Historically, the UK’s parliament has had a high international reputation, and the UK has been well placed on international corruption indices. However, politics in the UK has recently been plagued by corruption scandals and public trust in politicians is plunging. There have been too many scandals, often because of a lack of transparency and accountability.

The research conducted for our Corruption in the UK report suggested that UK political parties and parliament were two of three areas that were particularly vulnerable to corruption – alongside sport.

This paper highlights the areas of UK politics which are especially vulnerable to corruption, outlines the nature of the problem, and makes policy recommendations.