStephen, De FigueiredoJohn M, and SnyderJames M (2003), “Why Is There so Little Money in Politics?,” (National Bureau of Economic Research).
2.
BoatrightRobert G. (2009), “Interest Group Adaptations to Campaign Finance Reform in Canada and the United States,” Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique, 42 (1), 17–43.
3.
BoatrightRobert G. (2011), Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press).
4.
BowersPaul, GayOonagh, and PyperDoug (2013), “Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill,” (London: House of Commons Library).
CliftBen and FisherJustin (2004), “Comparative Party Finance Reform: The Cases of France and Britain,” Party Politics, 10 (6), 677–99.
7.
Committee on Standards in Public Life (2011), “Political Party Finance: Ending the Big Donor Culture,” (United Kingdom: Her Majesty's Stationery Office).
8.
Couture GagnonAlexandre and PaldaFilip (2011), “The Price of Transparency: Do Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws Discourage Political Participation by Citizens' Groups?,” Public Choice, 146 (3), 353–74.
9.
CroneStephen (2011), “Reforming Political Party Funding in the UK: Lessons from Canada,” (United Kingdom: Democratic Audit).
10.
CrossWilliam Paul (2004), Political Parties (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press).
11.
DawoodYasmin (2006), “Democracy, Power, and the Supreme Court: Campaign Finance Reform in Comparative Context,” International Journal of Constitutional Law, 4 (2), 269–93.
12.
Elections Canada (2011), “Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 41st Election,” (Ottawa: Elections Canada).
13.
Electoral Commission (2011), “UK General Election 2010: Campaign Spending Report,” (United Kingdom: The Electoral Commission).
14.
EwingKeith D. (2003), “Promoting Political Equality: Spending Limits in British Electoral Law,” Election Law Journal, 2 (4), 499–524.
15.
EwingKeith D. (2012), “The Trade Union Question in British Political Funding,” in EwingKeith D., RowbottomJacob, and ThamJoo-Cheong (eds.), The Funding of Political Parties: Where Now? (Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge), 11–34.
16.
EwingKeith D. and IssacharoffSamuel (2006), “Introduction,” in EwingK. D. and IssacharoffSamuel (eds.), Party Funding and Campaign Financing in International Perspective (Oxford; Portland, Oregon: Hart Publishing), 1–10.
17.
EwingKeith D. and GhaleighN.S. (2007), “The Cost of Giving and Receiving: Donations to Political Parties in the United Kingdom,” Election Law Journal, 6 (1), 56–71.
18.
FeasbyColin (2003), “Issue Advocacy and Third Parties in the United Kingdom and Canada,” McGill Law Journal, 48, 11–54.
19.
FeasbyColin (2010), “Continuing Questions in Canadian Political Finance Law: Third Parties and Small Political Parties,” Alberta Law Review, 47 (4), 993–1016.
20.
HiebertJanet L. (1991), “Interest Groups and Canadian Federal Elections,” in SeidleF. Leslie (ed.), Interest Groups and Elections in Canada (Royal Commission on Electoral, Reform Party, Financing; Toronto: Dundurn Press).
21.
JansenHarold J. and YoungLisa (2009), “Solidarity Forever? The NDP, Organized Labour, and the Changing Face of Party Finance in Canada,” Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique, 42 (03), 657–78.
22.
KavanaghDennis and ButlerDavid (1997), The British General Election of 1997 (London: Macmillan Press).
23.
LawlorAndrea and CrandallErin (2011), “Understanding Third-party Advertising: An Analysis of the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Canadian Elections,” Canadian Public Administration, 54 (4), 509–29.
24.
MortonRebecca and CameronCharles (1992), “Elections and the Theory of Campaign Contributions: A Survey and Critical Analysis,” Economics and Politics, 4 (1), 79–108.
25.
NorrisPippa (2004), Electoral Engineering: Voting Rules and Political Behavior (Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press).
26.
PresthusRobert Vance (1973), Elite Accommodation in Canadian Politics (Toronto: Macmillan Co. of Canada).
27.
ProssA. Paul (2013), “Barriers to Third-party Advertising in Canadian Elections,” Canadian Public Administration, 56 (3), 491–505.
28.
RussellAndrew, et al. (2008), “Non-Party Activity in the 2005 U.K. General Election: Promoting or Procuring Electoral Success?,” in FarrellDavid M. and Schmitt-BeckRuediger (eds.), Non-party Actors in Electoral Politics: The Role of Interest Groups and Independent Citizens in Contemporary Election Campaigns (Nomos), 103–25.
SmithJennifer and BaierGerald (2012), “Fixed Election Dates, the Continuous Campaign, and Campaign Advertising Restrictions,” in BakvisHerman and JarvisMark D. (eds.), From New Public Management to New Political Governance: Essays in Honour of Peter C. Aucoin (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press), 128–50.
31.
TanguayA. Brian and KayBarry J. (1998), “Third-Party Advertising and the Threat to Electoral Democracy in Canada: The Mouse that Roared,” International Journal of Canadian Studies, 17, 57–80.
32.
YoungLisa and JansenHarold J. (2011a), “Reforming Party and Election Finance in Canada,” in YoungLisa and JansenHarold J. (eds.), Money, Politics, and Democracy: Canada's Party Finance Reforms (Vancouver: UBC Press), 1–18.
33.
YoungLisa and JansenHarold J. (eds.) (2011b), Money, Politics, and Democracy: Canada's Party Finance Reforms (Vancouver: UBC Press).
