Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Political Donations from Overseas

Thursday 20 July 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Committee has not had recent discussions with the Electoral Commission on the transparency of political donations from overseas.
  • The Electoral Commission publishes information about donations to ensure transparency and has powers to sanction parties that accept impermissible foreign donations.
  • The security services would need to assess whether unlawful foreign money has been used to campaign in UK elections.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chris Stephens SNP
Democracy & Elections
Context

The Electoral Commission publishes information about donations to ensure transparency. The commission has highlighted that the political finance system is vulnerable to unlawful influence from donations overseas and in the UK.

Question

Whether the Committee has had recent discussions with the Electoral Commission on the transparency of political donations from overseas.

Answer from Owen Thompson

The Committee has not had a recent discussion with the commission on that issue. The commission publishes information about donations to ensure transparency, and it has powers to sanction political parties that accept impermissible foreign donations.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Recent discussions between the Committee and Electoral Commission

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Q2 Chris Stephens SNP
Democracy & Elections
Context

Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, claims the UK Government's failure to take decisive action on overseas donations is concerning our allies. Elections are at risk of interference from Russia and other hostile states due to the lack of requirement for political parties to verify and disclose donation sources.

Question

What steps is the commission taking to prevent overseas donations from hostile states that undermine electoral law? Has the commission asked the security services to undertake a review of political finance?

Answer from Owen Thompson

Speaking as a representative of the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, it would be a matter for the security services to make a full assessment of whether unlawful foreign money has been used to campaign in UK elections. However, political parties must report when they are given an unlawful donation and return it to the donor. In addition, the commission carries out checks on permissibility on a sample of donations and has the power to sanction political parties that accept impermissible foreign donations.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Request for security services review of political finance

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