More than £25m has been pumped into unofficial parliamentary groups by external donors in the past four years. You can search the data below to find out who’s behind them – and where they get their money from.
All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) often have complicated structures that can obscure the true source of funding. As well as receiving donations from private businesses, they can also use lobbying firms to act as secretariats – giving the private sector enormous influence in Parliament.
Some MPs are members of a large number of APPGs, often taking overseas trips funded by donors. The Scottish National Party’s Lisa Cameron is a member of 81 APPGs; Conservative MP Peter Bottomley is a member of 71, and crossbench peer Viscount Waverley is a member of 61. Meanwhile, the Tory MP Andrew Rosindell is the chair of more than 20 groups.
External donors who fund APPGs come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from well-known charities and industry associations to arms companies and big tech.
- The donations included below include both cash and benefits-in-kind, which are recorded as approximate values.
- A couple of declarations are limited due to space, but are given in full on the official APPG register.
