Spotlight on Corruption asked electoral experts what they want to see in the upcoming Elections Bill. Here Dr Sam Power argues for an annual limit on political donations from any one donor.
A donations limit of £1 million would protect democracy and ensure fairness in our elections.
The UK does not place any kind of limit on donations to political parties or candidates. This is at odds with many peer countries such as Canada, France and Spain, while Australia is in the process of introducing them. Now is the time to revisit this.
Despite being recommended by the Hayden Phillips Review, the Committee on Standards in Public Life and – recently – the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Transparency International UK there has been little appetite by successive governments to introduce a donations cap. This is for two reasons:
- The need for top-up funds from the state, for which public support is low.
- The inability of the Conservatives and Labour to reach an agreement on the manner in which trade unions, individuals and corporations are included in any cap.
These problems could be addressed if a ‘democracy backstop’ was placed at £1 million.
Click on the image below to read Sam’s short paper in full.
