Duncan Hames

These short films were not meant to be prophetic. The idea was that we should act to protect our democracy before it is too late:

Incredible. Student List are candidates selected by groups of students to form an anti-corruption party. Another youth-led movement overthrowing an authoritarian government in Europe.

Nearly half a billion dollars spent this election cycle by the world’s richest man. We should take back control of our democracy before the billionaires do the same here.

I'm incredibly proud of the work my team @transparencyuk.bsky.social do exposing corruption and money laundering here in the UK, and the gaps in the response. That's why we're always striving to tell this story better. Watch this short film for the lowdown on our latest report:

NEW: Our latest research exposes how off-plan sales risk letting dirty money buy-up new-build properties. Read all about it in newspapers from the Daily Telegraph to the Morning Star...

Further revelations from the Cyprus Confidential project point to the role of professionals, including falsely backdating paperwork, in hiding assets and avoiding tax.

Abramovich denied any knowledge of or involvement in “unlawful backdating,” concealing assets, or evading tax, and said, through his lawyers, that he relied on professional advisers, including Deloitte.

Who gets access to government and has the most influence? Next Thursday, hear Stuart Sterling, Baroness (Dianne) Hayter, @duncanhames.bsky.social, @suehawley.bsky.social and @jrgerlis.bsky.social, with David Coen, discuss lobbying. Sign up for this in-person event 👉️ www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

We can't wait... to see more money coming in, before we act:

📺WATCH NOW Last week at Labour Conference, we partnered with @thefabians.bsky.social to discuss how big money is corrupting UK politics. Watch to hear from @duncanhames.bsky.social, Neal Lawson at @compassoffice.bsky.social, @stellacreasy.bsky.social & Baroness Margaret Hodge. More ⤵

📆TODAY | 3PM | THE BLUECOAT Big money is corrupting UK politics. But it doesn't have to be this way. Join us and @thefabians.bsky.social to hear from Neal Lawson at @compassoffice.bsky.social, @stellacreasy.bsky.social, @duncanhames.bsky.social & Baroness Hodge. Details in comments below ⤵️

🚨Louise Haigh agrees that mega donors with outsized influence are pernicious to democracy Yesterday at @ippr.org, Harry Quilter-Pinner rightly pointed out that big money corrupts UK politics regardless of where the money comes from. It's time for the Government to cap donations. Watch below ⤵️

The more progress the police make in acting on illicit wealth here, the more important it is to overcome the obstacles to returning proceeds of corruption to the people who lost out in the first place. Our new film explains:

If you will be at the Labour Party conference next week, please do come and join Dame Margaret Hodge, Neal Lawson, Stella Creasy MP @stellacreasy.bsky.social, the @thefabians.bsky.social and me for this topical discussion: whose democract is it anyway?

🔴 NEW: Rules were tightened after Scottish Limited Partnerships were exploited for financial crime. But Moscow firms and a man accused of facilitating child sex abuse are still selling them for your “financial privacy”. Our latest: https://www.theferret.scot/p/a36c9a0d-fcd4-4a95-93bf-5281f6323518/

Cry if you want to, it’s their party now:

No-one should be allowed to give this much money to any political party - now, next year, or ever.

Gordon Brown calls for policymakers to wake-up to what is happening in political donaitons. He says the elections bill currently in Parliament should allow the Government to set a cap on donations, having consulted the Ethics and Integrity Commission as well as the Electoral Commission.

🗣️"We can't have billionaires treating political parties like they were football clubs" @duncanhames.bsky.social Reform's £72m in pledges from just two crypto-billionaires is a watershed moment. But it's not a new problem. Politics' dependence on the super rich needs to end. More ⤵️

Decisive: for every voter opposed to political donation caps, almost three others back them.

We are not the only ones who think there should be some limits placed on the money in politics. Some of these might even surprise you, so please do watch and share. What do *you* think?

