📽️ NEW 📽️ Does the UK have a dark money problem? Should we be worried? As our Senior Research Officer, @rosewhiff.bsky.social explains - the public have a right to be concerned about the grip of dark money on our politics.

WHO PAYS, WHO DECIDES? BIG MONEY IN BRITISH POLITICS 📆Monday, 4.30pm | Nova Scotia | Liverpool Join our Director of Policy, @duncanhames.bsky.social, @liambyrnemp.bsky.social, @suehawley.bsky.social & @edhodgsoned.bsky.social to hear about big money's influence on our democracy.

WHO PAYS, WHO DECIDES? BIG MONEY IN BRITISH POLITICS 📆Monday, 4.30pm | Nova Scotia | Liverpool Join our Director of Policy, @duncanhames.bsky.social, @liambyrnemp.bsky.social, @suehawley.bsky.social & @edhodgsoned.bsky.social to hear about big money's influence on our democracy.

Serious questions remain about Labour Together and Morgan McSweeney's characterisation of these breaches. Given the PM's emphasis on the fight for trust, we would welcome him seeking the guidance of his independent adviser on standards. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🚨 NEW 🚨 Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight bribery charges while an elected member of the European parliament. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

📽️ NEW 📽️ Does the UK have a dark money problem? Should we be worried? As our Senior Research Officer, @rosewhiff.bsky.social explains - the public have a right to be concerned about the grip of dark money on our politics.

💸 Nearly £1 in every £10 donated to UK political parties comes from UNKNOWN sources. That's millions in dark money flowing into our politics. We're fighting back - and YOUR donation goes TWICE as far via @biggive.bsky.social matched funding. Support us today ⤵️ donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...

Heading to Labour Party Conference this weekend? Join our Director of Policy, @duncanhames.bsky.social, @liambyrnemp.bsky.social, @suehawley.bsky.social, @edhodgsoned.bsky.social and Baroness Hodge for "Who pays, who decides? Big money in British politics". www.transparency.org.uk/events/who-p...

💷 Polling by @patmillsuk.bsky.social found 81% of UK millionaires think extreme wealth buys political influence. We need your help to break big money's grip on our politics. Support our work today and see your donation doubled via @biggive.bsky.social ⤵ donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...

📺 "The government used emergency procurement measures to just directly award contracts to companies." @danieljbruce.bsky.social highlighted the approach that led to billions of pounds of wasted public money on ITV's The Covid Contracts documentary Available on ITVX ⤵️ www.itv.com/watch/the-co...

🚨 Just 19 donors provided 66% of UK political donations in 2023 - pumping £56.5 million into our politics. We're campaigning to: ✅ Cap donations ✅ Reduce spending limits ✅ Close foreign interference loopholes Every donation DOUBLED for 30 days ⤵️ donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...

📺 "It is probably the biggest misspending scandal in the UK of all time." A ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review from The Guardian for last night's The Covid Contracts documentary featuring commentary and analysis from our Chief Executive, @danieljbruce.bsky.social. Now available on ITVX ⤵️ www.itv.com/watch/the-co...

📺 THIS SUNDAY 📺 Our Chief Executive, @danieljbruce.bsky.social features in a new documentary exposing the chaos behind COVID contracts. It shines a light on how much public money was wasted on PPE and the private companies profiting from the crisis. Watch Sunday, 10.20pm on ITV1 ⤵️

📺 THIS SUNDAY 📺 Our Chief Executive, @danieljbruce.bsky.social features in a new documentary exposing the chaos behind COVID contracts. It shines a light on how much public money was wasted on PPE and the private companies profiting from the crisis. Watch Sunday, 10.20pm on ITV1 ⤵️

The rules are intended to ensure that lawmakers should serve the public interest, not private clients. When peers use their privileged position and access to influence policy for commercial gain, it corrupts the democratic process and erodes trust in our institutions. observer.co.uk/news/politic...

