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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Transparency International UK @transparencyuk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

📆TODAY | 3PM | THE BLUECOAT Big money is corrupting UK politics. But it doesn't have to be this way. Join us and @thefabians.bsky.social to hear from Neal Lawson at @compassoffice.bsky.social, @stellacreasy.bsky.social, @duncanhames.bsky.social & Baroness Hodge. Details in comments below ⤵️

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Transparency International UK @transparencyuk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🚨Louise Haigh agrees that mega donors with outsized influence are pernicious to democracy Yesterday at @ippr.org, Harry Quilter-Pinner rightly pointed out that big money corrupts UK politics regardless of where the money comes from. It's time for the Government to cap donations. Watch below ⤵️

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The more progress the police make in acting on illicit wealth here, the more important it is to overcome the obstacles to returning proceeds of corruption to the people who lost out in the first place. Our new film explains:

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

If you will be at the Labour Party conference next week, please do come and join Dame Margaret Hodge, Neal Lawson, Stella Creasy MP @stellacreasy.bsky.social, the @thefabians.bsky.social and me for this topical discussion: whose democract is it anyway?

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The Ferret @theferret.scot · 20/09/2026

🔴 NEW: Rules were tightened after Scottish Limited Partnerships were exploited for financial crime. But Moscow firms and a man accused of facilitating child sex abuse are still selling them for your “financial privacy”. Our latest: www.theferret.scot/p/a36c9a0d-fcd4-…

Photo of a modern Glasgow building with large reflective windows. Headline reads: “The unremarkable Glasgow building where a fake news-peddler sells business schemes beloved by money launderers.”

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

No-one should be allowed to give this much money to any political party - now, next year, or ever.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Gordon Brown calls for policymakers to wake-up to what is happening in political donaitons. He says the elections bill currently in Parliament should allow the Government to set a cap on donations, having consulted the Ethics and Integrity Commission as well as the Electoral Commission.

theguardian.com

Big-money donations poison British politics. We can stop the mega-rich buying access and influence | Gordon Brown

I’ve seen how imbalances in campaign spending can distort democracy. The multi-million-pound gifts to Reform must act as a final wake-up call, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Transparency International UK @transparencyuk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

🗣️"We can't have billionaires treating political parties like they were football clubs" @duncanhames.bsky.social Reform's £72m in pledges from just two crypto-billionaires is a watershed moment. But it's not a new problem. Politics' dependence on the super rich needs to end. More ⤵️

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Decisive: for every voter opposed to political donation caps, almost three others back them.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

We are not the only ones who think there should be some limits placed on the money in politics. Some of these might even surprise you, so please do watch and share. What do *you* think?

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Canada has a total ban on company/corporate donations. Only individuals who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents can make contributions and it's capped at $1,750 a year. They still have functioning parties and the sky hasn't fallen in. Quite the opposite... www.elections.ca/content.aspx...

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Twice as costly as Liz Truss' despatching of a senior official, is quite a record for Sir Keir to have set, and with a peerage thrown in to boot! Who defends the interest of taxpayers in these disputes?

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Institute for Public Policy Research @ippr.org · 14/09/2026

The government could have stopped this. Other comparable democracies cap political donations to make sure parties are accountable to voters, not wealthy donors. But Britain’s main parties have repeatedly ducked reform because they all benefit from the status quo. 2/2

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Am on @lbc with @lewisgoodall.com shortly talking about how two crypto billionaires have given £72m to Reform and why British democracy is for sale.

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Victoria Derbyshire @vicderbyshire.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Reform UK has received a £36m donation from a British cryptocurrency billionaire called Ben Delo Last year Delo was given an unconditional pardon by President Trump over a breach of anti-money laundering laws at his crypto trading platform, BitMEX, to which he had pleaded guilty in 2022

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion, Margaret Hodge says: “you have to tackle the issue. We can’t leave it alone. Self-interest shouldn’t dominate.” No more stalling, it’s time to act.

theguardian.com

Christopher Harborne matches £36m Reform donation of Ben Delo

Party leader, Nigel Farage, ‘humbled’ by contributions from billionaires as Harborne addresses ‘media speculation’

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Unprecedented, unacceptable, and still unlimited. This was never really about ‘levelling the playing field’, the next government could owe its place in power to just one or two crypto billionaires.

youtu.be

Reform UK gets £72m in donations within 48 hours

YouTube video by LBC

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Transparency International UK @transparencyuk.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

🚨Surge in billionaire money in UK politics hits record high Reports today that two crypto-billionaires have pledged a combined £72million to Reform UK highlight the urgent need for a donations cap. Full statement below ⤵️

