Reaction to the Representation of the People Bill from the Resilient Democracy Network.

On February 12th 2026, Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State for  Housing, Communities and Local Government presented the Representation of the People Bill for its first reading. The Bill makes provision extending the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds and the registration of voters as well as provisions about political expenditure and political donations.

Ben Rich, CE of Radix Big Tent calls for a cap on political donations: 

"For less than the cost of a premiership footballer, a billionaire can turn our electoral system on its head.  There is widespread public and Parliamentary support for an annual cap on political donations - whether from legitimate or illegitimate sources - to prevent the rich and powerful from distorting UK elections with outsized donations.  No one needs to be able to give a million pounds to a political party.  Even if the Bill passes the Musk test, it fails the Harborne test.”

Christopher Harborne is the Thai based crypto-financier who gave £9million to Reform UK in 2025.

Tom Brake Chief Executive of Unlock Democracy says, 'This is a good day for democracy - but not as good as it could have been. At a time of global democratic backsliding, when US lawmakers are trying to make it harder to vote and harder to register, this package of common-sense measures will go some way to strengthening participation and trust in our politics. But further steps are needed before the Bill becomes law.

'The government’s decision not to restore the independence of the Electoral Commission is a baffling omission. Public confidence depends on the Electoral Commission being independent of ministers and answerable to Parliament, not the government of the day.  Labour’s apparent abandonment of its principled stance in opposition - and briefly in government - leaves the watchdog highly vulnerable to political pressure. (2) We hope ministers will see the error of their ways before it’s too late.'

Unlock Democracy further welcome measures to lower the voting age, improve voter registration  and on political donations but also regret the lack of a donations cap.

Dan Lawes Co-CEO of My Life My Say says '“Today’s Bill and the extension of the franchise to all 16 and 17-year-olds is a monumental update to our democracy that will allow millions of young people to have their voices heard at the next general election. 

'Having created the v.16 campaign alongside young people, our work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has focused on ensuring that young people were included in todays Bill. We are delighted to see the government follow through on its commitment to young people, and our attention now turns towards ensuring that a new generation of voters are properly welcomed into our democracy.” 

The Migrant Democracy Project says 'The Elections Bill fails to meet the Government's own goal to "create a fair, secure and inclusive democracy" as it continues to keep millions of residents locked out of the ballot box. Whilst votes at 16 across all elections is a great step towards modernising our elections, without extending the franchise to all qualifying foreign residents, the Bill fails to fully bring England and Northern Ireland with reforms already adopted in Scotland and Wales. When these devolved nations lowered the franchise to 16-year olds, they also extended the right to vote to all residents. The Elections Bill is the opportunity to give the vote to over 1.2 million residents who have no right to vote at all. Migrant Democracy Project calls for amendments to the Bill to extend the franchise and residents can write to their MPs here."

Radix Big Tent focuses on catalytic reforms to complex economic, political and social systems to drive change.  On 5th March Join Observer Political Editor, Rachel Sylvester, MP for Cities of London & Westminster, Rachel Blake MP, Kamila Kingstone from Spotlight on Corruption and Rose Zussman from Transparency International, as well as Eliza Lockhart of the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI, as they discuss the upcoming Representation of the People Bill and whether measures to tighten rules on political funding go far enough to prevent wealthy individuals and foreign states undermining our democracy. 

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