Political Donations: Cap

Baroness Hodge of Barking Excerpts

Thursday 5th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, let me first address the noble Lord’s question about reports, in particular that of Transparency International. The Government are committed to safeguarding the integrity of our democratic processes and, as I am making clear today, we will be taking steps to strengthen protections against foreign interference in our elections. We are seeking and remain open to evidence from stakeholders, particularly on threats to our democracy. Our primary concern is reducing the threat of foreign interference.

Political parties play a vital role in our democracy, and it is important that they be able to fundraise effectively and communicate with the electorate. My department is currently developing proposals to give effect to these commitments. We are engaging with key stakeholders such as the Electoral Commission and the Committee on Standards, and we will update the House in due course.

[Baroness Hodge of Barking (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that it is vital that the new Government take every step to clean up our politics—on political donations and beyond? Does he agree that, as well as a cap, we need greater transparency in respect of political donations? For example, for all donations over £200, we should know the identity of the donor. Does he also agree that we need to ban all foreign donations, cutting off the infiltration of Russia and China into our politics, and that we need to strengthen the remit and powers of the Electoral Commission to ensure both the integrity and legitimacy of our donations?

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My noble friend makes a number of excellent points. To summarise, I agree that there is a lot more we have to do as a Government. We committed in our manifesto to protecting democracy by strengthening the rules on donations to political parties. While it is clear that foreign donations to political parties are not permitted, the Government recognise the risk posed by malign actors who seek to interfere with and undermine our democratic processes. We will take the necessary steps to make sure that effective controls are in place, in order to ensure that democratic processes are safeguarded.