The Hillsborough Law delivers crucial long-awaited reforms, including a new offence covering corruption in public office. Our COVID-19 corruption investigation revealed serious gaps in existing laws—this legislation finally addresses them. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Heading to Liberal Democrat Conference this weekend? On Saturday, our Director of Policy, @duncanhames.bsky.social is speaking at "Dark Money in Local Elections?" fringe hosted with ALDC. Find out more ⤵️ #LDConf www.transparency.org.uk/events/dark-...

🎙️ Is Keir committed to cleaning up politics? Our Chief Executive @danieljbruce.bsky.social joined @alaintolhurst.bsky.social, @suehawley.bsky.social, @petergeoghegan.bsky.social and Lloyd Hatton MP on this week's The Rundown podcast to answer this question. podfollow.com/politicshome...

New officers, new direction ⬆️ Following its Annual General Meeting, MPs elected a fresh slate of officers to take the APPG forward in the year ahead. @philbrickellmp.bsky.social was elected Chair of the Group. Phil brings to the role over a decade of senior experience tackling financial crime.

🗣️ "Government should release basic, up-to-date information regarding the taskforce’s priorities. This is essential for the public to understand its effectiveness.” @rosewhiff.bsky.social spoke to the @bylinetimes.bsky.social about the need for govt transparency. bylinetimes.com/2025/09/16/k...

🗣️ “The evidence available provides grounds for the commissioners for standards to investigate.” @stevejgoodrich.bsky.social spoke to @catneilan.bsky.social as @theobserveruk.bsky.social revealed potential breaches to lobbying rules by Peter Mandelson. observer.co.uk/news/politic...

✉️ "Tackling illicit finance helps deliver the bedrock of the government's agenda: economic stability across the nation, secure UK borders, and resilience to future threats." This week we signed this letter urging the new Foreign Sec and Deputy PM to maintain progress on tackling illicit finance.

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 Is Keir committed to cleaning up politics? 🔎 MP Lloyd Hatton, anti-corruption experts Susan Hawley & Daniel Bruce, & journalist @petergeoghegan.bsky.social join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social to discuss whether the UK remains vulnerable to illicit wealth and cronyism 🎧: pod.fo/e/329460

🗣️ "Electoral law is crystal clear that parties and politicians can only accept donations from permissible sources." @stevejgoodrich.bsky.social spoke to @theguardian.com and urged that credible allegations of rule-breaking be investigated. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

📻 "No Prime Minister is under any obligation to follow the advice that they're given." Following Angela Rayner's resignation @danieljbruce.bsky.social went on LBC News made the case for stronger rules and independent oversight of ministerial standards in government.

Congratulations to Transparency International Russia in Exile, who have published a new investigation today into the evolution of Garantex, sanctioned by the US and UK in 2022. ti-russia.org/en/2025/09/1...

Transparency and fairness flourish when people can safely raise their voice. That’s why we’re calling on governments, companies and civil society to do more to protect whistleblowers. ➡️ Read more: www.transparency.org/en/blog/from...

📻 "It relies on politicians at the highest level of government largely marking their own homework." Following Angela Rayner's resignation @danieljbruce.bsky.social went on LBC News to explain why our standards regime still relies too much on the 'good chaps' theory of government.

🚨NEW Our blueprint to end financial secrecy in UK offshore centres is out today. New guidelines provide five standards for meaningful beneficial ownership registers - from protecting investigators to ensuring broad access for journalists & civil society. www.transparency.org.uk/publications...

We're still gambling with the 'good chaps' theory – hoping politicians will police themselves. We need the Independent Adviser on a statutory footing. Until that changes, we're one difficult investigation away from the whole system being swept aside by whoever finds accountability inconvenient.

Great to be in Holyrood to discuss how better lobbying transparency can help understand who is seeking to influence our democracy. We'll be presenting findings from our Open Access tool that presents lobbying data from both Westminster & Holyrood. To learn more ⬇️ openaccess.transparency.org.uk

🚨NEW The UK's new 'failure to prevent fraud' offence comes into force today under ECCTA. Organisations can now face unlimited fines for not preventing associates from committing fraud. Read our guide on linking anti-bribery and anti-fraud controls ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/news/failure...

