Transparency International UK responds to Rycroft Review

Transparency International UK have responded to the Rycroft Review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. 

The review - commissioned in the wake of the Nathan Gill scandal  made a series of recommendations, including an annual cap on political donations from British voters living abroad, tightening the rules around corporate donations and a moratorium on crypto-currency donations.

Responding to the review's publication, Duncan Hames, Director of Policy, Transparency International UK said:

"Philip Rycroft's report is clear-eyed about the scale of the threat and his recommendations to tighten the rules deserve to be adopted through the Representation of the People Bill. 

"But even Rycroft acknowledges that his remit didn't extend to the most fundamental question — whether to cap how much any single donor can give. He recognises that unlimited donations are driving an arms race for funds and invites Parliament to debate this during the Bill's passage. Parliament should take him up on that.

"A meaningful annual cap on donations is the most robust safeguard against both foreign interference and the outsized influence of big money in our politics."