PM must act now to ensure integrity and trust in our elections - Unlock Democracy

Media release

Today the independent Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) submitted its report on Regulating Election Finance to the Prime Minister. It contains proposals that are vital to ensuring integrity and trust in elections.

Unlock Democracy is calling on the Prime Minister to implement the report’s key recommendations before the next General Election.

Tom Brake, Director of Unlock Democracy said:

“The Committee’s report is a step in the right direction to ensuring our elections are fair, but it will count for little if the Government refuses to act upon its recommendations.

“The Government’s Elections Bill, which had its first reading this week, is the last and only chance for these proposals to be enacted before the next General Election. Failure to act will risk our elections becoming corrupted by dark money, dodgy practices, foreign and even domestic interference. The Prime Minister should instruct the Cabinet Office to amend the Elections Bill to incorporate the Committee’s key recommendations.”

Independence of the Electoral Commission

Unlock Democracy is raising particular concern about a critical part of the report - the Committee’s strong support for “an independent regulator, insulated from political pressures and at arm’s length from the government.”

Tom Brake said:

“The Government’s Elections Bill, as it stands, is directly at odds with what the Committee is saying about the Electoral Commission. The Elections Bill effectively stamps on the independence of the Electoral Commission.

“Under this Government’s plan, the Electoral Commission will have to answer to a committee of MPs with a Conservative majority and have its strategy and priorities set by the Cabinet Office Minister.  Even the most blinkered government supporter would struggle to explain exactly how that constitutes independence.

“The contrast between the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s recommendations on elections and the contents of the Government’s Elections Bill couldn’t be greater. The former is a genuine attempt to ensure we have fair elections and the latter is a naked attempt to gain party political advantage through election laws.

“The Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life was appointed by the Prime Minister - we now urge the Prime Minister to listen to Lord Evans and commit to implementing the Committee’s proposals before the next General Election.”

Further information:
Click here to see the Commitee’s report