Rycroft: “Foreign interference in our politics is real and persistent”
Rycroft: “Foreign interference in our politics is real and persistent” (March, 2026).
For too long, UK Governments have failed to acknowledge this basic fact (taken from the Rycroft Review into foreign interference in our politics).
Successive Prime Ministers turned a blind eye to what was going on, ignored repeated warnings and recommendations from bodies including the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL).
Nearly five years ago, the CSPL published an extremely comprehensive report on Regulating Electoral Finance which included many recommendations to protect our politics from malign interference. Even though there was an Elections Bill being debated in the Commons, the then Government chose to ignore almost all of the report's 47 recommendations.
It took the criminal conviction of the former Reform UK leader in Wales for taking Russian bribes to finally spark the Rycroft Review into foreign interference in our politics.
Three months on, we have the results and 17 recommendations to protect our politics. We welcome all of them and thank Philip Rycroft for carrying out his investigation in just three months.
Here’s some key extracts from what Mr Rycroft found -
This country faces a persistent problem of foreign interests seeking to exert influence on, and to interfere in, our politics. Too much of this is malign and seeks to sow distrust and exacerbate divisions in UK society, with the ultimate aim of undermining confidence in our democracy.
Foreign financial influence and interference comes in two broad domains: attempts to directly infiltrate our politics by gaining direct leverage over political parties and political process; and attempts to create division and distrust among the wider public through activity on social media and other vectors.
I am not pressing the panic button in this report; that would serve the purposes of those who would undermine the trust in our democratic processes. But I am ringing the alarm bell. If government does not act swiftly to gear up to counter these threats, there is a real risk they will run away from us.
The Government has already announced that two key Rycroft recommendations, a ban on crypto donations and a £100,000 cap on donations from overseas voters, will come into effect immediately.
That is a good start. They’ve said that they will respond to the other recommendations in May - that is more concerning. With the Representation of the People Bill already making its way through the House of Commons, there is a ready-made vehicle for Rycroft’s recommendations to be implemented and quickly.
The bill as it stands is a step forward on protecting and improving our democracy. But, if it fully takes on board Rycroft’s recommendations, then it starts to become a far more meaningful piece of legislation.
Other key Rycroft recommendations include -
Greater Government prioritisation on foreign interference - including a Permanent Secretary with responsibility for responding to threats to our democracy
More powers for the Electoral Commission to investigate and enforce the rules
Tighten rules for online political advertising and a ban on foreign funding of adverts
Strengthened rules on political lobbying
We will be campaigning to get all the Rycroft recommendations implemented in the coming weeks.
The Rycroft Review was looking exclusively at foreign influence and it identified unlimited donations from UK voters living abroad as a clear vulnerability for foreign money to leech into our political system. Rycroft recommended what he described as a ‘reasonably high level’ donation cap of £100,000 for overseas voters. The Government has immediately accepted the recommendation.
But at present, the Government’s position is to continue to allow unlimited donations from voters (and effectively companies too) who are resident in the UK.
We believe that it will be impossible to restore trust in our politics until big donations are banned, across the board - whether that money comes from home or abroad. A recent YouGov poll showed that just 13% support the current system of unlimited donations.
It’s time for a cap on ALL political donations - not just those from abroad.
It’s the voices of ordinary citizens that are being squeezed out by the impact of big money donations, behind the scenes lobbying and political lies and disinformation.
The Government has an incredible opportunity with the Representation of the People Bill to kick big money out of our politics, protect our democracy from foreign interference and to step out on the long road towards restoring trust in our political system.
They must take it.