Andy Burnham Faces Backlash Over Apparent Retreat From Donations Cap Pledge

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Public figures and civil society groups have urged Andy Burnham not to abandon a campaign pledge to stamp out big money “corrupting our politics.”

Labour backbencher Stella Creasy has tabled a revised amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, being debated in Parliament this Wednesday, which would introduce an immediate £500,000 cap on donations to UK parties, falling to £100,000 the following year. It would also require the Government to establish a permanent cap after taking advice from the Electoral Commission.

It has been signed by 31 MPs as of Tuesday morning, putting it in the top-twenty of the most backed amendments. There are hundreds of amendments, including around 100 from the Government. The Government amendments are silent on a domestic donations cap.

The list is likely to be heavily whittled down by the speaker for Wednesday’s Report Stage and third reading of the landmark elections bill, which had already been delayed at the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership.

Another amendment from Stella Creasy calls for a flat £100,000 donation cap immediately, which has 46 signatures, though it appears less likely to be pushed now that there is a “compromise” amendment from the Labour MP which could be more amenable to Government whips.

Broadcaster Carol Vorderman has joined 20 leading civil society figures from a wide range of sectors in calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to cap political donations – as he vowed to do in the days before he became Prime Minister.

Byline Times first reported in June, before Burnham became PM, that he supported capping political donations in the UK. In correspondence with a Byline Times reader who campaigns for political finance reform, the then-Greater Manchester mayor said he wanted to see a cap on donations to stem the tide of big money in politics.

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He added that he would like to see a UK political donation cap reduced over time, and believes Westminster needs “wholesale culture change.”

The proposal for a political funding overhaul came in correspondence with Shaun Bowler, founder of grassroots democracy campaign WakeUpGB.

Andy Burnham, then running for the Makerfield parliamentary by-election, told Bowler: “Yes, I do think there should be a cap on political donations. This would guard against the perception of any one party being unduly influenced or swayed by one person or organisation.”

“I am in complete agreement that there needs to be wholesale culture change in Westminster.”

“I would start with a higher cap but would definitely want to see that reduced over time… I do support the principle of caps,” he added.

However, he has since appeared to distance himself from backing an immediate cap on political donations. The Government is introducing a £100,000 annual cap for donations from overseas voters, but has so far rejected extending that to voters living in the UK.

Shaun Bowler, founder of WakeUpGB which was in correspondence with Andy Burnham, told this outlet: “Andy Burnham was clear with us. He said yes to a cap. He gave us a figure, around £500,000. He said Westminster needed wholesale culture change. He said all of that while he still needed support to win a seat.

“He’s Prime Minister now, and the Bill in front of Parliament doesn’t contain the reform he told us he backed. There is an obvious appearance of hypocrisy when a politician says the system needs to change, then gets the power to change it and doesn’t. If he’s changed his mind, he should say so. If he hasn’t, we want to know what he intends to do about it.”

This week’s open letter to the Prime Minister comes as he faces calls to stick to his campaign pledge on political donations following reports the Government will not back a cap.

The letter calls on the new Government to take big money out of politics, crack down on political corruption and misconduct, and clean up the House of Lords. As an immediate first step, it urges Burnham to use the Representation of the People Bill – which is returning to Parliament on Wednesday 2 September – to introduce a low, hard cap on political donations. Polling for democracy group Clean Up Westminster suggests it has very strong popular support.

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‘Politics Should Not Be For Sale’

Carol Vorderman, broadcaster and writer, said: “One of the main reasons there is such cynicism and mistrust of politicians and Westminster is because of the obscene donations by individuals and companies to parties and MPs, which are often followed by government contracts seemingly in return. Whether it is or it isn’t, it seems to us, the voters, like corruption at the highest levels.

“It’s time for these practices to stop and stop NOW. There is no reason or excuse whatsoever that they can’t be stopped, other than the will of parliament to do so. Andy Burnham has said there should be a cap on political donations, and I agree. Now, as Prime Minister, he has the opportunity to practise what he has preached. I look forward to that happening.”

The Guardian reported over the weekend that the Prime Minister’s aides said that while he is not backing a donations cap this week, he is not ruling one out in the future.

A Labour source told the paper: “This bill was designed to deliver our manifesto commitments on votes at 16 and to strengthen political donation rules to guard against foreign interference, and that’s what the government is prioritising. But we’re not ruling out taking further steps to protect our democracy in the future.”

But Olly Buston, director of Clean Up Westminster, said: “The message this letter sends to the Prime Minister is that great British organisations…defending democracy, and challenging corruption all say their job would be hell of a lot easier if he takes action to clean up Westminster so that politics works for the people and is not rigged in favour of the rich and powerful.

“Andy Burnham has a chance to prove that changing Prime Minister means changing politics too.”

Buston added: “Right now, British politics is caught in a funding arms race, with parties chasing bigger and bigger cheques from a tiny club of super-rich donors. Politicians are lagging way behind the public on this. British people see these massive donations and are not fooled. They know mega donors are buying influence. The public overwhelmingly wants a cap on political donations.

