How to stop Big Money buying British politics

The UK’s democracy is on sale to the highest bidder. In the last decade, there has been an unprecedented explosion of mega-money funding for politicians and political parties, from Billionaires and Big Business— and they’ve been getting exactly what they paid for: a tax system designed in their interests. 

The government’s new Elections Bill is supposed to fix this, but instead it’s riddled with the same loopholes and carve‑outs that define our tax system: gaps designed for the super-rich and well-resourced to slip through.

Follow the money

The money flowing into our political system is now so opaque that Transparency International estimates £1 in every £10 donated to political parties comes from unknown or questionable sources. And private donations increasingly come from a tiny ultra‑rich elite: 66% of all individual donations in 2023 came from just 19 mega‑donors. 

Now this month, new analysis from Democracy for Sale laid bare just how extreme the corporate capture of UK politics has become. In the run‑up to the 2024 election, Labour and the Conservatives took over £27 million from just five companies. Labour accepted more from corporates (£13.3m) than from trade unions for the first time ever, including £4m from Quadrature Capital, a company owned by a Cayman‑based hedge fund investing in fossil fuels and weapons. 

The Conservatives leaned heavily on Frank Hester, who has given £15.3m since 2023 while his company received over £400m in NHS contracts. Companies linked to Tory donors have secured £8.4bn in public contracts since 2016. Reform UK recently received the largest political donation in British history: £9m from crypto billionaire and Thai tax resident, Christopher Harborne. They also took £200,000 from a design firm that owes HMRC £218,000 in unpaid taxes.

In recent weeks we’ve also highlighted the wider machinery of elite influence: private networks, offshore wealth and intermediaries shaping decisions long before they reach Parliament. From the Mandelson/Epstein revelations to former Reform UK leader Nathan Gill’s conviction for taking bribes to promote Russian interests, the pattern is clear: elite networks are warping political decision‑making and risking our national security. And we all suffer as a result.

Whether it’s foreign-owned shell companies, untraceable gifts or massive political donations flowing one way and even bigger government contracts flowing the other way. We have to end the incestous relationship between government and extreme wealth. The Elections Bill is a chance to do that, but we have to lobby MPs harder than their potential creditors.

With so many big money backers, it’s no surprise that popular policies like wealth taxes never make it into manifestos, while tax cuts for megacorporations, lower rates for billionaires and loophole‑ridden tax laws always seem to survive.

Across parties, money buys access — and access shapes policy. It mirrors what we’ve seen in the United States, where billionaires and dark‑money networks dominate elections. The richest man in the world, Elon Musk paved Trump’s path to the presidency with over US$277 million in donations. Oxfam’s latest report indicates that if the rich support a policy in the US, it has a 45% chance of being adopted, compared with just an 18% chance if they oppose it. 

US money is also threatening to make its way into UK politics. Before their public fallout, it was reported that Musk considered donating £100m to Reform UK through X’s UK subsidiary— a move that would have been entirely legal under current rules. Far-right agitator, Stephen Yaxley Lennon (a.k.a Tommy Robinson) claimed that Musk has paid some of his legal costs. And Musk has now thrown his weight behind the new political party Restore Britain, with increasingly extreme right-wing politics, led by Rupert Lowe. 

Add to this that billionaires dominate the ownership of both traditional media such as newspapers and much of TV and radio, as well as 8 of the 10 major social media platforms, and the line between influence and control becomes dangerously thin.

All of this makes the Elections Bill a rare chance to act. As drafted, it would tighten rules on foreign‑owned companies, strengthen checks on donor funds and close some transparency gaps. But it still leaves the biggest loopholes wide open. Without a cap on donations, a ban on untraceable crypto gifts, a fully independent Electoral Commission, and real enforcement powers, big‑money influence will continue unchecked. 

The public is clear that it wants its democracy taken off the market, with just 13% saying individuals should be allowed unlimited donations, and only 9% think businesses should. People want a democracy that represents them, not billionaire donors, offshore companies or shadowy networks of influence. That’s why we’re building a People’s Lobby, that’s growing day by day, because we know if we work together we can win tax justice, a fairer economy, and a better democracy.