Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank
Political donations by companies should be banned to protect UK elections from foreign interference, a thinktank has warned,In the first big overhaul of election funding in 26 years, ministers have pledged to “keep British democracy safe” by closing a loophole that allows individuals not eligible to vote in Britain to donate to political parties through UK-registered companies,The representation of the people bill, being debated in parliament, will oblige corporate donors to show they are controlled by UK electors or citizens,However, in a report published today, the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) claims the new legislation will not solve the problem,Sebastian Gazmuri-Barker, a senior legal analyst at CenTax, said the bill’s proposed tests “contain loopholes that are easily exploitable”.
“Parliament should either ban corporate donations outright or significantly strengthen the approach,” he said,By matching the name of companies declared as donors to ownership records, researchers at the thinktank found that between 2001 and 2024, over 4000 companies had donated £293m, with big surges ahead of general elections,Almost £1 in every £10 came from corporations controlled by individuals who would not have been eligible to donate directly,CenTax found their donations were on average almost twice as large as those from companies with UK-eligible owners,The estimates are likely to be conservative, since the true extent of foreign interference is obscured by opaque corporate structures.
The researchers found a quarter of the money was not traceable because the owner of the company could not be identified.“The bill’s reforms are easy to dodge,” the report states.Details of company ownership are kept at Companies House, where data has been criticised as unreliable and incomplete.CenTax is critical of the fact that the new legislation will continue to rely on Companies House data rather than obliging the Electoral Commission to collect the information.In the absence of a ban on corporate donors, CenTax is calling for all but the smallest donors – both individuals and companies – to be required to register with the Electoral Commission before they can give any money, and says disclosure of the ultimate controllers of companies should be mandatory.
Introducing the bill last month, Steve Reed, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, said: “Growing threats from abroad mean we must make changes to keep our elections secure,We won’t let hostile foreign states use dirty money to buy our elections,We are keeping British democracy safe for British people,”The legislation requires companies to be majority owned or controlled by UK citizens and registered electors, headquartered in the UK, and have enough income to fund donations,The reforms were given new impetus after reports that Elon Musk was considering donating to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
“Around a quarter of money donated by companies is completely untraceable, and at least one pound in 10 comes from individuals who could not donate directly,” said the CenTax director, Arun Advani,“The bill is a welcome opportunity to fix this, but its current provisions won’t do so and risk providing a false sense of security,”
Farage backs Tory attack on Muslim iftar event, saying public prayer ‘was a shock’ – UK politics live
Q: [From Peter Walker from the Guardian] Yesterday you backed what Nick Timothy said about the Ramadan event in Trafalgar Square. What was your objection to it? Yesterday your party said it was a segregation matter. This morning the party chair, Kevin Hollinrake, said it was a general point about prayer in public. But in an article this morning Timothy said this was a specific point about Islam. What is the party’s position?Badenoch says they are both right
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Abandon hope all ye who enter here. You’d have thought this would be the very definition of futility. An act of defiant nihilism. A few weeks ago Kemi Badenoch had declared that the Tory candidate for Gorton and Denton, Charlotte Cadden, had been the real winner despite getting under 2% of the vote and losing her deposit. Now Kemi was to launch the Conservatives’ local election campaign in the certain knowledge the end result would be electoral wipeout
Kemi Badenoch backs Nick Timothy after he calls Islamic public prayers ‘act of domination’
Kemi Badenoch has backed her shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, after he claimed that Islamic prayers taking place in public are intimidating and un-British, with Labour saying the Conservatives had embraced the “gutter” politics of prejudice.The row began after Timothy posted images on social media of prayer at a Ramadan event in London’s Trafalgar Square, saying mass prayer in public places was “an act of domination” and “straight from the Islamist playbook”.After heavy criticism, including from Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, who attended the event, Timothy doubled down on his views, writing in the Daily Telegraph that such an expression of a non-Christian faith was a “challenge” and a call for replacement.After a speech to launch the Conservatives’ local election campaign in London on Thursday, Badenoch was asked if she agreed with Timothy, or with arguments from other Tories that the main worry about the event was about prayers being separated for women and men.“They are both correct,” Badenoch said
Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank
Political donations by companies should be banned to protect UK elections from foreign interference, a thinktank has warned.In the first big overhaul of election funding in 26 years, ministers have pledged to “keep British democracy safe” by closing a loophole that allows individuals not eligible to vote in Britain to donate to political parties through UK-registered companies.The representation of the people bill, being debated in parliament, will oblige corporate donors to show they are controlled by UK electors or citizens.However, in a report published today, the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) claims the new legislation will not solve the problem.Sebastian Gazmuri-Barker, a senior legal analyst at CenTax, said the bill’s proposed tests “contain loopholes that are easily exploitable”
Sadiq Khan urges Labour to campaign on rejoining EU at next election
Labour should go into the next general election promising to rejoin the EU, Sadiq Khan has said.The mayor of London has repeatedly made the case for joining the customs union and single market, but went much further on Wednesday night by suggesting the party should promise full membership at next ballot.“We should, as a Labour party, fight the next general election with a clear manifesto commitment, a vote for Labour means we would rejoin the European Union. I think it’s inevitable,” he told the Italian publication La Repubblica.Khan cited the time that had passed since the referendum and the economic instability caused by Donald Trump since Labour was elected in July 2024 as reasons why it would be desirable
Angela Rayner’s allies say HMRC inquiry set to be resolved before May elections
For months there has been an apparently insurmountable obstacle to Angela Rayner going for the Labour leadership, should Keir Starmer find himself facing a contest.The investigation by HMRC into the former deputy prime minister’s tax affairs has hung heavily over her since she was forced to resign last September over underpayment of stamp duty on her seaside flat.But now Rayner’s allies are increasingly confident that the inquiry will be resolved before the May local elections – a moment of high peril for the prime minister – paving her way for a full return to frontline politics.The Guardian understands that outstanding legal issues over the tax investigation are being ironed out by lawyers and the HMRC process is now approaching its conclusion.Rayner is also on course to make about £100,000 from speaking engagements since she left government and her memoir, meaning she has earned enough to pay off her outstanding tax bill
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