Clean Up Westminster stunt with lookalikes Peter Mandelson, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage (Image: David Madden Photography)
It’s back to business for politicians as Parliament resumes after the long summer recess. And business – namely the corrosive influence of big money in politics – is very much on the mind of worried constituents.
When speaking with people in Clacton this summer, I asked what word they would use to best describe UK politics: their most frequent answer was “dirty”. Many pointed to the huge sums of money infiltrating political parties as evidence that our democracy is now rigged against British people.
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This idea was brought to the fore by the £5million gifted to Nigel Farage by the overseas crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne, and support provided to Reform by convicted fraudster George Cottrell.
But we should not be fooled into thinking that this is an issue for just one party. Reform has exposed a much bigger problem: we are now in the middle of an arms race with every party trying to attract ever larger donations from ever richer individuals.
You would have to have the gullibility of a puppy to think these mega donors don’t want anything in return. Nobody believes that.
The people I spoke to in Clacton were not interested in the finer points of party funding law. They were interested in whether politicians were playing by the same rules as everyone else.
That matters because as soon as people believe money buys influence, trust in the whole political system vanishes. It also feeds the sense that politics is something done to people rather than something they have a stake in. And this is why the problem goes beyond Reform. The corrosive influence of big money has been allowed to take root across many parties.
For voters who already feel politics is rigged in favour of people at the top, the sight of politicians taking huge sums from wealthy individuals only reinforces that suspicion. It’s a vicious circle: the more money dominates politics, the less ordinary voters feel their voices matter.
Under the Conservative government it became increasingly clear that money could buy access and influence. One of the more absurd examples was when the wife of oligarch and former Russian deputy finance minister Vladimir Chernukhin paid £160,000 to play tennis with Boris Johnson.
The Conservatives made cash for peerages the norm. We are a country where you can buy a seat in our parliament from where you can shape the laws of the land.
Politicians from the left can have a blind spot too. Because they genuinely believe they are trying to make the world a better place, they sometimes seem to think they are above corruption. The “freebie gate” scandal of free spectacles, tickets and clothes for Keir Starmer and his top team involved nowhere near the scale of the gifts made by Reform’s mega donors. But it was grubby and it knocked the government off course very early in its reign and was where the rot set in.
Andy Burnham must not make the same mistake in his first 100 days. He must be above corruption. And he hasa historic opportunity to clean up Westminster and reduce the dangerous impact of big money on our democracy when the Representation of the People Bill returns to Parliament this week.
Keir Starmer proposed a cap on overseas based donors, but not one on UK based donors. This made little sense. It is surely not much better for a billionaire based in this country to be undermining our democracy than a billionaire based in Thailand.
Burnham must introduce a hard and low cap on all political donations. This would be wildly popular, with 92% of British voters supporting such a cap, according to a recent Fair Vote UK poll. It would also be the right thing to do.
A cap wouldn’t stop anyone giving to a party or supporting the political causes they believe in. It would simply stop a handful of very wealthy people from being able to buy outsized influence over our politics.
Parties should be fighting to win support from voters, not spending their time cultivating relationships with the wealthiest people they can find.
In the end, it comes down to a pretty simple principle that has been forgotten: in a democracy, political influence should come from the arguments you make and the people you can persuade, not the size of your bank balance.
?? Clean Up Westminster is a people-powered campaign that aims to create a political system that works for everyone
I Asked People for One Word to Describe UK Politics – Their Most Common Response Was Brutal
If there is one word that captures the mood of British politics right now, it may not be “Labour”, “Conservative”, “Reform” or even “Brexit”.
It is something much simpler.
“Broken.”
That was the most common response when people were asked to describe the state of UK politics in a single word, and it is difficult to argue that the answer came as a surprise.
Britain has entered a period of extraordinary political uncertainty. Governments rise and fall in popularity at remarkable speed. Traditional party loyalties have weakened. New political movements are challenging the established parties. Voters are increasingly willing to change their allegiance from one election to the next.
