You can read about the significant progress of our campaign and donate here. We’ve done all of this on a shoestring and by relying on unpaid volunteers. However, the reality is that to get our recommendations included in the Representation of the People Bill (formerly known as the Elections Bill) we really need your help to achieve our campaign goal of making electoral advertising regulation a reality.
Please donate to our campaign if you feel as passionately as we do about the need for electoral ad regulation.
During the Second Reading of the Representation of the People Bill (formerly known as the Elections Bill), several MPs from across the House highlighted the urgent need to strengthen the rules around election advertising, transparency and political disinformation.
You can read our recommendations for the Bill here. We’ve included several clips from the second reading below.
Justin Madders MP (Labour)
Justin Madders set out a clear case for structural reform.
He argued for the creation of an independent database of election advertisements, ensuring voters, regulators and journalists can see who is targeting whom, with what message, and when. Crucially, he also called for a statutory code of conduct at elections, extending to a commitment to telling the truth and not knowingly including disinformation in campaign material.
As he put it, placing these obligations on a statutory footing and including steps to tackle disinformation would give the system “the teeth it needs.”
This goes to the heart of restoring trust: what is being said needs to be addressed alongside who is saying it (transparency).
Ellie Chowns MP (Green)
Ellie Chowns reinforced the case for transparency, calling for a “transparent register of political adverts.”
George Freeman MP (Conservative)
George Freeman brought a personal dimension to the debate, referencing a deepfake incident he mentioned at our recent House of Commons event in which an AI generated image of him went viral announcing his defection to Reform.
He went further than our recommendation, suggesting that the law should make it an offence for all citizens to have their identity stolen via deepfakes or AI, with appropriate exceptions for comedy or parody. His intervention reflects how rapidly advancing AI tools are lowering the barrier to highly convincing impersonation, posing risks not just to politicians but to the public at large.
The question is no longer whether this will affect elections, but how prepared we are before it does.
Emily Darlington MP (Labour)
Emily Darlington also spoke about the need for “more regulation and transparency around political advertising with all paid digital advertising being kept publicly available in a library so it is open for all to see.”
Samantha Dixon MP (Labour)
Samantha Dixon, responding on behalf of the Government at the close of the debate, acknowledged that while the Online Safety Act requires the removal of illegal content, issues of mis- and disinformation in elections need to be addressed more forcefully.
The Second Reading debate made clear that there is parliamentary recognition of the problem. We will now be working with MPs to ensure that our recommendations are included as amendments. We urge MPs from all parties to support these practical reforms to help safeguard trust in our democracy.
About Reform Political Advertising
Reform Political Advertising is a not-for-profit, politically neutral organisation run by unpaid volunteers campaigning for accuracy and transparency in election advertising.
It was founded by Alex Tait and Benedict Pringle in 2018, who have significant experience working in the marketing and advertising industry. It is chaired by Lord David Puttnam, who chaired the Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee in 2020.
You can find out more about the campaign on our website: reformpoliticaladvertising.org.
