Bungs from Billionaires: Do Labour's Political Funding Reforms Really Pass the 'Musk Test'?
Support our mission to provide fearless stories about and outside the media system
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
Democracy campaigners have, on the whole, enthusiastically welcomed the Government's political reforms outlined in a major new election strategy today.
As has been widely-reported, 16 and 17-year-olds will be given the right to vote in all UK elections, bringing UK-wide elections in line with Scotland and Wales.
It represents the biggest change to UK democracy in a generation and delivers a key manifesto commitment of the Labour Party.
Long-called for reforms to voter ID rules will also allow UK-issued bank cards to be accepted as valid voter ID at polling stations, to help more people exercise their democratic right.
And, in what is likely to become even more important, digital versions of accepted IDs (like digital driving licences) will be permitted when they become available. Having ID on your phone should mostly eliminate - eventually - the problem of leaving one's identification at home.
A new digital Voter Authority Certificate will also be created for those who don't have any of the permitted IDs. Without abolishing voter ID altogether, these changes remedy many of the problems that voter ID creates: mass disenfranchisement for those who lack it.
Keir Starmer's Government Says Elon Musk's X AI Chatbot Endorsing Hitler Is a 'Matter for the Company'
The Prime Minister's spokesman dismisses calls to leave the social media platform, despite its official 'Grok' bot posting a series of antisemitic comments
Adam Bienkov
We'll also see an increasingly automated voter registration system to make it easier for people to register to vote. There are currently an estimated eight million people missing from the electoral roll, and the problem is particularly bad for renters, young people, and those from lower-income groups. Letting people register to vote when they engage with Government services - like benefits, the DVLA or the Passport Office is likely to be a welcome first step.
But it's the measures on political funding which mostly catch anti-corruption campaigners' eyes - and us here at Byline Times.
Amid fears of foreign funding of our political parties, the Government has pledged to close loopholes that allow foreign donors to influence UK political parties through 'shell companies' - in other words, registered firms which exist solely to pump money into our politics.
Unincorporated Associations are loose groupings like political dining clubs, which have traditionally been able to funnel huge sums into our parties without saying which individuals are stumping up the cash. They will face new requirements with mandatory checks on donations over £500.
As the election strategy makes clear, Unincorporated Associations (UAs) don't currently need to disclose the source of their funding for donations under £37,270 a year. That makes
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
Democracy campaigners have, on the whole, enthusiastically welcomed the Government's political reforms outlined in a major new election strategy today.
As has been widely-reported, 16 and 17-year-olds will be given the right to vote in all UK elections, bringing UK-wide elections in line with Scotland and Wales.
It represents the biggest change to UK democracy in a generation and delivers a key manifesto commitment of the Labour Party.
Long-called for reforms to voter ID rules will also allow UK-issued bank cards to be accepted as valid voter ID at polling stations, to help more people exercise their democratic right.
And, in what is likely to become even more important, digital versions of accepted IDs (like digital driving licences) will be permitted when they become available. Having ID on your phone should mostly eliminate - eventually - the problem of leaving one's identification at home.
A new digital Voter Authority Certificate will also be created for those who don't have any of the permitted IDs. Without abolishing voter ID altogether, these changes remedy many of the problems that voter ID creates: mass disenfranchisement for those who lack it.
Keir Starmer's Government Says Elon Musk's X AI Chatbot Endorsing Hitler Is a 'Matter for the Company'
The Prime Minister's spokesman dismisses calls to leave the social media platform, despite its official 'Grok' bot posting a series of antisemitic comments
Adam Bienkov
We'll also see an increasingly automated voter registration system to make it easier for people to register to vote. There are currently an estimated eight million people missing from the electoral roll, and the problem is particularly bad for renters, young people, and those from lower-income groups. Letting people register to vote when they engage with Government services - like benefits, the DVLA or the Passport Office is likely to be a welcome first step.
But it's the measures on political funding which mostly catch anti-corruption campaigners' eyes - and us here at Byline Times.
Amid fears of foreign funding of our political parties, the Government has pledged to close loopholes that allow foreign donors to influence UK political parties through 'shell companies' - in other words, registered firms which exist solely to pump money into our politics.
Unincorporated Associations are loose groupings like political dining clubs, which have traditionally been able to funnel huge sums into our parties without saying which individuals are stumping up the cash. They will face new requirements with mandatory checks on donations over £500.
As the election strategy makes clear, Unincorporated Associations (UAs) don't currently need to disclose the source of their funding for donations under £37,270 a year. That makes
Activity