📝 BLOG As government plans to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords return to parliament this week read our blog from last year on the key reforms needed to reduce corruption risks in parliament's second chamber. www.transparency.org.uk/news/current...

🎟️ EVENT There's still time to sign up for our event in Edinburgh next month discussing insights on what lobbying data reveals and discussion about what improvements could be made. 📆 3 September 🕰️ 18:00 📍 Scottish Parliament Sign up ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/events/lobby...

🗣️ “The public have a right to know how much time MPs spend on second jobs, and how much they’re paid.” @stevejgoodrich.bsky.social warned @catneilan.bsky.social that MPs must be transparent about outside payments to distinguish real deals from disguised donations. observer.co.uk/news/politic...

💡 Did you know we're on Instagram? Follow us for more videos and the latest news from Transparency International UK. 🔗 www.instagram.com/transparencyuk

🚨 Another example of why the "revolving door" system is broken. Until we have proper rules with teeth, these conflicts of interest will continue to undermine public trust. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

📝 BLOG 📝 Gibraltar's outgoing auditor reveals £13M in questionable payments and obstruction by the Chief Minister's office. When those meant to guard the public purse are silenced, democracy suffers. Read more ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/news/silenci...

🗣️ "Oversight of this revolving door rests on little more than gentlemen’s agreements." As former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps joins a defence contractor, we warned @theguardian.com that the current rules aren't fit for purpose. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🗣️ "This creates concerning opportunities for corporate interests to influence policy without public scrutiny.” @rosewhiff.bsky.social warned @thetimes.com that the Parliamentary Knowledge Scheme could create conflicts of interest between businesses and MPs. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Yet another party donor has been fast-tracked into the House of Lords to be a legislator for life. Last year our research showed 1 in 5 political party nominees to the Lords was a political donors - funding parties to the tune of £58m between them. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

🗣️ "The public deserves to see clear evidence of how potential conflicts of interest have been actively identified and mitigated.” @rosewhiff.bsky.social, spoke to @thetimes.com about unanswered questions of new government contract awarded to Labour donor. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

🗣️ "The public has a right to know who ultimately benefits from their money." Juliet Swann spoke to the @theferret.scot and @scotnational.bsky.social, calling for tighter rules requiring tax haven companies receiving public funds to disclose their true owners. www.thenational.scot/news/2537829...

🆕 EVENT Join @danieljbruce.bsky.social, @muteswann.bsky.social, @rosewhiff.bsky.social and @martinwhitfieldmsp.bsky.social in Edinburgh next month for insights on what lobbying data reveals and discussion about what improvements could be made. Sign up ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/events/lobby...

📝 BLOG Our weak laws are allowing millions of pounds to enter UK political parties from untraceable origins? Our latest explainer looks at UK politics' dark money problem and what can be done to bring transparency to political funding. Read more ⤵️ www.transparency.org.uk/news/does-uk...

🗣️ “This investigation exposes exactly why the UK’s lobbying system is broken.” As it's revealed party officials told lobbyists they could pay £18,000 for MP parties without disclosure, @rosewhiff.bsky.social warned of the failings in our lobbying transparency laws. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

🗣️ "Transparency shouldn't end with published declarations. Government should embrace transparency as the default." Rose Whiffen spoke to BBC News about revelations that Ministers spent £30,000 on a legal battle to block publication of key transparency forms. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🆕 "Ethics watchdog says it's 'inappropriate' for Labour to keep system letting ministers direct Electoral Commission." The CSPL's Doug Chalmers is right—the upcoming elections bill must restore EC independence to future-proof the integrity of elections. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Over 35,000 people have joined the call to take big money out of our politics. Add your name today ⤵️

💵 When corruption meets economic crisis, people pay the price. In 45 developing countries, interest payments now exceed health spending. Anti-corruption measures must be at the heart of IMF lending, not an afterthought. Latest from @anticorruption.bsky.social ⤵️ www.transparency.org/en/news/stro...