The veil of secrecy on donations
I read with interest (February 9) your article around political donations and the Secretary of State's ongoing refusal to release details of who funds parties here.
The legislation came as a result of a successful amendment tabled by Alliance’s Naomi Long in her capacity as East Belfast MP in 2013.
Having led from the start on the issue, her work meant we would see donations of £7,500 or more to parties from January 2014 eventually published when the Secretary of State sees fit.
It is extremely disappointing that all this time later, no further progress has been announced.
Alliance voluntarily published our donor information but others refuse to follow our example, despite the public appetite for transparency having never been greater.
Until such secrecy is removed, the suspicion that money buys influence can never truly be eliminated.
Councillor Tim Morrow, Alliance, East Belfast