Short money

There are several categories of funding available to political parties. £2,000,000 in grants is awarded to all parties in the House of Commons with two or more MPs, including the governing party. This is partly distributed based on each party’s vote share and helps them employ staff for researching and developing policies. Short money is given to opposition parties to hire extra researchers and staff, calculated based on both the number of seats won and total votes received. Additional funds are provided to the Leader of the Opposition (LOTO) to support their office and enable them to hold the Prime Minister to account. Opposition parties in the House of Lords also receive Cranborne money to assist them in holding the government to account.