Transparency International UK

20/08/2026

🗣️ "We're in an arms race, and we're in an arms race with no guardrails" - Susan Hawley

From 2015 - 2024, the share of donations coming from donors giving £1m + grew from 1% to 35%. In the 2024 election, a record £94.5m spent. And any UK-based individual can still donate unlimited sums to a political party.

Today we publish episode 1 of Going, Going, Almost Gone: How the Super-Rich Are Buying UK Democracy - a three-part documentary series in partnership with Democracy for Sale (find in comments below).

MPs are due to debate the Representation of the People Bill next week. This is an opportunity to end the super rich buying UK politics we can't afford to miss.

🔗 Follow the link below to hear Catherine Neilan, Faiza Shaheen, Oliver Bullough, Duncan Hames, Susan Hawley & Peter Geoghegan uncover the story behind the record sums.

07/07/2026

💷 British democracy is not for sale - so why can a handful of mega-donors still hand millions to political parties, no upper limit, no questions asked?

Ministers have accepted the principle of a cap on donations, but only a waiting period for those moving from overseas. A waiting period is not a cap - it's a waiting room. Once the clock runs out, the same donors can carry on writing the same cheques.

Stella Creasy MP has tabled an amendment to cap political donations at £100,000, applying equally to every party and every donor. MPs debate the bill next Tuesday - and your MP needs to hear from you first.

Send a real postcard to your MP in two minutes. ⤵️

Tell your MP to support caps on political donations and campaign spending.

16/06/2026

🔎 NEW INVESTIGATION

Almost one in six members of the House of Lords holds a paid political advisory role that carries a significant lobbying risk. At least six peers go further still — sitting as directors or senior partners of lobbying firms.

None of this is hidden. It's all on the public register. The rules simply wave it through.

We're calling for tighter rules and for peers to make a choice: drop any interest that involves lobbying for clients, or leave the House.

Read our full investigation ⤵️
https://www.transparency.org.uk/news/house-lords-has-become-lobbying-network-hire

24/02/2026

📺 "It takes more than warm words to actually rebuild trust. It takes definitive action."

Our Chief Executive Daniel Bruce joined Ian Collins and Clark Vasey on TalkTVUK to discuss the arrest of Peter Mandelson and how we rebuild trust in politics.

19/02/2026

🗣️ "Any proven abuse of a senior public role for private ends, financial or otherwise, is corruption that erodes public trust in our institutions."

Read our full statement on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Any proven abuse of a senior public role for private ends, financial or otherwise, is corruption that erodes public trust in our institutions.

16/02/2026

🆕 BLOG

The Mandelson-Epstein emails show a UK minister tried to "amend" government policy after conversations with the foreign businessman and s*x offender.

Without a US federal investigation, we might never have known. That's a broken system.

Read more ⤵️
https://www.transparency.org.uk/news/mandelson-epstein-emails-what-do-they-reveal-about-britains-broken-lobbying-system

Transparency International UK is the UK chapter of Transparency International - a global movement sharing one vision: a world in which government, politics, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption.

12/02/2026

🆕 BLOG

The new law claims to safeguard our democracy yet does little to address a longstanding and ever-present threat.

As the government publish it's new elections bill Steve Goodrich argues that more must be done to tackle the corrosive influence of money in politics.

Read more ⤵️

The new law claims to safeguard our democracy yet does little to address a longstanding and ever-present threat.

11/02/2026

🗣️ "This isn't just about numbers on a chart. It's about what those numbers represent: a gradual but persistent decline in the UK’s reputation for good governance."

As the UK receives its lowest ever score in , Our Chief Executive, Daniel Bruce reflects on the UK's decline and what needs to happen next.

Author Daniel Bruce Date of publication 10 February 2026 Reading Time 4 minutes 40 seconds Today, Transparency International published the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, and the results should give us all pause. For the third consecutive year, the UK remains stuck at 20th place globally. More co...

11/02/2026

📺 "What we see in today's score is growing concern about political corruption risk in the UK."

Last night our Chief Executive, Daniel Bruce joined Petrie Hoskin on Talk TV to discuss this year's Corruption Perception Index and why the UK has received it's lowest ever score in the corruption tracker.

10/02/2026

💥 Great piece from Polly Toynbee echoing our calls for the real reforms needed to restore trust in politics.

As today's result shows, this persistent decline is not a temporary blip - it risks becoming a defining feature of our political culture.

With Britain sliding down the index of transparency and voters angry, the looming election bill fails to confront the real issues, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee