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PRESENTED BY
SNEAK PEEK
— Influence accidentally leaks our super secret guide to help Elon Musk meddle in British politics.
— A new data dive proves there’s no such thing as a free lunch in SW1.
— And a leading industry trade group finds Westminster’s lobbying rules are the weakest in the Western world.
**A message from Electrical Safety First: Deaths and injuries from fires and explosions caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries are on the rise. Our campaign has four key asks to solve this problem, but we need your support. Learn more.**
CAMPAIGN CORNER
HEY ELON: Is handing out all those redundancy notices getting in the way of your ambitions to tip the scale in British politics, or just wreak some havoc? Well, look no further because it couldn’t be simpler!
State of play: Sure, overseas donors are outright banned from giving money directly to candidates or political parties in the U.K. Boo!
But but but: Don’t fret, because there are heaps of ways around it. And Influence has pulled together a handy guide to all the ways British politics is vulnerable to outside cash. Just keep it between us, alright?
THE DIRECT APPROACH: With the ability to donate unlimited sums to political parties and candidates, U.K. registered companies serve as a major source of funds in British politics.
Don’t sweat it: Loss-making? That’s cool. Foreign-owned? No problem. With very few restrictions on firms, turning to them has become a well-trodden path for foreign individuals looking to inject cash into the U.K. system.
Helpfully … the U.K.’s due diligence regime is woeful, so it’s a breeze to set up companies, or create a daisy-chain of firms that helps hide cash flows. Base it all in a tax haven with strict privacy laws and watch pesky journalists squirm.
But but but: Better dash if you want to splash that corporate cash, because killjoy ministers are reportedly considering a crackdown, with party-pooping proposals to impose donation caps on firms based on either their profit or revenue.
Sure … shareholders may stomach the odd wad being earmarked for political donations — but the new rules would stymie more ambitious plans to wrench open the funding taps, so let’s explore some alternative options.
NEXT UP … are snappily named unincorporated associations (UA) — a unique quirk of the British system.
Easy peasy: Conceived as a way for small organizations — like a community sports club — to organize themselves without the red tape that comes from setting up a formally registered company or charity, they’ve become a major vehicle for campaign cash.
Game on: Think of them like a U.S. political action committee, but without any of those irritating transparency or scrutiny rules. Awesome, right?
Vibe vehicle: Any group of two or more individuals working toward a common goal — and not focused on making a profit — can set one up. There’s no need to file financial statements, or open business bank accounts, and the experts reckon the definition is so vast you could technically form one without realizing you’d done so.
Seems legit: Figures from the Electoral Commission — the U.K.’s election watchdog — show £12 million has been donated by UAs since 2022. Luckily, finding out the true source of that cash is a nightmare.
That’s because … UAs only have to register basic details with the Electoral Commission if they donate more than £37,270 in a single year. Even then, they’ve only got to report donor information if they personally donate more than £11,180 over the same period. Getting close to the limit? Well, just set up another one and crack on.
No wonder then … that the Committee on Standards in Public Life — which advises the U.K. government on ethical standards — said back in 2021 that UAs offer a “route for foreign money to influence U.K. elections” with almost no transparency around the practice.
ONLINE CAMPAIGNING: With a strict ban on paid political ads on U.K. television channels and with most paper leaflets being dumped straight in the recycling, digital campaigning is king on this side of the Atlantic.
And get this: Outside of the 365 days before an election — known as the regulated period — there are no spending limits for non-party campaigners.
Open door: With a bit of forward thinking about a potential election date, you’ll be free to pull together controversial content and toss a few million at promoting it through cyberspace, offering unprecedented domination over the U.K.’s political narrative before spending limits kick in.
Even still … there’s a spending limit of around £700,000 for outside campaign groups within the regulated period. That’s a small fortune in U.K. electoral terms — and again, there’s little to stop an individual or group from setting up a distinct campaign vehicle for each issue of interest, all with separate donation limits.
Wild west: Having been neutered by previous governments, the U.K.’s election watchdogs are almost toothless to respond. The registration of non-party campaigners relies largely on self-policing, there are no rules ensuring content has to be accurate or truthful … and even the wildest misinformation won’t prompt a re-run of an election or a referendum.
New world: Speaking to Influence, Jess Garland, director of research and policy at the Electoral Reform Society, points out most registered groups are incentivized to follow the rules because they operate inside the U.K. outside of election periods.