“The big question is whether politics will remain for sale under Andy Burnham’s leadership. The Prime Minister says British politics needs a rewire. He’s right. A donations cap is where he should start, and he can do it next week when the Representation of the People Bill is debated in Parliament.”

Clean Up Westminster is a non-partisan campaign to reduce the influence of money in politics and strengthen standards in public life.

Polling commissioned by Fair Vote UK recently found that 92% of the public support some form of limit on how much an individual can donate to a political party here.

You can view the full list of amendments tabled for Wednesday here.

We can also reveal that Reform UK have backtracked on their proposal to ban all languages on election literature apart from English and Welsh after Byline Times reported that it would also ban Scots, Gaelic, Irish and Cornish from use in political materials, with prison sentences attached. The new amendment has a carve-out for languages “native to the British Isles.”

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Tally of Most-Backed Amendments to Representation of the People Bill

Reference	Lead MP	Signature Tally	Proposal
NC31	Alex Sobel	176	National Commission on Electoral Reform
NC8	Lisa Smart	74	PR for national and local elections
NC48	Julie Minns	56	Accessible voting equipment
NC34	Liam Byrne	52	Crypto donation ban
NC19	Freddie van Mierlo	49	Feasibility studies to improve overseas voting
NC41	Emily Darlington	48	Online electoral harms
NC71	Stella Creasy	46	£100,000 donation cap
NC82	Emily Darlington	43	Platform liability for false statements
NC83	Emily Darlington	43	Regulating election content online
NC47	Emily Darlington	42	AI-generated campaign material labelling
NC22	Richard Burgon	39	Banning oil/gas companies as donors
NC42/43/44/45	Emily Darlington	38 each	Online harms package
NC58/NC59	Apsana Begum	37 each	Domestic abuse in the hostility regime
NC70	Anneliese Dodds	37	Lower national spending limits
4	Emily Darlington	35	Candidate DBS checks
NC46	Emily Darlington	33	Review of regulated periods
NC49	Jodie Gosling	33	Electoral Advertising Code
NC51	Jodie Gosling	33	Electoral Advertising Code 2
NC50	Jodie Gosling	32	Advertising Code Committee
NC56	Chris Curtis	32	Automatic voter registration
NC120	Stella Creasy	31	£500k cap falling to £100k

EXCLUSIVE

Andy Burnham Backs Political Donations Cap to Stop ‘Undue Influence’ by Big Money Donors

ARCHIVE: Prime Ministerial hopeful backs calls to stop billionaire donors from buying our politics, putting him at odds with Keir Starmer’s Government

Josiah Mortimer

The Open Letter in Full

Dear Prime Minister,

You have an immediate and historic opportunity to deliver highly popular policies to clean up Westminster.

The public are losing faith in our political system which feels rigged against ordinary people and as a result is not delivering on tackling the cost of living crisis and on making our country stronger, fairer and more sustainable.

There is overwhelming public support for bold action to strengthen our democracy in three key areas that align perfectly with your own vision:

Ending the corrosive influence of money in politics
Cracking down on political corruption and misconduct; lifting the lid on lobbying; and ending MPs’ second jobs (outside healthcare and a few other vital roles)
Cleaning up the House of Lords

The Labour manifesto promised action in each area and the recent King’s Speech included legislative vehicles to make change possible. But the Government’s proposals do not go far enough.

We urge you to address this, starting with the Representation of the People Bill which will return to the House of Commons in September and is the opportunity to introduce a low and hard cap on all political donations which 92% of the public support.

We know you agree that politics should not be for sale. Please take action now to ensure it will not be under your leadership.

Yours sincerely:

Carol Vorderman (broadcaster and writer)
Asad Rehman (chief executive, Friends of the Earth England Wales and Northern Ireland)
Duncan Hames (director of policy, Transparency International UK)
Anna Taylor (executive director, Food Foundation)
Susan Hawley (executive director, Spotlight on Corruption)
Areeba Hamid (co-executive director, Greenpeace UK)
Tom Brake (chief executive, Unlock Democracy)
Caroline Cerny (deputy chief executive, Action on Smoking and Health)
Jess Garland (director of policy and research, Electoral Reform Society)
D’Arcy Williams (chief executive, Bite Back 2030)
Kyle Taylor (founding director, Fair Vote)
Veronica Hawking (campaign director, 38 Degrees)
Jennifer Nadel (chief executive, Compassion in Politics)
Neil Thorns (director of advocacy, CAFOD)
Ben Rich (chief executive, Radix Big Tent)
Michael Sheldrick (chief policy, impact and government affairs officer, Global Citizen)
Gavin Hayman (executive director, Open Contracting Partnership)
Osai Ojigho (head of policy and influencing, Christian Aid)
Will Snell (chief executive officer, Fairness Foundation)
Will Stronge (director, The Autonomy Institute)
Olly Buston (director, Clean Up Westminster)

Got a story? Get in touch in confidence on josiah@bylinetimes.com

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