Dear John,

For decades now, no meaningful action has been taken to safeguard our democracy from foreign interference. Billionaires and oligarchs from around the globe can effectively funnel unlimited amounts of money into British politics.

It’s not that no one has warned about it:
* Back in 2006, Hayden Philips prepared a report ([link removed]) on campaign finance reform commissioned by then-PM Tony Blair. It called for stricter limits on election spending, state funding for political parties, and crucially, a hard cap on total donations made to political parties.
* The Committee on Standards in Public Life, in two major reports (one in 2011 ([link removed]) , one in 2021 ([link removed]) ) made a long series of recommendations to overhaul the campaign finance system. Among the recommendations is a £10,000 annual cap on donations.
* Civil society organisations, including Spotlight on Corruption, Transparency International, Fair Vote UK and others have long called for changes to how campaign finance is regulated, making it more transparent to the public and giving the Electoral Commission more watchdog powers over donations.
* Our new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections, with over 120 members (and more than 60 Labour MPs) has explicitly called to close ([link removed]) glaring loopholes in the campaign finance system.

And yet all we’re seeing from Starmer so far is more of the same – kicking the can down the road. We’ve heard of plans to create a “foreign influence register ([link removed]) ” this coming summer, which is welcome – but nowhere near enough. It’s yet unclear whether we’ll get any major legislation to properly safeguard our democracy.

Now, we find ourselves in dangerous territory. A rising “broligarchy” threatens to subvert democratically elected Governments across Europe. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has pledged to give £100 million to Reform UK, and to get our recently elected Government out of power as soon as possible. It’s long past time to act.

As friend of Open Britain and dark money expert Peter Geoghegan reminds us in his recent Democracy for Sale article ([link removed]) :

“Political finance reform offers a technocratic Labour government something it badly needs: a genuinely popular political project. Just 13 per cent of Britons ([link removed]) think campaign funding is transparent enough. Curbing the power of billionaires to influence politics is a vote winner. It’s also free.”

Geoghegan is right – campaign finance reform is an open goal, and a meaningful way for Keir Starmer to fulfil his pledge to bring trust and respect back to politics.

The idea of a total cap on donations has been reignited in recent months, and we intend to keep it going. This week, the backbench business committee approved a debate on money in politics. The pressure is building, but ultimately we need Keir Starmer to take bold action – for the benefit of his own poll numbers, and that of the country.

Given that foreign billionaires are actively looking to buy our political system, Starmer can’t be allowed to kick this into the tall grass again.

If you’d like to help Peter Geoghegan, Open Britain, and the APPG for Fair Elections, consider taking Democracy For Sale’s brief survey ([link removed]) on money in politics. It will be used to convince key decision-makers that there is an overwhelming demand for a fairer political finance system.
Take the Survey ([link removed])

And if you can spare it, we greatly appreciate any support you can provide to keep this campaign in fighting shape ([link removed]) for the tough battles ahead.

All the best,

Mark

Mark Kieran

CEO, Open Britain
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