Incremental change is welcome, but not enough.
Nineteen leading civil society organisations have written a joint letter to the Government urging ministers to bring forward a more ambitious Elections Bill.
Fair Vote UK has joined 18 other organisations to urge the Government to strengthen its proposed Elections Bill. Serving a coordinating role in the civil society space, we facilitated a joint call for reform - with leading organisations collectively highlighting key concerns to ministers on much-needed changes for confidence to be restored in UK democracy.
In the joint letter, we welcomed elements of the Government’s election strategy announced in July, describing proposals such as extending the vote to 16 and 17 year olds as potentially transformative. Although this is a step in the right direction, the scale of the democratic crisis demands bolder action, particularly on issues such as money in politics, voter registration and the independence of the Electoral Commission.
Whilst the Government’s plans to tighten rules on foreign donations and block shell companies are welcome, the wider concentration of power in political funding is still a major issue. The Government must not only ban cryptocurrency donations, they must also cap donations altogether, in order to curb undue influence and restore public confidence, according to all nineteen cosignatories.
On voter participation, we also welcome plans to pilot automatic voter registration (AVR) as millions of eligible voters currently missing will be added to the electoral register. We urge the Government to roll this out as soon as possible - in order to avoid entering another General Election with such widespread exclusion, which undermines democratic participation and the legitimacy of the electoral process.
Finally, in the joint letter, we express deep concerns about the integrity of electoral oversight. We all jointly share concerns about powers introduced under the Elections Act 2022 that allow ministers to set a Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission. Not only does this undermine the regulator’s independence but it also creates serious risks of political interference. These powers urgently need to be repealed and further safeguards strengthened, to ensure the Electoral Commission remains free from government control and able to uphold the fairness and credibility of the UK electoral system.
We are calling for world-leading legislation that decisively safeguards the fairness, integrity and credibility of UK elections and rebuilds public trust from the ground up. With confidence in politics at historic lows, the letter makes clear that meaningful reform is no longer optional: it is essential to the health and future of the UK’s democracy.
Kyle Taylor, Founder & Director of Fair Vote UK said: “By coming together, civil society has shown the power of collective action in demanding change. Trust has been eroded and participation has been hollowed out. While the Government’s legislation is strong already, it is our hope that they will go even further to deliver bold, credible reform that protects the integrity of the electoral system Therisk is, of course, further disengagement from a system people already feel is failing them. We stand ready to support the Government in delivering once-in-a-generation reforms that will lead to lasting positive change.”
