ANNELIESE DODDS: ‘Now is the time to behave to deliver occasion spending underneath management as arms race hots up’
Former Labour chair Dame Anneliese Dodds has said the limit on national party campaign spending must be slashed by £10million to bring it under control – with funding described as an ‘arms race’
Dame Anneliese Dodds has called for tough new rules around national campaign spending(Image: PA)
Recent scandals about Reform UK’s funding have rightly drawn significant scrutiny in the media.
Nigel Farage has very serious questions to answer, of course. But the millions of pounds being poured into that party by crypto interests is only the latest escalation in a funding arms race between parties that was already intensifying.
British politics has got more and more expensive. Between 2000 and 2023, the limit on national party campaign spending was just under £19million.
In one fell swoop this was increased by 80% three years ago, to just over £34m. If you’re wondering why you didn’t hear about this change, very few people did. The massive increase was made without primary legislation and without a national debate.
Political fundraising has now become an arms race. There is immense pressure on parties to match and beat their opponents’ funds. When the spending limit was increased in 2023, the Electoral Commission said it had “not seen evidence” to support the change.
Now we have an opportunity to do something about it, with the Representation of the People Bill currently making its way through parliament.
The Government has announced it will make a number of changes to the Bill to tighten up measures against dodgy donations, including restrictions on overseas donors and a moratorium on crypto donations.
While these measures will help curb foreign interference in our democracy, they won’t bring national party spending back down to a reasonable level. Indeed, the independent Rycroft Review into foreign interference in politics argued that reducing spending limits could relieve fundraising pressure and diminish the appeal of non-permissible sources.
The time to act is now. Trust in politics and public institutions has plummeted. Crypto interests in the US have been spending massive amounts of real dollars trying to influence both elections and primaries – and they’ve had great success.
Monied interests can and will hold increasing sway unless politicians come together in the public interest to block this.
This is why I am proposing lowering the campaign spending cap by £10m and putting this cap into primary legislation, so that it operates as exactly that: a reasonable limit, not a giant, unaccountable ratchet.
Our democracy can and must operate in the interests of all voters – not only of those with the very deepest pockets. We need a proper cap on national campaign spending, and one which is fair and transparent.