But but but: Unbound by those restrictions, a well-resourced campaign that is based outside the U.K.’s jurisdiction and focused solely on influencing a certain result would pose a novel problem.
She said: “You could set up an entity for that moment and then just disappear. And then whose job is it to find out whether you’ve had any influence, or even if you should have registered in the first place? It’s a big risk.”
Even better … if you happen to be a billionaire owner of a social media platform, given the importance of accessing data in modern political campaigns. Having insight into the hopes, dreams and fears of a populace offers an unrivalled ability to tailor those messages with devastating impact.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE WONKS: Well, if you don’t want to wait until polling day to test your ability to mould U.K. politics, then consider tossing some dosh at a policy shop sympathetic to your political pet peeves — or just set up your own.
Easy access: Almost every flavor and faction in Westminster is served by a think tank, and with no shortage of shadowy funds already floating about in the sector, it’s a time-tested approach.
Proof in the pudding: New operations are constantly popping up, and cash-strapped political parties lean heavily on policy pros to help flesh out pitches to voters — and even the major parties have been known to copy and paste policy proposals straight into manifesto documents.
Luckily … transparency around think tank funding is completely voluntary in the U.K., and the government has repeatedly resisted calls from anti-corruption campaigners to impose declaration rules.
Open door: It means well-funded wonks can give evidence to influential parliamentary committees, respond to government consultations and brief MPs on policy issues without any requirement to reveal who is bankrolling them. It’s the kind of opaque persuasion opportunity that turns lobbyists green with envy.
BUT IT’S A MIXED BAG: Because fall foul of the (limited) rules and the Electoral Commission can impose a maximum fine of … £20,000. That’s walking-around money for a democracy-loving billionaire.
Thorn in the side: But irksome transparency campaigners reckon there are a few simple steps the government could take to properly ruin the mood, and they won’t stop bloody banging on about it.
For instance: Slapping a donation limit on individual donors would make many of these loopholes moot, and could prove popular with the British public, a majority of whom believe mega-donors are motivated to splash cash in the hopes of gaining influence. Ungrateful sods.
More pain: There are also calls from Transparency International UK to not only reverse recent increases to spending limits, but to set them at a far lower level than previously. A move that Duncan Hames, the group’s director of policy, has argued would end the “arms race” engulfing British politics.
Even worse … there’s growing pressure for the Electoral Commission to be empowered not only to properly enforce the current rules, but also to investigate and expose those taking advantage of the existing workarounds.
But don’t panic … because campaigners have little to show despite spending over a decade pushing for these easy fixes. And with U.K. politicians becoming increasingly hooked on billionaire bucks, the system is likely to remain an open goal for plenty of time yet.
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QUICK HITS
FREEBIE JEEBIES: They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and now Spotlight on Corruption has the data to prove that’s definitely the case when it comes to Whitehall.
Data dive: The campaign group have crunched meetings and hospitality data across the six Whitehall departments involved in economic policy making — with the stats covering from 2019 until October 2024 — meaning they snagged the first three months of the Labour administration.
And what a surprise: The stats found a strong correlation between the firms dishing out the most hospitality and those getting the most meetings. Sure, most of those firms are pretty big players, so perhaps it’s not a massive shocker, but Spotlight said the figures suggest it offered a “second bite at the influence cherry”.
Perks: Data related to special advisers remains woefully lacking, but the group also found that Tory SpAds received 68 percent of all events-related hospitality between 2019 and last year’s election.
Even worse … the study found the overall ratio of business and corporate stakeholders getting meetings compared to charity, consumer and other groups was a whopping 23:1.
Bottom of the pile: The Department of Business and Trade were the worst offenders with just 1.8 percent of meetings being with non-business stakeholders from 2019 until last year’s election. A figure that has seen only a pitiful rise to 3.6 percent under the Labour administration.
LOBBYING ON LOBBYING: Westminster’s lobbying register is the least transparent in the West, according to fascinating new research from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Quick reminder: We remain in the insane position where trade bodies for the lobbying industry are among the loudest supporters for tougher regulation … and they hope the new stats will help make that case.
That’s because … the research found the EU has more than 8 times as many registered lobbyists per million than Westminster, while in Scotland — which has a tougher registration regime — that figure rises to 69 times.
Big sigh: Even the raw figures show a major disparity within the U.K., with 1,356 organisations covered by Holyrood’s lobbying register, compared to a miniscule 243 captured by Westminster’s system.
Outliers: Barring Australia, the regime covering SW1 is the only one in the Western world that fails to capture in-house lobbyists — creating an impression on the world stage, the group argued, of a “no rules Britannia”.
