Rejected petition: Cap donations to political parties from individuals and businesses
Rejected on
UK political parties face no legal limit on donations, allowing wealthy individuals and corporations to buy political influence. This undermines democracy, contradicts anti-bribery law, and means policy decisions can be shaped by the richest donors rather than the needs of ordinary citizens.
History proves money buys influence. Bernie Ecclestone donated £1m to Labour and received a tobacco advertising exemption. The “Cash for Honours” scandal saw large donors nominated for peerages. Nearly 1 in 5 elite Conservative donors received honours. In 2025, one individual gave £9m to Reform UK. The Bribery Act 2010 makes it illegal to pay for favourable treatment — yet political donations escape this entirely. We need a legal donation cap, tighter loopholes, and stronger penalties now.
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
You may wish to sign this petition calling for similar action:
'Donations to a political party capped at £500,000 per individual or organisation' https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/760491
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.