Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will introduce legislation to regulate political donations made by foreign nationals via companies.

Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems. The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections and, as stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will share details with Parliament in due course.

Political parties play a vital role in our democracy, and it is important that they are able to fundraise effectively and communicate with the electorate. The law sets out that it is the responsibility of political parties to take reasonable steps to verify the identity of a donor and whether they are permissible. The Government will take any necessary steps to ensure those requirements are tightened and abided by.