A new all-party group has been launched to update Britain’s ‘wild west’ election campaign rulesAs we get closer to the European elections, here’s a worrying fact: our elections are currently wide open to foreign interference and dodgy campaigning. Election rules in the UK haven’t been updated since the year...Posted 15 May 2019
ERS in the Press – March 2019Brexit might be dominating the news, but the rolling constitutional crisis that we call Westminster is still up to its usual tricks. We’ve spent the last month getting press attention for some of our biggest...Posted 29 Mar 2019
Money could flood into British politics under planned lawThe Overseas Electors Bill, which returned to the Commons last week, has a sound purpose – to end the current limit on how long Britons can live abroad and still be able to vote. But,...Posted 25 Mar 2019
Tax ‘exiles’ are funnelling money into our political parties. It’s time to close the loopholeHere’s a fairly basic democratic principle: those who pour money into our political parties in exchange for influence should – at the very least –be based here at home. Sadly, even that low bar is...Posted 07 Mar 2019
The threat of dark money goes beyond BrexitTwo and a half years on from the EU referendum, the result is still being discussed and debated. Arguably more important though is another story: whether the rules of the game are bust. The weekend...Posted 07 Nov 2018
Why we can’t leave our democracy at the whim of tech giants like FacebookAnother vote is never far away. But even outside of election time, campaigning rumbles on. Each day, a lot of cash is spent influencing political debate. These days though, that’s not just people delivering leaflets...Posted 25 Oct 2018
Are we about to witness an ‘arms race’ in Brexit spending?Over the weekend, the co-founder of the Superdry fashion label donated £1m to the People’s vote campaign, with the funds set to be used to conduct “one of the most detailed polling exercises ever undertaken...Posted 21 Aug 2018
Why money still rules the roost in British PoliticsIf ever there was a story which revealed the disproportionate influence exerted by big party donors, it was the on the front page of The Times on Tuesday. The article set out what has been...Posted 31 Jan 2018
Referendum spending is a murky world – when it should be crystal clearNegotiations on the UK’s exit from the European Union will dominate much of the political agenda this year. But 18 months on from the Brexit referendum, questions are still being asked about whether campaigners played by...Posted 08 Jan 2018
Political parties are too reliant on big donors – and it has to changeHuge swathes of the public believe big donors hold too much political sway – and yet again it has been revealed just how reliant parties are on the cash of very few. The Mirror today published research findings showing that 39% of...Posted 05 Jan 2018