Political Donations

Manuela Perteghella Excerpts

Monday 31st March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate and the petitioners for bringing to Parliament this important petition, warning of the corrosion of trust between elected politicians and voters and of the vulnerability of our political finance system. I was proud last month to bring forward a ten-minute rule Bill on political donations, and I am pleased that Members from across the House continue to shine a light on this important issue. I hope that today’s debate has further encouraged the Government to take political finance reform seriously and give it the priority it deserves.

This debate has made one thing very clear: there is growing agreement across the House that our system of political donations is in urgent need of reform. We must act to restore public trust in our democracy, and that means protecting it from undue influence, whether foreign or domestic. For too long, our political finance rules have lagged behind the reality of modern campaigning. The result? A system that concentrates too much power in too few hands, while many voters feel increasingly unheard.

Politics should be for everyone, not just the super-rich. The Liberal Democrats would introduce a cap on political donations and close the loopholes that continue to allow foreign money into our system. Our current rules leave the door dangerously open to influence from sources that do not always reflect the values or interests of the British people, as my hon. Friend the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) rightly observed. We believe that every voice should count equally. That is the only way we can ensure that it is the people of this country—not billionaires, not oligarchs and not corporate lobbyists—who decide our future at the ballot box.

We have heard good points from the hon. Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) about the lack of transparency in lobbying. Trust in politics is faltering. A recent poll showed that more than two thirds of the British public support a cap on political donations. The case for change is clear, and the public know it. It is time that the Government caught up.

Under the current rules there is still no limit on how much a single person or company can donate and, despite years of warnings, loopholes in our political finance laws remain wide open. These weaknesses have allowed foreign actors to funnel money into our politics through opaque networks and UK-registered companies. Successive Governments have failed to act. Now the new Government have a real opportunity to deliver meaningful political finance reform and safeguard our democracy. I look forward to hearing from the Minister what steps will be taken to ensure fairness and transparency.

Public participation in politics is worryingly low—and why would it not be when so many people feel that their voice does not count and that decisions are made in private boardrooms, not public debates? As public servants, we have a duty to change that, and we can start by strengthening the integrity of our political system.

This is not just a question of fairness; it is a question of national security, as my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) explained. The malign Russian influence on one of the most important referendums in British history must be investigated as a matter of urgency. Our current rules leave our democracy exposed. Whether through digital interference, shell companies or strategic donations, hostile actors have found ways to reach into our democratic process. We have seen worrying headlines about foreign billionaires expressing interest in bankrolling political parties. Under our current rules, we are worryingly powerless to stop that, even when the money could distort public debate and undermine faith in our institutions.

Britain has long taken pride in being a beacon of democracy, but pride alone is not enough. We need meaningful action from the Government to protect what we value. Our political finance system is riddled with loopholes, and they are not minor technicalities: they are gaping vulnerabilities that can be and have been exploited. If we are serious about protecting our democracy, we must introduce a fair and proportionate cap on political donations, and close the blatant loopholes that allow foreign money to flow unrestricted into our politics. These are not radical ideas; they are overdue reforms backed by a broad public consensus.

Our politics must serve the British people, not the privileged few. Every citizen deserves an equal voice, and protecting our democracy from undue influence is the test of our commitment to that principle. Let us act now. Let us introduce fair caps, close the loopholes and give our constituents confidence that their votes matter just as much as anyone else’s. If we want to restore faith in our democracy, we must show that it really belongs to the people.