Last week we introduced a landmark Bill in the Commons.
The Representation of the People Bill will extend the voting age to 16 for all UK elections, tighten and modernise the rules around political donations, introduce stronger protections for candidates, campaigners and electoral staff facing abuse and intimidation, and make registering to vote simpler and more accessible.
These measures will widen participation in our democracy while strengthening the safeguards that protect it. I’m pleased that young people will finally be able to shape their own future at the ballot box. By the next general election, 16 and 17-year-olds will have a direct say in the decisions that affect their education, work and the climate they will inherit.
But participation must be matched by integrity. Under current rules, new companies, funded from anywhere, by anyone, even without a single day of trading, can fund our political parties. Recent cases, including former Reform chairman Nathan Gill, who has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for accepting bribes to make pro-Russia statements in the European Parliament, demonstrate that this threat is evolving. We must strike the right balance: guarding firmly against foreign interference while ensuring legitimate donors can continue to support parties.
I have urged ministers to cap donations, close loopholes and strengthen the powers of the Electoral Commission, and I will continue to press for action. I am calling for a wider national commission to examine electoral reform, including alternatives to First Past the Post, and am establishing a new All-Party Parliamentary Group on House of Lords reform. No other parliament has an unelected second chamber like ours and reform can no longer be indefinitely postponed.
