The billionaires are on strike
The Electoral Commission has released the latest set of donations to political parties. As usual, a small number of very wealthy people and corporations are stuffing the Conservative Party’s coffers.
But donations from the usual suspects have plummeted. Last year theatre director John Gore handed over a cool £1.5 million, but this time only chipped in an austere £50,000. The billionaire boss of JCB has also tightened his wallet.
Even if the donations are smaller than normal, it’s not OK that a small handful of people can drop a donation that’s almost twice the average salary to buy political influence. 63% of the public thinks the system of government is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful, and these donations confirm that suspicion.
The UK is in the middle of a democratic crisis because too much power is in the hands of too few. This broken party funding system makes it easy for the richest and most powerful to rig politics in their favour.
What do you think these latest donations mean for the health of our democracy? Have the major donors gone on strike until they get the decisions they want?