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The most fundamental question in politics is: whose support do you need to win and hold power? Is it warlords, aristocrats, empires or "the demos"? If the answer is "billionaires", you are not a democracy but a plutocracy. That's why democracies *must* erect barricades against capture by the rich

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

These short films were not meant to be prophetic. The idea was that we should act to protect our democracy before it is too late:

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Democratic politics will not serve the people when politicians owe their place and their futures to one or two billionaires.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Political parties are not football clubs. Democracy cannot stand them being bought by billionaires.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This is what happens when you refuse to place any limits whatsoever on how much someone can spend on a political party:

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Seizing the proceeds of corruption is only half the job. Asset recovery only truly delivers justice when the money is ultimately used to benefit the people it was stolen from. Read about 'Closing the Loop', our latest report here:

transparency.org.uk

Suspected corrupt wealth in the UK risks never being returned to victims, new research warns

At least £9.6 million already kept by the UK, with a further £64 million in recovered or frozen assets facing same policy problem as cases progress

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

“A lot of people in this country care about sovereignty…”

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/09/2026

With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

It’s a crowded field, but the jaw-dropping moment for me is when Orr reels off all the other illicit donors who have illicitly donated one to Reform via illicit means, like this is helpful

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The conspiracy filmed here replicates other allegations of channelling donations on behalf of family members not permitted to make UK political donations. Those now warrant official investigation.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

"People who hold positions of power, influence and money don't want new kids on the block succeeding." Fortunately for Nigel Farage, he knows a friendly crypto-billionnaire, who does:

bbc.co.uk

Reform up against 'complainants' society', Nigel Farage tells BBC

The Reform UK leader said a "whole ecosystem" didn't want "new kids on the block succeeding".

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Chequebooks are already circling the next election. The PM should act on the calls of his own backbenchers and cap how much money any one person can give MPs or political parties.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

This by @emilythornberry.bsky.social, like other amendments now tabled, is very good. Her new clause 86 in particular, is rather clever. The Starmer plan to tackle big money in politics was never enough. Will any MPs persuade @andyburnham.bsky.social of this at #PMQs tomorrow?

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Returning home from an intense review of anti-corruption measures in Taiwan, I found we share some common challenges, but also a resolve to defend our democracies from those who would exploit them from abroad or undermine from within their work in service of the public interest:

taipeitimes.com

International experts affirm Taiwan’s anti-corruption efforts, offer recommendations - Taipei Times

Five international experts on the review committee for Taiwan’s third report under the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) said yesterday that Taiwan has established a mature and innovative anti-...

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Yes, it can, but we need MPs to tell the new Government next week, that it must act now. Please watch and share:

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

WATCH: Episode 2 is out now. Featuring a solution widely back by the public, but not the politicians:

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

An official from Reform UK told Politico's London Playbook that the Government walking away from a political donations cap is “very good news for us.”

politico.eu

Labour’s Farage donor crackdown hits a Downing Street roadblock

A domestic donations cap will not be in the elections bill when it returns next month.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

WATCH: It’s about time we did something about the big money entering British politics.

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Reposted by Duncan Hames

Transparency International UK @transparencyuk.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

💷 Corruption, tax avoidance and UK high streets Our research with @coramazov.bsky.social at The Fence helped uncover a business network originating in Afghanistan linked with candy & souvenir stores in London buying up millions of pounds of UK property. More below ⤵️

the-fence.com

The Graveyard of Empires

How did the British high street become littered with American Candy stores? The answer lies in Afghanistan.

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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

🔴 All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are not allowed to accept secretariat services “funded directly or indirectly by a foreign government”. But we found that some cross-party groups are being funded by foreign states. New on Democracy for Sale: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-t...

democracyforsale.substack.com

Revealed: the foreign governments behind Westminster's cross-party groups

Foreign states aren't meant to fund the organisations running parliamentary groups. Our investigation found evidence that some do.

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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Your regular reminder that there is an elections bill before parliament that is currently pretty thin but which could actually legislate to stop this happening in the U.K…..

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

And yet here in the UK politicians resist calls to introduce a cap on political donations. Money in politics stops power ever reaching the people.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

When it is this easy for someone on the other side of the world to assert residence here and register to vote, it shows how inadequate capping donations only of overseas voters will be. A cap on donations made by any individual would be simpler, fairer, and more straightforward to enforce.

channel4.com

How a crypto billionaire used ‘gaping loopholes’ to bankroll Reform

Meet Christopher Harborne, the billionaire bankrolling Reform UK.

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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Police investigate donations by Tice company to Reform UK. “Two people have so far been interviewed under caution” the Met Police reveal, following a referral by the Electoral Commission.

bbc.co.uk

Police investigate donations by Richard Tice company to Reform UK

Britain Means Business, owned by the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice, made two donations of £250,000 in the run-up to the 2024 general election.

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