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20% of UK political donations come from just ten men
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Just ten men have made a fifth of all major political donations from individuals in the UK in the past two decades, openDemocracy can reveal.

These men have given a staggering £106m to political parties and campaigns. Many have gained access to senior government ministers along the way, as well as receiving honours including knighthoods and peerages.

The top ten political donors have a current average age of 70 and include four billionaires. All but one are white, and all have given money to the Conservative Party at some point. No other cause has benefited from the generosity of all ten.

openDemocracy’s analysis of political donations also found that only one in four donors is a woman – with just nine women in the top 100 biggest donors.

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Transparency campaigners said the findings showed how concentrated and unequal donor power is in the UK.

“Political debate shouldn't be something bought by a few very wealthy individuals,” said Jess Garland, director of policy and research at the Electoral Reform Society.

“We need a level playing field, where all voters feel they have a stake in our democracy. It shouldn't just be for those with the deepest pockets. If politics is dominated by wealthy individuals it will only continue to reproduce the existing inequalities we see across society,” she added.

[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/20-political-donations-come-just-ten-men/
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