Campaigners have accused the prime minister of reversing course on party funding after correspondence seen by the Guardian showed recent backing for a £500,000 individual donations cap.
The documents indicate that Andy Burnham had supported an even lower cap than previously reported. Separately, the prime minister wrote in May to a campaigner setting out his support for a £500,000 limit on single-person or single-organisation donations, saying such a ceiling would "guard against the perception of any one party being unduly influenced or swayed by one person or organisation."
Those revelations have heightened a row ahead of next week’s elections bill, after the government decided not to include a binding donations cap in the draft legislation. Campaign groups said the decision amounted to a U‑turn, arguing that a statutory limit was necessary to reduce the risk of disproportionate influence over parties and candidates.
Downing‑office officials have not been quoted in the documents seen by the paper, and the government has framed its position on the elections bill as reflecting wider considerations for the forthcoming parliamentary measures. Campaigners say the public exchange underlines tensions between pledges on political finance reform and the content of the bill as tabled for debate.
The exchange has added to scrutiny of how political donations are regulated and of the commitments of senior figures on the issue. With the bill due to proceed in the coming days, advocates for tighter limits say attention will now turn to parliamentary debate and whether MPs press for amendments to reinstate a statutory cap.