Why should the taxpayer be asked to stump up, when we should be making the criminals pay?

Get this right, and this Strategy could be transformative.

Find the new Strategy here 👉https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-money-laundering-and-asset-recovery-strategy-2026-to-2029

But the Government must go further.

We need sustainable funding for the agencies delivering it, including the NCA and the SFO; a ring-fenced, multi-year Economic Crime Fighting Fund, which would reinvest a greater proportion of seized criminal assets back into those agencies that recovered them.

The principle behind all of these amendments is straightforward: our electoral rules need to keep pace with modern politics, modern money and modern campaigning.

The APPG will keep pushing for a Bill that properly protects the integrity and fairness of our democracy.

Finally, @emilythornberry.bsky.social argued that political donations should come from people genuinely contributing to British society, rather than individuals using tax arrangements while maintaining only a nominal connection to the country.

Lloyd Hatton MP proposed closing another potential loophole by requiring new parties to face permissibility checks on funds above £250,000 already held when they register.

@philbrickellmp.bsky.social argued New Clause 121 would future-proof any reduction in spending limits by requiring them to be assessed against three tests: fairness of elections, the impact on political parties, and public confidence in electoral integrity.

@anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social welcomed the Government’s commitment to expedite the Electoral Commission’s review of campaign spending limits, while making clear that the Commission must now move quickly to stop the spending arms race.

@joepowell.bsky.social called for the Electoral Commission’s review to consider whether the current long and short campaign system actually works. Candidates can be selected years before an election, creating a substantial period of effectively uncapped spending.

@elliechowns.bsky.social proposed New Clause 30, which would examine annual campaign spending limits. Campaigning no longer happens only during the short election campaign; politics happens online and year-round, so spending rules need to reflect that reality.

Mark Sewards MP argued that “Know Your Donor” rules should go further, including checks on politically exposed persons and the source of donated wealth. If these checks apply when someone takes out a mortgage, political parties accepting millions should face equivalent scrutiny.

Ex-Democracy Minister @rushanaraalibgs.bsky.social also backed New Clause 34, arguing that our rules must cover digital tokens and meme coins held in crypto wallets, bringing them within the same safeguards as other assets.

@liambyrnemp.bsky.social - New Clause 34 would close loopholes allowing money to be routed through crypto exchanges, converted into fiat and donated on, while also preventing political donations through digital tokens and meme coins.

The £451m committed to reviving high streets is great news, but the underlying market still contains dangerous loopholes that favour criminal operators.

- A statutory 'Know Your Tenant' duty on commercial landlords - who currently owe no duty to check who they let to

- Permanent closure for repeat offenders

- An end to the £13 getaway - a company can be born for £100 and buried for £13, with no final accounts required

This is welcome progress. But the existing toolkit still mainly produces fines, not closures: Machinize visited 2,734 premises and made 959 arrests, yet only around 10 shops were permanently closed in the first wave.

Three things need to follow 👇

With at least £1bn laundered through high street businesses every year, this is a serious step forward in ending the kind of corrupt practices that we all bear witness to in our communities on a daily basis.

There's plenty more yet to do...

2. The definition of a vape shop is being tightened so operators can't dodge the rules by posing as convenience stores.

3. Closure orders will double from 6 to 12 months, giving law enforcement the time they need to investigate links to organised crime - and stop rogue operators simply reopening.

It does not criminalise genuine mistakes or paperwork errors. It targets the deliberate laundering of foreign money into British politics.

Foreign cash has no place influencing British democracy through the back door.

The upcoming Representation of the People Bill strengthens donor declarations, but leaves this loophole open.

Our amendment makes it illegal to accept money that comes from an impermissible overseas source. It also requires parties to carry out reasonable checks on where donations originate.