Win on Electoral Commission independence

The Government will restore the full independence of the Electoral Commission – one of our APPG’s key objectives.

Since publication of our launch report – Free But Not Fair – back in November 2024, the APPG for Fair Elections has called for a strengthened and independent Electoral Commission, alongside tighter laws on political donations, to clean up politics and restrict undue influence.

In its Strategy for Elections last summer, and in its recent Representation of the People Bill, the Government proposed to giving the elections watchdog new powers and closing donations loopholes. But it was not ready to return the Electoral Commission to full independence by abolishing Ministers’ powers to issue ‘strategy and policy statements’.

That changed today, when the Government agreed to abolish ministerial oversight and grant the Electoral Commission the full independence it needs. This is a big win for the APPG – and for everyone who values fair elections with a strong and impartial adjudicator. We welcome the Government’s action – and encourage Ministers to go further by capping political donations, as well as taking further measures to address disinformation and tackle our broken voting system.