MacNeil introduces bill on Cash for Peerages

Angus MacNeil MP has today introduced a bill in the House of Commons to limit those who donate money to political parties from getting a peerage.

The Peerage Nominations (Disqualification of Party Donors) private members bill would mean that those who donate more than £50,000 to a political party would be banned from a place in the House of Lords for 5 years after their donation.

This follows recent reports in The Sunday Times where 18 political donors, who donated more than £3 million, to the Conservative Party were nominated for peerages.

As well as the private members bill, Mr MacNeil also laid an early day motion on Monday 15^th November in Parliament which has received cross party support.

Commenting the MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar said:

“Those who donate large sums to political parties often magically find themselves in the House of Lords.

“Following the recent revelations by The Sunday Times, I wrote to the Met Commissioner Cressida Dick calling for an investigation into this and I also wrote to the Leaders of the political parties who deal in peerages, namely the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats calling on them to halt this procedure.

“If the House of Lords and democracy at Westminster wants to stop being the joke of Western European Democracies, the practise and the possibility of cash being exchanged for a place in the Parliament must clearly come to an end.

“The fastest and clearest way for this to happen is for Boris Johnson, Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Ed Davey to either individually or collectively say they will no longer appoint people to the House of Lords if they give their political parties money. Anything other than this is a maintenance of a practise which corrupts the UK.”

ENDS

Notes:

Bill below: Peerage Nominations (Disqualification of Party Donors) Bill