Aspire accounts

The request was successful.

Dear Electoral Commission,

Can you tell me will the accounts for Aspire the new political party registered by Lutfur Rahman also include spending on leaflets and other political activities by THING? According to the https://electionleaflets.org they have sent out a number of leaflets including this one https://electionleaflets.org/leaflets/15...

Also can you tell me as a group for council purposes were they authorised to send out election literature?

Yours faithfully,

Abdul Hai

FOI, Electoral Commission

Dear Mr Hai,

 

Our Ref: FOI 029/18

 

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act dated 18
February 2018 received by the Commission on 19 February 2018 concerning:

 

Can you tell me will the accounts for Aspire the new political party
registered by Lutfur Rahman also include spending on leaflets and other
political activities by THING? According to the
[1]https://electionleaflets.org they have sent out a number of leaflets
including this one [2]https://electionleaflets.org/leaflets/15...

 

Also can you tell me as a group for council purposes were they authorised
to send out election literature?

 

The Commission aims to respond to requests for information promptly and
within the statutory timeframe of twenty working days.

 

You may expect to receive a reply sent from the Commission by 16 March
2018.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Humayra Siddika

Information Management Adviser

The Electoral Commission

3 Bunhill Row
London EC1Y 8YZ

[3]electoralcommission.org.uk

[4]yourvotematters.co.uk

 

[5]Twitter | [6]Facebook | [7]Blog

 

References

Visible links
1. https://electionleaflets.org/
2. https://electionleaflets.org/leaflets/15...
3. https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/
4. https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/
5. https://twitter.com/ElectoralCommUK
6. https://www.facebook.com/electoralcommis...
7. http://ukelectoralcommission.wordpress.c...

Abdul Hai left an annotation ()

The People's Alliance of Tower Hamlets has been doing similar things. https://electionleaflets.org/leaflets/15...

FOI, Electoral Commission

Dear Mr Hai,

 

Our Ref: FOI 029/18

 

Thank you for your email to the Electoral Commission dated 18 February
2018, received by the Commission on 19 February 2018.

 

The Commission aims to respond to requests for information promptly and
has done so within the statutory timeframe of twenty working days.

 

Your request is in bold below followed by our response.

 

1.    Can you tell me will the accounts for Aspire the new political party
registered by Lutfur Rahman also include spending on leaflets and other
political activities by THING? According to the
[1]https://electionleaflets.org they have sent out a number of leaflets
including this one [2]https://electionleaflets.org/leaflets/15...

 

2.    Also can you tell me as a group for council purposes were they
authorised to send out election literature?

 

Our response is as follows:

 

We hold some of the information you have requested.

 

Question 1

 

The Commission assesses all applications to register political parties
carefully against the requirements set out in the Political Parties,
Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA).

 

The Commission received an application to register Aspire as a political
party on 30 June 2017. After assessing the application to register Aspire,
the Commission was satisfied the application met the statutory tests for
registration. The Commission approved the party’s registration on 26
January 2018.

For each registered party there must be a registered leader, nominating
officer and treasurer, which are named in their application. It is
inaccurate to state that Aspire was registered by Lutfur Rahman. Mr Rahman
has never been proposed as one of Aspire’s officers. The names of Aspire’s
officers are as follows:

o Leader:                       Kalam Mahmud Abu Taher Choudhury
o Nominating officer: Lilian Collins
o Treasurer:                  Jahed Bokth Choudhury

 

Further information about the party’s registration may be viewed on our
website here:
[3]http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk...

As Aspire is now a registered political party, it is required to comply
with the funding and spending rules set out in PPERA.  This includes
submitting an annual statement of accounts which must show the true
financial position of the party and must include all income and
expenditure for that year. The Commission publishes these accounts on its
website as part of its commitment to ensuring transparency in party
finance.

The end of the financial year for Aspire is 31 December each year. If the
party’s expenditure is £250,000 or less then it must report within 4
months of the end its financial year. If the party’s expenditure is over
£250,000 then it must report within six months and seven days of the end
of its financial year, with an independent auditor’s certificate.

Question 2

We do not hold the information you have requested.

Your request refers to a leaflet that was distributed in November 2017. We
are aware of this material and understand that it was produced and
distributed by the Tower Hamlets Independent Group (THIG) and not by
Aspire.

The Electoral Commission is responsible for regulating the rules on
political party funding and spending. We regulate the requirement for
parties and other campaigners (but not candidates) to include an ‘imprint’
on campaign material that identifies the source of the material.

We are not responsible for authorising the distribution of electoral
material. You may wish to raise this matter directly with your local
authority.

 

I trust that this information satisfies your request. The Commission
strives to be an open, transparent authority.

If you are not satisfied with this response, please note that the
Commission operates a review procedure, details of which can be found on
the Commission website at:
[4]http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/ab...

Please also note that if you have exhausted all internal Commission review
procedures and you are still not satisfied you have the right to appeal to
the Information Commissioner. Details of this procedure can be found on
the ICO website: [5]https://ico.org.uk/

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Humayra Siddika

Information Management Adviser

The Electoral Commission

3 Bunhill Row
London EC1Y 8YZ

[6]electoralcommission.org.uk

[7]yourvotematters.co.uk

 

[8]Twitter | [9]Facebook | [10]Blog

 

References

Visible links
1. https://electionleaflets.org/
2. https://electionleaflets.org/leaflets/15...
3. http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk...
4. http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/ab...
5. https://ico.org.uk/
6. https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/
7. https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/
8. https://twitter.com/ElectoralCommUK
9. https://www.facebook.com/electoralcommis...
10. http://ukelectoralcommission.wordpress.c...

Abdul Hai left an annotation ()

I have contacted monitoring offcer, returning officer and electoral services. So far no response.