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16.1.25

LONDON: Unelected peers expressed their fears of foreign donations in the house of lords on Wednesday, sounding the alarm on the geographic origin of donors rather than corrupt practice of gifting large sums of money to political parties.

Donations coming from outside the country were of great concern, according to unelected lord Blunkett, as they could compromise the “democratic system.”

“True patriots and those who believe in the sovereignty of our democratic system in the UK will want to see off those, whether they are malign state actors or multibillionaires, who seek to interfere in our democracy,” Blunkett said.

Unelected labour whip baroness Taylor of stevenage agreed that protecting democracy is paramount. “While it is clear that foreign donations to political parties are not permitted, the Government recognise the risk posed by malign actors who seek to interfere with and undermine our democratic processes. That is why we will take all necessary steps to ensure that effective controls are in place to safeguard our democracy.”

One peer took a wider view. Unelected liberal democrat peer lord Rennard said all political donations were cause for concern, whether from this shore or any other. “My Lords, does the Minister accept that there can be problems with very large donations to political parties, whether they may originate from abroad or be clearly from within the UK, and that the only way to prevent undue influence on political parties is to ban company donations and have a sensible cap on the size of all other donations?”

Taylor took another view. Donations, she said, were necessary because political parties needed funding. “Political parties play a vital role in our democracy, and it is important that they are able to fundraise effectively and communicate with the electorate as a very important part of our process,” she said, conflating party politics with the rule of the people.