Moran demands transparency on Leave donations channelled through NI

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran used Northern Ireland Questions today to urge the Government to change the law to ensure full transparency and scrutiny of Leave campaign donations given to political parties in Northern Ireland.

Current laws only require donations from July 2017 to be published, meaning details of who donated £425,000 to the Democratic Unionist Party that was spent on pro-Brexit advertising in the Metro does not have to be disclosed.

Speaking in the chamber today, Ms Moran asked the Government why they were “ignoring the recommendations of the Electoral Commission” to backdate transparency of donations to 2014.

Following the exchanges, Layla Moran MP said:

It really beggars belief that the Government is allowing political parties in Northern Ireland to mark their own homework and decide whether or not details of their donations should be made public.

The law already allows for details of donations to be backdated to 2014 and the independent Electoral Commission has urged the Government to do just that. It makes you wonder if the Conservatives and their DUP partners have something to hide.

With the Leave campaign under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, people in all parts of the United Kingdom have a right to know who donated money to the Leave campaign.