Now we need to fix our democracy - and we’ve got some exciting news about how to make it happen

The results are in. It’s been a landslide. It’s clear the public wants change.

No, we’re not talking about Labour’s sweeping election victory - although the video of a glassy-eyed Liz Truss losing her seat in a Suffolk sports centre was a highlight round our way.

The change I’m talking about is what you - Democracy for Sale readers - have told us you want to see: British politics cleaned up.

As you might remember, we recently ran a survey on the state of our democracy. More than 2,500 of you filled it in (thanks!). Now we can report the results - and they’re emphatic.?

Over 93 per cent of you rate British democracy as “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy”. Ninety-five per cent said that cleaning up British politics is “very important” to you.

Are you “concerned” or “very concerned” about the influence of foreign money on our politics? A thumping 98 per cent of you said “yes”.

These are huge numbers - the kind of numbers Keir Starmer and his colleagues really need to pay attention to.

Trust in politics - and politicians - has never been lower. Turnout was worryingly low. Cleaning up politics would go a long way to rebuilding the faith that has been lost in our politics.?

On the steps of Downing Street today Starmer said that this lack of trust can only be addressed “by actions”. He needs to act fast.

Labour’s manifesto commits to “protect democracy by strengthening the rules around donations to political parties" - but it’s very light on detail.

As we revealed during the election, an incredibly influential network of think tanks - groups that for years have dominated our media and politics -? have been bankrolled by US dark money connected to Donald Trump and climate denial. And they’re not going away.

A remarkable 99.4 per cent of you said that you were concerned about the influence? these opaquely-funded think tanks have on British public life. Almost as many of you say that groups that won’t declare who funds them shouldn’t be on our TVs and radios - and you want an inquiry into the role of dark money think tanks in public life.?

Starmer has talked tough on cleaning up politics in the past. Promises to stamp out corruption and establish new ethical standards in public life are to be applauded.

But the closer Labour got to power, the quieter it became. A blanket ban on MPs’ second jobs was watered down. There seem few, if any, concrete plans to stem the flow of dark money.??

Labour has made bold promises on tackling illicit finance and kleptocracy: very welcome after 14 years of corruption and misrule. But Starmer’s Labour appears “intensely relaxed” about big money in British politics.?

In a single week of this election campaign just three donors - supermarket scion Lord David Sainsbury, hedge fund manager Martin Taylor and Autoglass’s Gary Lubner - gave Labour more than ￡4 million. These are huge sums for British politics.

And we know that money buys access - just look at the billions in Covid contracts to the politically-connected in the “VIP lane”.

The big money hasn’t just gone to Labour party central coffers. New health secretary Wes Streeting has taken almost ￡300,000 from donors with links to private health firms, according to our analysis.??

Almost a third of this, ￡95,000, came from billionaire financier John Armitage, who recently switched from a Tory to a Labour donor and is a trustee of Tufton Street think tank Policy Exchange…. where Streeting has spoken twice in the last year.?

Dozens and dozens of former lobbyists have become MPs - which is particularly concerning given our awful lobbying rules. (With grim irony, on the day of the general election the lobbying regulator found that ex-Tory MP Owen Paterson had broken the rules, just four years after the offence…)

And how committed will Starmer be to cleaning up political regulation when the organisation that ran his successful campaign, Labour Together, was fined ￡700,000 by the Electoral Commission?

Emails show Starmer’s right hand man, Morgan McSweeney, repeatedly ignored the electoral watchdog’s implorations to declare Labour Together’s funding. This isn’t a good sign.?

The new Prime Minister? has an unrivalled chance to fix our broken democracy. There are plenty of things Labour could now do with the flick of a pen.

Cap donations. Regulate anonymous think tanks that masquerade as charities. Stop opaque ‘unincorporated associations’ funnelling dark money into our politics. Make parties check where the money they take actually comes from.?

What needs to be done is clear - but the new government must? be incentivised to do it.?

We are already part of a vibrant network of people pushing for change. In this general election alone we worked with a host of allies, including Led By Donkeys, the Good Law Project, Global Witness and many others. Our stories appeared across the media.?

We have fresh investigations in the works and will continue to shine a light on dark money and hidden influence in our politics.

Exposing wrongdoing is necessary if we want to fix Britain’s broken system - but it is not sufficient. More needs to be done.?

That is why we’re delighted to announce that we are doing something very new: Democracy for Sale will be working with public interest lawyers to take court cases to build on our journalism and make real change.

We are doing this because we believe that the best journalism doesn’t just show the world as it is - it changes it, too.?

Later this month we will be at an information court battling for the release of important documents that a senior Tory secretary of state used to justify one of the most controversial political decisions of the last five years: one which deeply affects the health of our environment. It’s a story that hinges on lobbying, power and influence in our politics.

We’re not alone in this fight. We are working with amazing lawyers? - and even have a former Conservative government minister in our corner (more on that soon!)

We have other important legal cases in the pipeline and will be working with a range of allies to end the corruption, secrecy and opacity that has dogged our politics for too long.

I am incredibly excited by the possibilities ahead. Together there is so much more that we can do.

If you can, please support our work. We’re a tiny team so every little helps. Thank you!?

Yes, I Will Support You