Letting rip: Whitehall’s continued failure to fix the holes “simply adds fuel to the perception that our government is not only corrupt but is deliberately so,” it added. Ouch!
ALL FIRS COAT: The U.K.’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) is expected to finally come into force in July with ministers announcing Russia will be included in the highest tier of restrictions.
Chinese whispers: First proposed under the last Tory government, the system is meant to safeguard against foreign influence. But there is no word about whether China could also be placed on the enhanced tier despite the FIRS scheme being dreamt up with Beijing in mind.
Gritted teeth: As Influence reported previously, ministers were waiting to see whether attempts to reset relations with China would be possible before placing them on the top tier — so expect campaigners to be pushing hard for a firm decision.
PRIME CUT: A new survey from Women in PR (WiPR) has found a growing ageism problem in the sector, with almost 80 percent of women saying they start to become overlooked at work from just age 40.
Grim stats: Those reporting having experienced ageism in the sector has soared to 59 percent — a massive leap from 41 percent back in 2021. A whopping 72 percent of over-40s also expressed fears of age-related barriers when looking for new roles.
Not just a number: The full report is here, along with an opportunity for industry pros to push back against prejudice by nominating female trailblazers over 40 for a WiPR award.
WELCOME TO THE PARTY: Financial tech outfit Intuit announced the launch of a new small business growth council — with 18 members already signed up — to help U.K. firms make the most of AI and digital advances.
Good start: Launched earlier this week, the group has already hosted a roundtable with business secretary Johnny Reynolds to talk tech. In an early win for council, Reynolds bigged up their work as being “so important” for the government’s growth agenda, alongside a promise to keep engaging.
WELCOME TO THE PARTY PART TWO: A new Labour-friendly think tank launched today with a focus on … drumroll … growth.
Big names: The “Centre for British Progress” is being led by a cast of well-known wonks, including David Lawrence and Julia Garayo Willemyns from UK Day One — which is being subsumed by the new operation, while YIMBY Alliance director John Myers is chairing the board.
Well, this is awkward: Despite the major cast list and office space on the Strand, the new outfit ain’t giving much away about its finances … saying the backing is a mix of U.K. and U.S. cash with 90 percent coming from foundations and charitable funds. Sounds familiar, eh?
ON THE MOVE
Stevie Wolfe is joining the APPG on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax as a senior coordinator after a two year spell with the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition.
Daniel Morgan has a new gig as UK head of public policy & government relations at Tools for Humanity, joining after a stint at Forefront Advisers.
Hillary Gyebi-Ababio has been promoted to head of public affairs at Jisc.
Fresh from starting up his own lobbying shop, ex-Reform spinner Gawain Towler has also joined Bradshaw Advisory as a senior adviser.
Ed Sweett is getting going as an associate at Global Counsel after a three year stint working in as a Commons researcher.
George Havenhand is joining Full Fact later this month as a policy manager (misinformation) after five years at Spotlight on Corruption.
Lewis North has a new role as head of public affairs at Porterbrook after a spell at Rail Partners.
Victoria McNish, Tom Hollywood and Josh Aulak have been promoted to associate partners at DGA Group.
Angus Kincaid is joining the Prosperity Institute as a digital and communications manager from EdmondsElder.
Laura Contin has been promoted to international public policy lead at Monzo Bank.
Former Daily Express editor Gary Jones has joined Ecotricity as head of public affairs.
Alison Railton has been bumped up to director of policy and public affairs at Kidney Research UK.
The Jobs Foundation has announced some new members to its advisory council, including SME4Labour chair Ibrahim Dogus, famous chef Tom Kerridge, Bravissimo CEO Leanne Cahill, and former JCB Group director of global external affairs Philip Bouverat.
Jobs jobs jobs: HMT is looking for the Chancellor’s business engagement lead… The People’s Postcode Lottery have an opening for a public affairs lead… Reprieve want to hire a head of public affair and policy… There’s a senior regional public affairs officer gig going at NESO… and Bright Blue are on the hunt for a research intern.
Thanks: To editor Russell Hargrave for tackling typos. And to the production team for making Influence look swish.
**A message from Electrical Safety First: Deaths and injuries from fires and explosions caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries are on the rise. The UK is now facing a disturbing projection of almost one e-bike or e-scooter fire per day, so we need to see action. Our campaign has four key asks to solve this problem, but we need your support. Learn more.**
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