Phil Brickell says “people don’t show up to vote if they don’t think it makes a difference”.Trust in our politics as a force for good is at an all-time low. People don’t show up to vote if they don’t think it makes a difference. And low turnout at elections tears at the very fabric of our society, corroding democracy and the social contract between citizen and state.Partygate antics, the awarding of dodgy Covid PPE contracts by the last government and a sense of detachment between the Westminster bubble and the real world all serve to chip away at confidence in our politics. But one thing which all parties struggle with is the issue of who funds them.We’ve seen Russians with alleged connections to Vladimir Putin paying the Conservative Party hundreds of thousands of pounds to play tennis with Boris Johnson and have dinner with Theresa May and Liz Truss.My party has had its own issues with suspect Chinese money. And, more recently, we’ve had reports that controversial billionaire Elon Musk is considering donating substantial sums to Reform UK.So, this is not about one party or one individual. We find ourselves beset with a systemic problem which has been allowed to fester for decades. Transparency International UK recently found that £1 in £10 donated to political parties and politicians in the past twenty years came from dubious or unknown sources. That is inexcusable.All the while, there are a number of well-known loopholes which continue to be exploited and allow money to flow into UK politics without proper checks on the source of those funds.Unincorporated associations, such as the Carlton Club, the spiritual home of the Conservative Party, can channel donations to political candidates. In turn, candidates themselves aren’t required to check the ultimate source of said donation.Anonymous shell companies which have never turned a profit in the UK are equally free to donate. Compliance officials will often talk about ‘following the money’ but having worked in a number of banks trying to do just that for over a decade before entering politics, I know just how easy it is for those with something to hide to cover their tracks through shell entities. The unjustifiable financial secrecy provided by the UK’s own offshore territories merely enables further obfuscation by donors who wish to hide their contributions.Closing these loopholes would be a good start. But we must go further and faster. Lowering the donations reporting threshold would ensure better visibility of who is paying into our politics.Mandating that businesses are only able to do donate if they actually generate sufficient commercial profits in the UK would allay concerns around foreign interference. And a cap on donation values would reduce the risk of undue influence for mega-donors.Elsewhere, campaign organisation Spotlight on Corruption has called for all parties, candidates and campaigners to be obliged to conduct proper ‘know your donor checks’. That would serve as a powerful means for placing the onus on donor recipients to tackle the dangerous collapse in trust in our democracy.Yet we know that any rule is only as good as its enforcement. Key offences are remarkably difficult to enforce, with the last Conservative government having neutered the operational independence of the Electoral Commission. Labour should restore the Commission’s independence and give it the teeth it urgently needs to hold rule breakers to account. Not only is it the right thing to do. But it would also send a clear message to voters that politics must operate in the service of working people.This Thursday, Parliament will debate some of the measures I have outlined. I very much look forward to working with the government to deliver on the promise we made to the British people at the election: we will give politics back to you.Phil Brickell is the Labour MP for Bolton WestRelated…Labour Could Cap Political Donations Amid Claims Elon Musk Wants To Give Reform UK $100 MillionTory Donations Plummet As Party Braces Itself For Electoral ArmageddonLiz Truss Denies Huge Donations To Tory Party From Russia Are ‘Damaging’ Politics, labour party, conservative party, donations, phil brickell, labour-party, conservative-party, phil-brickell HuffPost UK – Athena2 – All Entries (Public)
Phil Brickell says “people don’t show up to vote if they don’t think it makes a difference”.Trust in our politics as a force for good is at an all-time low. People don’t show up to vote if they don’t think it makes a difference. And low turnout at elections tears at the very fabric of our society, corroding democracy and the social contract between citizen and state.
Partygate antics, the awarding of dodgy Covid PPE contracts by the last government and a sense of detachment between the Westminster bubble and the real world all serve to chip away at confidence in our politics. But one thing which all parties struggle with is the issue of who funds them.
We’ve seen Russians with alleged connections to Vladimir Putin paying the Conservative Party hundreds of thousands of pounds to play tennis with Boris Johnson and have dinner with Theresa May and Liz Truss.
My party has had its own issues with suspect Chinese money. And, more recently, we’ve had reports that controversial billionaire Elon Musk is considering donating substantial sums to Reform UK.
So, this is not about one party or one individual. We find ourselves beset with a systemic problem which has been allowed to fester for decades. Transparency International UK recently found that £1 in £10 donated to political parties and politicians in the past twenty years came from dubious or unknown sources. That is inexcusable.
All the while, there are a number of well-known loopholes which continue to be exploited and allow money to flow into UK politics without proper checks on the source of those funds.
Unincorporated associations, such as the Carlton Club, the spiritual home of the Conservative Party, can channel donations to political candidates. In turn, candidates themselves aren’t required to check the ultimate source of said donation.
Anonymous shell companies which have never turned a profit in the UK are equally free to donate. Compliance officials will often talk about ‘following the money’ but having worked in a number of banks trying to do just that for over a decade before entering politics, I know just how easy it is for those with something to hide to cover their tracks through shell entities.
The unjustifiable financial secrecy provided by the UK’s own offshore territories merely enables further obfuscation by donors who wish to hide their contributions.
Closing these loopholes would be a good start. But we must go further and faster. Lowering the donations reporting threshold would ensure better visibility of who is paying into our politics.
Mandating that businesses are only able to do donate if they actually generate sufficient commercial profits in the UK would allay concerns around foreign interference. And a cap on donation values would reduce the risk of undue influence for mega-donors.
Elsewhere, campaign organisation Spotlight on Corruption has called for all parties, candidates and campaigners to be obliged to conduct proper ‘know your donor checks’. That would serve as a powerful means for placing the onus on donor recipients to tackle the dangerous collapse in trust in our democracy.
Yet we know that any rule is only as good as its enforcement. Key offences are remarkably difficult to enforce, with the last Conservative government having neutered the operational independence of the Electoral Commission. Labour should restore the Commission’s independence and give it the teeth it urgently needs to hold rule breakers to account. Not only is it the right thing to do. But it would also send a clear message to voters that politics must operate in the service of working people.
This Thursday, Parliament will debate some of the measures I have outlined. I very much look forward to working with the government to deliver on the promise we made to the British people at the election: we will give politics back to you.
Phil Brickell is the Labour MP for Bolton West
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