Revealed: Two-thirds of voters back capping donations to political parties

A new poll show two-thirds of voters back capping donations to political parties, LabourList can reveal, just as the government confirmed it plans to “strengthen” rules on donations.

The polling by Opinium, carried out for pressure group Unlock Democracy, found there was cross-party support for the move, with at least two-thirds of those who backed Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Greens all backing limits.

Some 2,050 people responded to the poll, which asked: “In the UK, there are currently no limits on the amount individuals or entities can donate to political parties. Donations over a certain threshold must be reported to the Electoral Commission.Do you think there should be limits on donations to political parties in the UK?”

Overall, 39% of voters said there should “definitely” by limits, while another 27% said there “probably” should be. Only 15% said there should probably or definitely not be.

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Asked by a journalist about its plans to clean up politics earlier on Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The government is committed to the manifesto commitment: returning politics to public service, protecting democracy by strengthening rules on donations to parties.”

Pressed on whether legislation would come on tightening the rules on political donations, he reiterated that the government remained committed to its plans and would set them out “in due course”.

Reform supporters were most likely to back a donation cap (72%), while Green supporters were the least (66%) of the five parties. Leave voters in the EU referendum were also more likely to back caps than Remain voters; as were men compared to women.

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The poll in late November came just before The Sunday Times reported a claim that Elon Musk could make a large donation to the Reform UK party. Reform’s Nigel Farage said he’d heard “nothing of the kind”, however.

It also came before it emerged Reform’s new treasurer Nick Candy had said he would donate a “seven-figure sum” of his own cash to Reform.

It comes a week after The Guardian reported the government was considering proposals by the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank to cap political donations. One government source appeared to play it down last week by saying it was “not a priority”, however.

Unlock Democracy has pushed for a cap on donations and other reforms “aimed at protecting UK democracy from big money and foreign interference”.

Director Tom Brake said: “The public is fed up with the corrosive influence of big money in politics. Labour will find it hard to convince voters it is serious about governing in service of working people while it continues to accept large donations from wealthy individuals and corporations.

“There is an opportunity here for the government to show clearly that it is different from its predecessor. At the moment, if the public perceives a difference, it’s not in a good way.”

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