The prime minister’s trade envoy to Mongolia lobbied the Electoral Commission to permit a £10,000 donation to his party association from a “Mongolian friend”, documents reveal. Daniel Kawczynski, the Conservative MP for Shrewsbury, contacted the independent electoral watchdog on 20 April, days after his return from a week-long trip to Mongolia in his role as trade envoy, accompanied by the UK ambassador. Kawczynski said the “Mongolian friend” was “a personal contact, and was separate to my role as an envoy”. He declined to identify the would-be donor and said he travelled to Mongolia on a regular basis in a personal capacity as well as in his role as trade envoy. He told the commission he did “not understand why British passport holders should be treated differently from foreign passport holders when it comes to political parties” and requested a meeting at the House of Commons with the watchdog’s chief executive, Shaun McNally, to discuss his “concerns” on the longstanding political finance rules banning donations from overseas donors. Kawczynski claimed that “many jurisdictions around the world” permitted political donations from foreign passport holders. Research by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, a UN observer, suggests 70% of countries ban foreign donations to political parties. The letter was sent from Kawczynski’s parliamentary email address. The members’ handbook on the use of the taxpayer-funded accounts say they should not be used “for activities that could be considered party political campaigning or fundraising”. In a statement, Kawczynski said that he used his Commons email as he “wanted to seek advice and clarification in my capacity as a regulated donee (a member of parliament)”. Kawczynski added: “Throughout I have followed the prevailing law on political finance, and I took advice from the Electoral Commission to ensure that I do.” In a subsequent call with the Guardian, Kawczynski confirmed the donation had been offered to his party association, not to him personally.
The email was copied to the chair of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, the chief whip, Simon Hart, and to another member of the whips’ office, Jo Churchill. Kawczynski said he included them in his email to the watchdog as part of his attempts to “understand, ask and challenge, collectively, with colleagues” the rules on electoral finance. This thirst for knowledge came as he had a potential £10,000 donation offered to his local association. Kawczynski said he benefited from the resources of his local association. “They spend funds on literature, promoting me, and all the other things that they do to support me as the member of parliament.” Kawczynski said taking a donation from a “nefarious state” would be inappropriate, but “taking it from a friend who you’ve known from many years from overseas and having the ability to secure donations from overseas donors is certainly for debate”. “These rules and regulations shouldn’t be always constantly pickled in aspic in perpetuity. Things do change, and I think it’s perfectly permissible for parliamentarians, people at the cutting edge of trying to secure donations for their local parties, to be able to test and challenge and scrutinise and debate, yes.” A government spokesperson said foreign political donations would remain banned, adding: “One of the Electoral Commission’s roles is to provide advice on such matters to political parties and regulated donees.”