3rd July, 2025 

Dear Rushanara,  

RE: Strengthening political finance rules in the forthcoming Elections Bill 

We write to you as a group of civil society organisations and independent think tanks working on issues of  electoral integrity and anti-corruption in UK politics - particularly on areas around political finance in the UK. 

We welcome your commitment to publish a policy statement on this issue this summer, building on Labour  Manifesto commitments about restoring public service in Westminster, which included strengthening the  rules around donations to political parties. An “Elections Bill” represents an important opportunity to  strengthen democracy in the UK, restore trust in our politics, and secure the integrity of UK elections in an  increasingly volatile world.  

However, we are writing to urge you to be as ambitious as possible and ensure the Bill contains  comprehensive reforms addressing current loopholes in political finance laws. Without this, the Bill risks  leaving our elections dangerously exposed to foreign interference, the influence of mega-donations, and will  ultimately fail to protect our elections from malign influence and threats at home and abroad. 

Hostile state actors, kleptocrats, and the super-rich can easily sidestep the UK’s permissibility rules and  funnel money, via UK-registered shell companies and unincorporated associations, into our political parties.  Parties’ unhealthy dependence on a handful of large donors also poses a risk of capture by narrow vested  interests. Over half of the £85 million in reported donations from private sources in 2023, £45 million, came  from just 19 individuals giving more than £1m each. 

Independent expert bodies, including the Electoral Commission, the Committee on Standards in Public Life  and civil society, broadly agree on the problems with our political finance system – and on the changes that  are needed to safeguard it from foreign interference and dirty money.  

To rise to this challenge, we need an Elections Bill to include the following reforms:

Close loopholes and foreign interference: 

• Require unincorporated associations to conduct permissibility checks on donations and disclose the  source of these funds. We must also ensure rules banning proxy donations are clearly defined and  enforceable. 
• Introduce new rules to ensure corporate donations cannot exceed amounts greater than profits  recently generated in the UK, prohibit donations from those with public contracts, and ensure that  corporate donations are not allowed where the owners are not permissible donors. 

Limit the influence of mega-donations: 

• Reduce spending limits and require annual reporting for political parties, not just during election  periods. 
• Put a cap on donations, ban donations via cryptocurrencies, and require parties to identify the true  source of funds as part of a risk-based approach to donations. 

Increase oversight and enforcement: 

• Strengthen the civil and criminal enforcement regime for electoral finance 
• Restore and bolster the independence of the Electoral Commission, reinstating the ability to set its  own strategy. 

We are keen to support you to deliver on this important agenda. Representatives of the UK Anti-Corruption  Coalition would welcome a meeting and further engagement ahead of the next steps for the legislation. 

Sincerely, 

The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition 

Transparency International UK 

Patriotic Millionaires UK 

Electoral Reform Society 

Radix Big Tent 

The Autonomy Institute 

Spotlight on Corruption 

The UK Open Government Network 

Unlock Democracy 

Compassion in Politics 

Centre for Finance and Security at the Royal United Services Institute 

Make Votes Matter  

Byline Times

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This letter was originally posted on Democracy for Sale.

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