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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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Carol Vorderman, broadcaster and writer, said: “One of the main reasons there is such cynicism and