Events in context

Constitutions, AGMs and office bearers: how Scotland's campaign groups govern themselves

Events in context · Published 2026-11-04

Behind the rallies and street stalls of the independence debate lies a less visible world of governance: draft constitutions circulated for comment, annual general meetings in church halls, elections of conveners, secretaries and treasurers. In early 2019, several groups that had started informally in 2014 were holding their first formal AGMs. This article explains what those steps involve and what the law says about political campaign groups in Scotland.

From informal network to association

Most campaign groups begin as a handful of people with a shared purpose, a social media page and perhaps a website. As long as they stay small, this works. Once a group collects membership fees or donations, sells merchandise, opens a bank account or speaks publicly in the name of hundreds of members, questions arise: who decides what the group says, who controls its money, and how can members hold its leaders to account?

The usual answer is to adopt a written constitution. In Scots law, a group of people who agree to work together for a common purpose under a set of rules, without forming a company, is an unincorporated association. Such associations have no legal personality of their own, so their position rests mainly on common law and on their own constitutions. The Scottish Law Commission has recommended giving many of them a separate legal personality, which would make it easier to hold property and enter contracts.

What a constitution usually contains

Many groups borrow model constitutions from organisations that have already written them. Common debates in drafting concern how wide membership should be (for example, whether a group based on a shared background should admit supporters who do not share it), whether to have both a national committee and a wider council, and how high to set the quorum for general meetings. A quorum set too high can paralyse a group whose members are scattered across the country; one set too low can allow a small faction to take decisions in the name of all.

The annual general meeting

The AGM is where members receive reports on the past year, approve accounts, elect office bearers and vote on changes to the constitution. Good practice includes sending notice and an agenda in advance, accepting nominations before or at the meeting, recording minutes, and allowing members who cannot attend to follow decisions. A group's first AGM is often the moment when an informal leadership becomes an elected one, and it can bring disagreements into the open, particularly about timing: whether to adopt a constitution quickly, so that the group is ready for a possible referendum, or more slowly, to ensure wide consultation.

Why charity status is usually not available

Some groups consider becoming a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), a legal form regulated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) that gives limited liability and a separate legal personality. However, under the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, a body cannot be a charity if its purposes include advancing a political party, and long-standing charity law treats purposes aimed at changing the law or government policy as political rather than charitable. A group whose purpose is to campaign for or against independence will therefore generally not qualify. Charities may undertake some campaigning in support of their charitable purposes, but OSCR's guidance makes clear that this must not become their main activity.

Groups that need limited liability usually choose instead to become a company limited by guarantee, which requires registration at Companies House and annual filings.

The rules on referendum campaigning

When a referendum is called, campaign groups face additional rules. For the 2014 referendum, the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 required any individual or organisation intending to spend more than £10,000 on campaigning during the regulated period to register with the Electoral Commission as a permitted participant. Registered participants were subject to a spending limit of £150,000, while the two designated lead campaigns, Yes Scotland and Better Together, could spend up to £1.5 million. Donations to registered campaigners had to come from permissible sources, and published material had to carry an imprint showing who had promoted and printed it. Similar rules apply to elections under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, and since 2023 digital campaign material must also carry an imprint.

Why governance matters

Governance can seem a distraction from campaigning, but groups that neglect it often run into trouble: disputes over money, over who may speak for the group, or over the use of mailing lists and social media accounts. Groups that formalise early find it easier to register with regulators, open bank accounts and reassure donors. The experience of the groups formed in 2014 is a reminder that political movements are built from many small organisations, each of which has to solve the ordinary problems of collective action.

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