‘Unelected power’ of ultra-rich is reshaping British politics, report claims

Equality Trust study shows how House of Lords appointments, big donations and media ownership affect political decisions

Structural corruption and the rise of “conduits for unelected power” are reshaping British politics, according to a stark report from the Equality Trust.

Unelected influence has increased over the past two decades, the report claims, driven by the growing political clout of the ultra-rich and the institutions that enable it.

Priya Sahni-Nicholas, the co-executive director of the trust, said: “Our new Concentration of Power Index shows that wealth concentration aligns with power. Our index rises almost exactly in step with increases in the top 1% share of wealth. This correlation is strong and statistically significant.”

The study – Money, Media and Lords: How the ultra-rich are shaping Britain – argues that unelected power in Britain has risen sharply at the same time as an increasing amount of money is spent on political access and influence.

“These trends move in lockstep with wealth concentration at the top and are increasingly embedded within the country’s political and media systems,” said Sahni-Nicholas.

The report shows how the appointments system for the House of Lords, the scale of political donations and the concentration of media ownership each function as “conduits for unelected power”.

Unelected membership of the Lords, the report highlights, has expanded from 676 to 803 in the past 20 years – the same period that political donations above £250,000 have jumped from £7.6m to more than £47m.

Seven peers in the House of Lords last week behaved in a way critics said was “all but unconstitutional” by in effect blocking a bill passed by the House of Commons after years of public debate.

The Guardian’s own analysis has found that one in 10 peers were paid for political advice in the 2019 to 2024 parliament.

The trust’s report also shows how media ownership has become dramatically more concentrated, with the share controlled by the UK’s three biggest news conglomerates rising from 71% to about 90%.

“This is structural corruption,” Sahni-Nicholas argued. “It is a legal, slow-moving operation where institutions adapt to serve concentrated wealth.”

The UK government is drawing up media amendments allowing foreign states to own up to a 15% stake in British newspapers and magazines.

This has caused anxiety among critics who are already concerned that Google commands 93% of UK search engine use, while Meta and Google together account for three-fifths of all UK advertising spend.

The trust recommends prohibiting private donations of more than £5,000, putting limits on political appointments and patronage, encouraging ownership diversity and investing in and funding independent local media to dilute the dominance of a few large actors.

The report builds on concerns recently raised by the Media Reform Coalition which said the UK media system is in a “perilous state due to the ongoing collapse in media plurality and the declining diversity of news sources”.

Its research found that just three companies – DMG Media, News UK and Reach – control 90% of UK national newspaper circulation, a 20% increase in market concentration since 2014.

The UK’s local newspapers are dominated by a handful of corporate chain publishers, with just two companies – Newsquest and National World – controlling 51% of the UK’s 882 local newspapers and online local news websites.

The report concluded: “The opaque and unaccountable influence that a few big tech platforms exert on UK media poses serious challenges for independent journalism and our digital rights.”

Prof Robert Reich, the co-founder of Inequality Media, warned: “The ultra-rich media owners are tightening their grip on democracy.

“Billionaire media owners like [Elon] Musk, [Jeff] Bezos, [Larry] Ellison and [Rupert] Murdoch are businessmen first and foremost,” he said. “Their highest goal is not to inform the public but to make money.

“In an era when wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals who have bought up key media there is a growing danger that the public will not be getting the truth it needs to function in this democracy,” said Reich.