Now or never to safeguard UK democracy
We want your views on how to clean up our politics
I deal in facts, not hyperbole. So when I tell you that I am scared for the future of democracy in the UK I'm being deadly serious. The reports that Elon Musk wants to donate $100 million to Nigel Farage's Reform Party profoundly worry me. A foreign, populist billionaire with erratic views and regular contact with Vladimir Putin should not be able to influence our politics. But under existing electoral laws he can. Keir Starmer needs to act to tighten up the rules - before it’s too late.
Right now, and together, we have a chance to do something about that. A powerful group of MPs has just asked me to speak to them about what needs to be done to clean up our politics. I want to give them a detailed plan. But I don't want it to be just my view. I want it to be yours, too.
That’s why I’m preparing a people-powered Democracy For Sale plan to safeguard our democracy, using the reader survey below. Imagine the impact of me telling those MPs "Here's the plan, made not just by me but also by thousands of people up and down the country."
We’ll be delivering this message at just the right time. Starmer may appear reluctant to act but, buffeted by recent lobbying scandals and now the Musk threat, he’s coming under increasing pressure to act. So, let’s deliver the best plan we possibly can.
What does that look like? Well, here are some of the main problems that need to be tackled urgently.
The Electoral Commission is toothless and was robbed of its independence by another populist, Boris Johnson.
New analysis by Transparency International found that 10% of donations to parties and politicians comes from unknown or dubious sources.
There are no caps on political donations.
Companies, even loss-making ones, are allowed to make political donations.
There's a clear path for indirect foreign influence through UK-registered companies
I don't know about you, but I don't want to see our country turned into a broligarch-funded populist plutocracy. If we do nothing, then that's where we're headed.
But with Musk’s proposed donation making the news, and Labour paying attention to this issue for the moment, we have an opportunity to get some changes made - if we act fast. Let's show there's real public appetite to fix our democratic structures.
Please take the Democracy For Sale ‘Safeguarding Democracy’ survey now, so that we can land this message with powerful decision-makers.
Thanks, Peter