The Political Purse

Political parties form the foundation of our representative democracy. They exist to represent the different views of society on what our country should look like, how our resources should be spent, and what values we should follow to make our country better. However to do this, political parties need funding and supporters to contest elections.

So where do the funds come from? Generally, funds for political parties come from donations, party membership fees, and, if they are elected to Parliament, the taxpayer. Without pulling together several different sources of information, it is difficult to ascertain where political parties, and individual politicians, get their funding.

We believe the voter should have access to clear and independent information about who is funding the political system that decides how their taxes and rates are being used, what rules they have to abide by, and who represents their country overseas.

We at the Political Purse decided to set up this website to provide:

• greater transparency on where political parties get their funding; and
• an easily accessible source of information for the public on the funding of political parties, and politicians more generally.

See the data we currently hold here