There is a long-standing principle that only those on the UK electoral register are permissible political donors. This is upheld by a framework of laws and established standards enforced by the Electoral Commission, the independent body that regulates political finance in the UK.
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 states that UK political parties must only accept donations from permissible donors. The Electoral Commission’s guidelines make clear that a party that receives a donation that is not from a permissible donor must return this donation within 30 days. Parties that do not comply may be subject to civil sanctions and the party and treasurer responsible may also have committed criminal offences.
Following the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s 1998 recommendations on the funding of political parties in the UK, the Companies Act 2006 requires companies making political donations to obtain the prior authority of their shareholders; this applies to all political donations, regardless of the amount. The previous Government also brought forward the Elections Act 2022, which restricts third-party campaigning to UK-based groups and eligible overseas electors so that only those with legitimate interests in UK elections can campaign at UK elections.
It is important that our democracy is not subject to subversive foreign influences. While I fully support working with the Government to ensure that our political finance laws are strong enough to protect our democracy, I believe it is important that the Government does not change these laws without appropriate consultation.
I have great faith in the British public. I do not think the British public can be bought; they will decide at the next election who should govern the country. To protect the UK’s sovereignty and to maintain trust in political processes, Members of Parliament and political parties are expected to uphold high standards of conduct, avoiding financial dependence on foreign donors. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority helps to ensure that their conduct aligns with these expectations.
