Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank

‘We won’t let hostile foreign states use dirty money to buy our elections,’ said Steve Reed, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, who introduced the bill last month. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images

Political donations by companies should be banned to protect UK elections from foreign interference, a thinktank has warned.

In the first big overhaul of election funding in 26 years, ministers have pledged to “keep British democracy safe” by closing a loophole that allows individuals not eligible to vote in Britain to donate to political parties through UK-registered companies.