Politicians who settle for donations from dodgy firms to face fines and jail
EXC: Company donations will be restricted based on their profit, in sweeping new laws to crackdown on unfair financial interference and dirty money in British politics
Politicians could be fined or even face prison sentences(Image: Getty Images)
Political parties and politicians who accept donations from dodgy companies could be fined or even see prison sentences under new plans announced by the Government.
Company donations will be restricted based on their profit, in sweeping new laws to crackdown on unfair financial interference in British politics.
The Government had previously unveiled the Representation of the People Bill, to stamp out dirty money flowing into political parties.
The Bill introduced restrictions based on a revenue test, but following the independent Rycroft review into foreign financial interference in UK democracy, the government is going even further by basing it on a company’s profit.
Drawn up by former permanent secretary Philip Rycroft, the review called for a pause on cryptocurrency donations, and also a cap on donations from British voters abroad. The Rycroft Review also argued that restricting by profit was a more effective way of helping prevent foreign interference.
The new test will mean companies need to show they have made sufficient profit to cover their donation, and they will be restricted over how many times they can make donate over a select time period.
If a political party fails to check whether a company donation they received is within the new rules, they could be fined up to £20,000 by the Electoral Commission, and receive up to seven years in prison for the most serious offences.
An MHCLG spokesperson said: “In the current political landscape, it is vital we take strong action to protect our democracy from outside threats and hostile actors.
“Our new restrictions on company donations will make sure only legitimate UK companies who contribute to our society will be able to make donations, and will stop illegitimate money being funnelled into our democracy.”
This newspaper previously revealed of the £18.6million donated to Reform last year, some £15m came from those with offshore links. That is almost 80 per cent of the cash given to the party.
Reform’s donations this year far outstripped Labour and the Tories, with Keir Starmer ’s party raising £4 million and the Conservatives recording donations of £4.2 million in the same period. The Green Party received just £263,884 of donations, while the Liberal Democrats were handed £3,019,235.
