Votes, Not Money, Must Reign In Our Democracy
Today the ICDR publishes our first piece of "thought leadership”. The report, authored by the institute’s Director, Dr Sam Fowles, exposes the structural problems of our system of political finance, whereby the super-rich are able to influence politics at a level beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. It proposes three simple solutions.
The key points are:
The Problem:
The last 18 months of political scandal revealed a fundamental problem in our political system: money exercises, or appears to exercise, a greater influence than votes.
Democracy is based on the principle that each citizen must have an equal say. Allowing those who can afford it to buy a louder voice is undemocratic.
The majority of the public support stringent measures to crack down on the perception that political influence can be bought, including capping, or even banning political donations. Politicians are out of step with the electorate on this issue.
The existing rules on political finance are excessively complex and fail to address the core problem.
The Solutions:
Cap political donations at a level affordable to the poorest in society. This will mean that every citizen can afford to make the largest possible donation (if they so choose).
Make ministerial ethics and parliamentary standards decisions appealable to the courts so that politicians no longer “mark their own homework” on ethical issues.
Prohibit legislators from speaking, advocating, or voting where they have a financial conflict of interest. This brings parliament in line with best practice in the private and charitable sectors.
Read the full report here.
Read the executive summary here.