Canada has a total ban on company/corporate donations. Only individuals who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents can make contributions and it's capped at $1,750 a year. They still have functioning parties and the sky hasn't fallen in. Quite the opposite... www.elections.ca/content.aspx...

Twice as costly as Liz Truss' despatching of a senior official, is quite a record for Sir Keir to have set, and with a peerage thrown in to boot! Who defends the interest of taxpayers in these disputes?

The government could have stopped this. Other comparable democracies cap political donations to make sure parties are accountable to voters, not wealthy donors. But Britain’s main parties have repeatedly ducked reform because they all benefit from the status quo. 2/2

Richard Tice MP when quizzed by the BBC's Nick Robinson this morning: "Hopefully your viewers will trust that statement from our compliance team"...

Am on @lbc with @lewisgoodall.com shortly talking about how two crypto billionaires have given £72m to Reform and why British democracy is for sale.

Reform UK has received a £36m donation from a British cryptocurrency billionaire called Ben Delo Last year Delo was given an unconditional pardon by President Trump over a breach of anti-money laundering laws at his crypto trading platform, BitMEX, to which he had pleaded guilty in 2022

The Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion, Margaret Hodge says: “you have to tackle the issue. We can’t leave it alone. Self-interest shouldn’t dominate.” No more stalling, it’s time to act.

This situation is now completely out of control, and makes an irrefutable case for government to bring forward an annual cap on political donations, and fast.

BREAKING: 80% of Reform’s funding comes from two crypto billionaires democracyforsale.substack.com/p/breaking-8...

Unprecedented, unacceptable, and still unlimited. This was never really about ‘levelling the playing field’, the next government could owe its place in power to just one or two crypto billionaires.

🚨Surge in billionaire money in UK politics hits record high Reports today that two crypto-billionaires have pledged a combined £72million to Reform UK highlight the urgent need for a donations cap. Full statement below ⤵️

The most fundamental question in politics is: whose support do you need to win and hold power? Is it warlords, aristocrats, empires or "the demos"? If the answer is "billionaires", you are not a democracy but a plutocracy. That's why democracies *must* erect barricades against capture by the rich

Democratic politics will not serve the people when politicians owe their place and their futures to one or two billionaires.

Political parties are not football clubs. Democracy cannot stand them being bought by billionaires.

This is what happens when you refuse to place any limits whatsoever on how much someone can spend on a political party:

Seizing the proceeds of corruption is only half the job. Asset recovery only truly delivers justice when the money is ultimately used to benefit the people it was stolen from. Read about 'Closing the Loop', our latest report here:

“A lot of people in this country care about sovereignty…”

With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.

It’s a crowded field, but the jaw-dropping moment for me is when Orr reels off all the other illicit donors who have illicitly donated one to Reform via illicit means, like this is helpful

"People who hold positions of power, influence and money don't want new kids on the block succeeding." Fortunately for Nigel Farage, he knows a friendly crypto-billionnaire, who does:

Chequebooks are already circling the next election. The PM should act on the calls of his own backbenchers and cap how much money any one person can give MPs or political parties.

PM Andy Burnham today faced questions about money in politics in the House of Commons. We @transparencyuk.bsky.social support the amendments tabled for tomorrow's debate by @stellacreasy.bsky.social and @anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social. A case made well here:

This by @emilythornberry.bsky.social, like other amendments now tabled, is very good. Her new clause 86 in particular, is rather clever. The Starmer plan to tackle big money in politics was never enough. Will any MPs persuade @andyburnham.bsky.social of this at #PMQs tomorrow?

Returning home from an intense review of anti-corruption measures in Taiwan, I found we share some common challenges, but also a resolve to defend our democracies from those who would exploit them from abroad or undermine from within their work in service of the public interest:

The view from the @theguardian.com is that Andy Burnham is about to make quite some mistake, if he ducks the chance to tackle big money in British Politics:

Yes, it can, but we need MPs to tell the new Government next week, that it must act now. Please watch and share:

WATCH: Episode 2 is out now. Featuring a solution widely back by the public, but not the politicians: