In a parliamentary debate on the issue of political donations, I argued that we must tighten up the rules to protect our politics from dark money and the corrupting influence of the super rich.

For every £10 donated to UK political parties since the early 2000s, £1 came from dubious sources. 20% of all donations over a similar period came from just 10 men.

It clearly suited the last government to let big money flood our politics. Not only did they strip the Electoral Commission of its ability to prosecute criminal offences and place it under ministerial control; they also raised campaign spending limits. It was their last lifeline but not even this could save them from electoral oblivion.

Indeed, I pointed out that wealthy people are not giving huge sums of money to political parties purely out of the goodness of their hearts; they do it to buy policy influence.

If we want to create a democratic system where everyone’s vote has equal value, then we need stronger protections in place to prevent the very richest in our society from bending our politics in their own interest. After a decade which saw billionaire party donors treble their wealth whilst working people saw the biggest pay squeeze since the Napoleonic Wars, we need change.