Thousands of real printed postcards are reaching parliament this week as campaigners and the public urge MPs to back amendments to the Representation of the People Bill which seek to cap all individual political donations.

Over the last few weeks, the #politicsnotforsale campaign, coordinated by Fair Vote UK and Radix Big Tent, has seen thousands of individual members of the public sending real postcards calling for a cap on donations, and specifically asking MPs to support Stella Creasy MP’s amendment, which proposes a £100,000 cap on individual donations, bringing donation caps from within the UK in line with those from outside. The Bill will receive its third reading in Parliament on Tuesday 14th July.

Organisations within the campaign coalition including Unlock Democracy, Transparency International UK, Spotlight on Corruption, Electoral Reform Society, Open Britain and the Good Law Project have also seen many thousands of emails sent to MPs as well as in petitions signed, showing the strength of feeling from the public on this topic.

Kyle Taylor, Director of Fair Vote UK, said:

"The public are yet again ahead of politicians on this. Across the country, people have told us they think even £100,000 is an astonishing amount of money for one person to be able to give to a political party. They understand instinctively that democracy shouldn't be a playground for the mega-rich and that money obviously buys influence. Parliament now has the chance to catch up. It’s not hard to see the problem and it shouldn’t be this hard to do the right thing”.

In an age of mainly digital campaigning, Ben Rich, CEO of Radix Big Tent is delighted that the postcard campaign has caught the imagination of the public. 

“We know from polling that nine out ten voters support a donation cap but this really shows the anger out there, particularly with recent high profile huge donations. Our range of five designs, from Westminster in a shopping trolley to a mocked-up estate agent listing, get the message across that politics shouldn’t be for sale. The public agrees and thousands have shown their commitment in paying for and sending the cards.’’

Tom Brake, CE of Unlock Democracy, agrees.

“Amongst the waves of emails MPs receive they can’t have missed our colourful postcards. They make a serious point; big money and politics don’t mix. It is time to put a stop to donors buying access and influence.”

Rose Zussman, Senior Advocacy Manager, Transparency International UK said:

"Across the country, people are taking the time to write to their MP demanding big money is taken out of our politics. That tells you something politicians should not ignore: the public has run out of patience with a system where a handful of mega-donors can buy influence the rest of us cannot. Parliament has a chance to fix this through the Representation of the People Bill. These public are asking MPs a simple question - whose side are you on?"

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