The scandal of disgraced peer Peter Mandelson’s alleged misconduct in public office and his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein have highlighted, once again, how the super-rich can wield political influence through their wealth. One campaigning organisation, Transparency International UK has described Mandelson’s fall as the “most dramatic illustration yet of a political culture that has become dangerously comfortable in the orbit of the mega-rich.”
Transparency International UK has stated that, in the 2024 General Election, political parties spent a record £92 million and its research has evidenced that, in the previous year, 66% of the value of private political donations came from just 19 mega-donors, “showing the ever-increasing reliance of political parties and politicians on big donors.”
It is little wonder that a recent poll has shown that 84% of the public believe “wealthy individuals use political donations to advance their interests” and 63% think the “very rich have too much political sway.”
It is to be welcomed that the UK Government has introduced a new “Representation of the People Bill” which, amongst other things, seeks to strengthen rules on company donations and stop foreign donations being hidden in shell companies, while introducing tighter requirements for unincorporated associations.
Transparency International UK has stated that, in the lead-up to the last General Election, the Labour Party “committed to protect democracy by strengthening the rules on political donations, and pledged to put the national interest above personal or partisan concerns.”
Commenting on the new Bill, the organisation’s director of policy, Duncan Hames, has rightly stated that: “Legislation to close the dark money loopholes in British politics is long overdue, and this Bill takes some welcome steps. But it does not go far enough — either to achieve its stated ambitions or to contend with the biggest threats to our democracy.
“Public trust in our politics is already perilously low and these new rules will still allow the super-rich to buy political influence through large donations. Until that changes, trust will only continue to fall … if the Government is serious about restoring trust, this is the moment to prove it.”
I share the view that the “Representation of the People Bill” needs to be amended to impose a cap on “donations” to political parties to reduce the influence of the “mega-donor.” Recent polling also shows that a significant majority of people “support an annual limit on how much any individual or organisation can donate to a political party in a year.”
It is also disappointing that the new Bill does not include the introduction of a more proportional voting system for Westminster election. I will comment on that another day!
Article published in the Cornish Guardian (18th February 2026) and West Briton (19th February 2026) newspapers