Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank

"Sebastian Gazmuri-Barker, a senior legal analyst at CenTax, said the bill's proposed tests contain loopholes that are easily exploitable. Parliament should either ban corporate donations outright or significantly strengthen the approach, he said."

"By matching the name of companies declared as donors to ownership records, researchers at the thinktank found that between 2001 and 2024, over 4000 companies had donated 293m, with big surges ahead of general elections. Almost 1 in every 10 came from corporations controlled by individuals who would not have been eligible to donate directly."

"CenTax found their donations were on average almost twice as large as those from companies with UK-eligible owners. The estimates are likely to be conservative, since the true extent of foreign interference is obscured by opaque corporate structures."

The UK government is implementing its first major election funding overhaul in 26 years through the Representation of the People Bill, aiming to prevent foreign interference by requiring corporate donors to demonstrate control by UK electors or citizens. However, the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation argues the legislation contains exploitable loopholes. Research reveals that between 2001 and 2024, over 4,000 companies donated £293 million, with approximately 10% controlled by ineligible foreign individuals whose donations averaged twice the size of UK-controlled companies. A quarter of donations remain untraceable due to opaque corporate structures. The thinktank criticizes reliance on unreliable Companies House data and recommends either banning corporate donations entirely or significantly strengthening the proposed approach.

Read at www.theguardian.com