And behind all of it is a growing sense that Westminster is no longer functioning in the way people expect it to.
For many voters, politics has become exhausting.
Promises are made.
Arguments dominate the headlines.
Leaders attack one another.
Yet the problems that matter most to ordinary families often remain stubbornly difficult.
The cost of housing remains high. Public services face pressure. Household finances are stretched. Immigration remains one of the most divisive issues in the country. Trust in politicians is low.
It is little wonder that “broken” has become such a powerful description.
A Political System Losing Its Grip
The most striking feature of modern British politics is how quickly political loyalties can change.
For decades, many voters identified strongly with Labour or the Conservatives. Families could vote for the same party for generations.
That world is disappearing.
Voters are increasingly behaving like consumers. They compare policies, personalities and promises, then switch parties when they believe another option better represents their interests.
The rise of Reform UK is one of the clearest examples.
Nigel Farage has turned political dissatisfaction into an organised electoral movement capable of challenging both Labour and the Conservatives.
The Green Party has also expanded its influence.
The Liberal Democrats continue to hold important areas of support.
And Labour and the Conservatives are both struggling to maintain the broad coalitions that once made them dominant.
The result is a more fragmented political system.
That can be healthy for democracy.
But it can also create instability.
The Problem of Trust
Perhaps the most serious problem is not disagreement.
It is distrust.
Many voters no longer believe that politicians mean what they say.
Manifesto promises are treated with suspicion.
Political announcements are immediately followed by questions about whether they will ever be implemented.
When governments reverse policies, voters become even more cynical.
And when politicians appear to avoid answering difficult questions, the sense of frustration grows.
This creates a dangerous cycle.
Politicians promise more to regain trust.
Voters become disappointed when those promises cannot be delivered.
Disappointment creates greater distrust.
The next politician then promises even more dramatic change.
The cycle continues.
At some point, people stop believing anyone.
That is when politics becomes genuinely dangerous.
The Cost of Living Has Changed the Mood
Economic pressure has played a major role in this transformation.
For millions of people, political debate is no longer an abstract argument about left and right.
It is about whether they can afford to live comfortably.
A young person wants to know whether they can ever afford a home.
A parent wants to know why their weekly shopping bill keeps rising.
A pensioner worries about heating costs.
A small business owner worries about taxation and regulation.
A worker wonders why working harder does not necessarily translate into a better standard of living.
These experiences shape political attitudes far more powerfully than speeches in Westminster.
When people feel that their economic situation is deteriorating, they become much more willing to consider radical alternatives.
That helps explain why political outsiders have gained so much attention.
Burnham’s Promise of Renewal
Andy Burnham’s rise illustrates another feature of the current political environment: voters are searching for politicians who appear different.
Burnham has presented himself as a leader who wants to reconnect government with ordinary people.
His emphasis on public services, regional government and greater public ownership has attracted supporters who believe Britain needs a fundamental change of direction.
For Labour, that is potentially encouraging.
But it also creates enormous expectations.
If Burnham fails to deliver, voters may become even more cynical.
A leader presented as the answer to Labour’s problems can quickly become the symbol of another political disappointment.
That is the danger of the “Messiah” approach to politics.
No politician can solve everything.
When expectations become unrealistic, even genuine achievements can look like failures.
Farage Has Identified the Anger
Nigel Farage has been particularly effective at understanding political frustration.
His central message is that the established political class has failed to listen.
Whether voters agree with him or not, many recognise the frustration behind his argument.
Farage has repeatedly focused on immigration, national sovereignty, taxation and the perceived distance between Westminster and ordinary communities.
That message has helped Reform become a serious force.
But Reform faces the same test as every other party.
Criticism is easy.
Government is difficult.
If Farage wants to become Prime Minister, he must show that he can move beyond protest and provide credible solutions to Britain’s economic and social problems.
The electorate may be angry, but anger alone does not build a successful government.
