Dear John,

Dark money is poisoning our politics. Foreign donors, hidden cash, and secretive insiders are rigging the system in their favour, and it’s all happening in plain sight.

This week, shocking new claims revealed ([link removed]) that Labour dropped plans to ban foreign donations in December 2023 – after lobbying from mega-donor Lord Alli.

Alli himself was investigated last October for failing to declare offshore interests, including a directorship of a company in the British Virgin Islands. The investigation concluded that he breached parliamentary rules.

🚨 The public wants change, but politicians refuse to act. 🚨

New polling ([link removed]) confirms what we already know: Brits overwhelmingly support banning foreign cash, capping donations, and giving watchdogs real power—yet politicians are still sitting on their hands.

Investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan's 'Safeguarding Democracy' survey (which had over 11,000 respondents – thanks to those who participated) also revealed overwhelming public support for capping political donations, empowering the electoral watchdog, and banning foreign funding – the very reforms that are being sidelined.

Read more on the results of Geoghegan’s survey below 👇

Lessons from America: Starmer must act now to protect Britain from autocracy

Peter Geoghegan
READ ([link removed])


** The APPG for Fair Elections Has Sounded the Alarm
------------------------------------------------------------

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections has demanded urgent action, calling for:

✅ Closing donation loopholes (unincorporated associations, shell companies, and proxy donors)
✅ Strengthening the Electoral Commission (the UK’s elections watchdog)

✅ Restoring the Electoral Commission’s independence

Speaking to BBC News, APPG Chair Alex Sobel made it clear:

"Democracy is about everybody having equal agency in our elections. One individual effectively donating the vast majority of a party’s election expenditure is deeply unfair and against all of our principles. Unfortunately, it’s currently legal, so we need to look at how we operate election expenditure in this country."

On February 12th, MPs will debate a new 10-minute rule bill put forward by Lib-Dem MP and APPG for Fair Elections member Manuela Perteghella. It calls for:

✅ A cap on political donations
✅ A review to set a fair cap
✅ Closing foreign donor loopholes

This matters. In the US, dark money is flooding into elections – do we want the same here?

It’s time to stop the rot. Ban foreign money. Cap donations. Protect our democracy.

All the best,

Mark

Mark Kieran

CEO, Open Britain
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