Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Public outcry
Brokenshire slammed over failure to lift anonymity of political donors
THE Electoral Commission has criticised the Government for failing to pass legislation to enable the names of major political donors in Northern Ireland to be made public.
Secretary of State James Brokenshire announced his intent to lift the veil of anonymity in July.
It had also been a pledge in the Conservative Party’s General Election manifesto.
But the Electoral Commission’s Northern Ireland chief Ann Watt said: “We are extremely disappointed we are unable to provide the public with the information they expected on how political parties in Northern Ireland are funded.”
The commission had expected to be in a position to publish the first set of data on donations to political parties here yesterday, alongside the information from Great Britain.
The names of donors in Northern Ireland have long been kept confidential due to security concerns dating back to the Troubles.
Ms Watt added: “The continuing secrecy only serves to undermine trust and confidence amongst the public in the democratic process.
“We were consulted by the Northern Ireland Office several months ago on draft legislation and provided detailed comments. In our view the legisla- tion is ready to be laid in Parliament now.
“The commission urges the UK Government to immediately bring forward this legislation to allow us to publish this information as soon as possible.” Mr Brokenshire has already faced criticism for declining to exercise his legislative ability to backdate publication of details to the start of 2014.
The name of individuals who donate more than £7,500 after July 1 2017 will be made public.
Yesterday afternoon NIO minister Chloe Smith laid a draft order before parliament paving the way for the publication of names.
Continuing secrecy only serves to undermine trust and confidence ANN WATT ELECTORAL COMMISSION YESTERDAY