The Conservatives Face an Identity Crisis
The Conservative Party has its own problem.
For many years, Conservatives were able to present themselves as the natural party of government.
That assumption has disappeared.
The party now faces pressure from both sides.
Reform is challenging it from the right, while Labour continues to dominate many urban and metropolitan areas.
Conservatives therefore face a difficult question: what exactly does the modern Conservative Party stand for?
Lower taxes?
Smaller government?
Stronger national defence?
Tighter immigration?
Economic growth?
Traditional social values?
All of these ideas can attract voters, but combining them into a coherent political programme is much harder.
Until the Conservatives answer that question, their recovery will remain uncertain.
Westminster Has Become a Political Bubble
Another reason people describe British politics as broken is the distance between Westminster and everyday life.
Parliament can spend hours debating political strategy while families are worrying about rent.
Politicians can argue about headlines while local councils struggle to maintain basic services.
Government departments can produce hundreds of pages of policy while businesses simply want clearer rules.
This does not mean Parliament is irrelevant.
It means that the political system needs to become better at translating debate into practical results.
Voters do not care which minister wins a parliamentary argument.
They care whether their local hospital works.
They care whether their children can find affordable housing.
They care whether public transport arrives on time.
They care whether their wages keep pace with prices.
The political system will regain trust only when people can see a connection between Westminster decisions and improvements in their everyday lives.
The Next Election Could Be Unpredictable
If the current trends continue, the next general election could produce one of the most unpredictable results in modern British politics.
A fragmented electorate means that relatively small changes in support could produce enormous changes in parliamentary seats.
Labour could lose support to Reform.
The Conservatives could recover.
The Liberal Democrats could expand.
The Greens could win new constituencies.
Regional parties could become more important.
The old two-party assumptions may no longer apply.
That uncertainty is frightening for political strategists.
But for voters, it can also be empowering.
When no party can take support for granted, politicians are forced to compete for every vote.
The danger is that competition can encourage increasingly dramatic promises.
Politicians may be tempted to say whatever they think will win headlines.
That brings us back to the central problem: trust.
Can Politics Be Fixed?
The answer is yes.
But fixing British politics will require more than changing one Prime Minister.
It will require a change in political culture.
Politicians need to make fewer promises and deliver more.
Governments need to explain difficult decisions honestly rather than pretending every problem has an easy solution.
Political parties need to acknowledge mistakes.
And voters need to be treated as adults capable of understanding complicated realities.
Most importantly, politics needs to reconnect with everyday life.
If people can see that government decisions are improving their communities, trust will gradually return.
If they continue to see political arguments without practical results, frustration will intensify.
The word “broken” will become even more appropriate.
Britain Is Looking for Something Different
The current political upheaval is not simply about personalities.
It reflects a deeper change in British society.
People are less loyal to political parties.
They are more sceptical of institutions.
They are more willing to challenge authority.
And they are increasingly prepared to vote for parties that would have been considered outsiders only a few years ago.
That transformation cannot be reversed simply by telling voters to return to the old system.
The old system has already changed.
The question is what replaces it.
Andy Burnham believes the answer lies in a stronger public sector and greater regional power.
Nigel Farage believes it lies in challenging the political establishment and radically changing Britain’s approach to immigration, taxation and national sovereignty.
The Conservatives are attempting to rediscover their purpose.
Other parties are fighting for space in an increasingly fragmented political landscape.
And millions of voters are watching all of them with growing scepticism.
That may be the most important fact of all.
People are not necessarily losing interest in politics.
They are losing patience with politics that does not produce results.
The brutal one-word verdict—“broken”—is therefore more than an insult.
It is a warning.
British voters are telling their politicians that the system is not working as well as it should.
The politicians who understand that message, offer credible solutions and actually deliver them will have the opportunity to reshape the country.
Those who ignore it may discover that voters are no longer prepared to wait.
The next chapter of British politics is already being written.
And this time, the public may be less interested in what politicians promise than in what they actually do.