Political Parties: Funding

Question

15:06:00

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent political parties, and activities to promote political parties, from receiving funding from outside of the United Kingdom, and whether they plan to grant additional powers to the Electoral Commission in this regard.

My Lords, the Government committed in their manifesto to “protect democracy by strengthening the rules around donations to political parties”. Foreign money has no place in our elections and the rules already provide clear safeguards against foreign interference. We are considering changes which will help further protect our system from such risks and are engaging with the Electoral Commission as we do so. We welcome the views of and evidence from stakeholders. Details of our proposals will be brought forward in due course.

I very much welcome the Answer from my noble friend but does she agree that true patriots and those who believe in the sovereignty of our democratic system in the UK will want to see off those—whether they are malign state actors or multibillionaires—who seek to interfere in our democracy? Is it not now that we must act to safeguard our future?

I agree with my noble friend and assure him that the Government take the threat posed by disinformation and foreign actors interfering in our democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect the UK against foreign interference. While it is clear that foreign donations to political parties are not permitted, the Government recognise the risk posed by malign actors who seek to interfere with and undermine our democratic processes. That is why we will take all necessary steps to ensure that effective controls are in place to safeguard our democracy. I assure noble Lords that we share the sense of urgency, and as soon as we have developed our proposals we will inform Parliament.

My Lords, the Labour Front Bench tabled amendments to the Elections Bill in 2022 that would have granted many foreign nationals the right to vote in both local and parliamentary elections; indeed, the IPPR is suggesting this again. How would Labour be able to restrict such donations? What assessment has been made of the potential influx of foreign donations from Russia, China and Iran as a consequence of the Labour Government in Wales and the Scottish Government allowing their foreign citizens to be on the electoral roll?

My Lords, the law is already clear that accepting or facilitating foreign campaign donations is illegal. Only those with a legitimate interest in UK electoral events can donate to candidates or political parties. Donations from individuals not on the electoral register are not permitted and strict rules are in place to make sure that foreign money is prohibited from entering through proxy donors, providing a safeguard against impermissible donations by the back door. We are looking at ways to make this even stronger. It is an offence to attempt to evade those rules on donations.

My Lords, does the Minister accept that there can be problems with very large donations to political parties, whether they may originate from abroad or be clearly from within the UK, and that the only way to prevent undue influence on political parties is to ban company donations and have a sensible cap on the size of all other donations? Does she then agree that political parties would still be able to campaign effectively if existing public funding was redistributed—for example, from the £100 million spent by the Government in the last two general elections on distributing candidates’ election addresses—and given to the parties to spend as they saw fit?

I take it that that was a question about a cap on donations. That is not a current priority for the Government, but strengthening the rules around donations really is. Political parties play a vital role in our democracy, and it is important that they are able to fundraise effectively and communicate with the electorate as a very important part of our process. By law, it is the responsibility of political parties to take all reasonable steps to verify their donors and whether they are permissible. We will take necessary steps to ensure that those requirements are tightened and stuck to.

My Lords, during the Lords stages of the National Security Bill, the last Conservative Government and Conservative Ministers pledged to enhance data-sharing powers to allow public bodies to share data with political parties. That is what we need; it is not about the honest ones who come through but knowing who is coming through a tenuous route, so that political parties are assisted in their due diligence. Can the Minister tell me the status of those plans to provide more information to political parties?

As I explained in my earlier Answer, we are reviewing all matters related to electoral donations. Those will be taken into account as we go through the process of developing any new legislation, including the issue raised by the noble Baroness.

The Minister keeps referring to the fact that foreign donations are not allowed to parties in the United Kingdom but, of course, that is not correct because donations can come from the Irish Republic. In there lies a severe problem, in that funds from the United States, for instance, can be channelled via the Irish Republic into political parties in the United Kingdom with representation in these Houses, so will the Minister and the Government look at that issue?

The noble Lord raises an important point. Political parties registered in Northern Ireland can also accept donations from Irish sources, such as Irish companies that meet prescribed conditions. Allowing Irish donations to Northern Ireland parties recognises the special place of Ireland in the political life and culture of Northern Ireland. The rules are consistent with the principles set out in the Good Friday agreement. Irish donations are subject to the same scrutiny by the Electoral Commission as donations from any other permissible donor and if there are any complaints about that, they must be referred to the Electoral Commission.

My Lords, the last Government extended voting to people who had been out of this country for more than 15 years. That in itself was not very problematic but it meant that they all became permitted donors. People who had not lived in this country for 40 or 50 years could become permitted donors and give money, with absolutely no ability to check on its source. Can my noble friend assure me that when this is looked at, that aspect introduced by the last Government will also be properly scrutinised?

My noble friend raises a very important issue. Political parties can accept donations only from registered electors but of course that now includes overseas electors. They are subject to the same counter-fraud measures as domestic electors, including having their identity confirmed as part of the registration process, but that very important issue will be looked at as we all look at all matters relating to elections.

My Lords, I welcome the response that the Minister gave to the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, about a full consultation. However, she will be aware that the restrictions on election expenditure were set in the days when one could communicate with the electorate only through leaflets and the like. There are now many different ways of doing so, many of which are very cheap or low-cost. Will the Minister include in the review that she mentioned to the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, some assessment of the restrictions on expenditure in general for elections at whatever level?

I am grateful for that question. There is no doubt that the system of campaigning has changed very dramatically, particularly in the last few years with the advent of social media. However, in my experience of campaigning—which spans a number of decades—political parties have adapted their campaigning but have not let go of their traditional methods. So although social media can be a very effective and efficient way of campaigning, we do still rely on some of the traditional methods. But, of course, that will be looked at as part of the review we are undertaking.

My Lords, voter registration is at shockingly low levels. Can my noble friend the Minister update the House on implementing automatic voter registration, as was also recommended by the Electoral Commission?

I agree with my noble friend that there are a large number of people still unregistered. When one goes out campaigning it is very clear that there are people who are not registered to vote who probably should be. We all need to address this and look at whatever way we can of making sure that everybody who is entitled to vote is not only registered to vote but takes part in our democracy. That is a very important part of our process, and we will do all we can to increase both voter registration and participation in elections.

My Lords, the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Russia report hinted at the very considerable extent of Russian money flowing into British politics, both to some political parties and, of course, during the Brexit campaign. Will the Government consider whether the redacted parts of that report should now be published to inform the public fully?

I am happy to look at that. We are very aware that this is a real issue, and we continue to be concerned about it. We will continue to take whatever steps we can to avoid foreign interference in our elections.