Registration of Political Parties Act 1998

Changing, confirming and removing registrations

6 Changes to the register

(1) A party may apply to the registrar to have its entry in the register altered by—

(a) the amendment of any particular other than a registered name,

(b) the addition, substitution or removal of an emblem, or

(c) the addition of information prescribed under paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 since the party applied for registration.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the registrar shall grant an application under this section.

(3) The registrar shall refuse an application to add an emblem if—

(a) the party already has three registered emblems, or

(b) in the registrar’s opinion, any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 5(2) apply to the emblem.

(4) The registrar shall refuse to substitute an emblem if in his opinion any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 5(2) apply to the new emblem.

(5) If as a result of an application under this section one person will be registered both as leader and as nominating officer, the application must request the addition of the name of the holder of some other specified office in the party.

(6) If an application under this section requests the substitution of the name of a leader, nominating officer or other officer, or an addition in accordance with subsection (5), the application must give the home address of the person whose name is to be substituted or added.

(7) An application under this section must be accompanied by any fee prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.

7 Confirmation of registration

(1) A party’s registration shall lapse at the end of the period of three months beginning with any anniversary of its inclusion in the register unless the registered leader notifies the registrar that the party is to remain registered.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) must either—

(a) state that the particulars in the party’s entry remain accurate and include any information prescribed under paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 since the party applied for registration, or

(b) include an application under section 6 as a result of which the party’s entry will become accurate and will include any information prescribed under paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 since the party applied for registration.

(3) A notice under subsection (1) must—

(a) be in writing,

(b) be received by the registrar during the period beginning one month before the relevant anniversary and ending three months after it, and

(c) be accompanied by any fee prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.

8 Removal of entries from the register

(1) The registrar shall remove a party’s entry from the register if—

(a) it lapses under section 7, or

(b) the party applies to have its entry removed.

(2) Where a party’s entry is removed from the register, the registrar shall, in considering applications made by other parties before or during the transitional period, treat the entry as still being in the register.

(3) The transitional period is the period of three months beginning with the day on which the entry is removed from the register.

9 Applications under section 6 or 8

(1) Subject to subsection (3), an application by a party under section 6 or 8 must be signed by its responsible officers.

(2) For the purposes of this section “the responsible officers” are—

(a) the registered leader;

(b) the registered nominating officer;

(c) where the leader and the nominating officer are the same person, the other registered officer.

(3) If any responsible officer is unable to sign an application—

(a) the holder of some other office in the party may sign in his place, and

(b) the application must include a statement of the reason why the responsible officer is unable to sign and a declaration that the holder of the other office is authorised to sign in his place.