We believe the dots can be connected - and must be. That’s why we’ve begun by building a comprehensive database of all UK MPs, including their publicly funded expenses and received gifts.
Who Pays, Who Profits, Who Rules?
In politics, influence often follows the money. While funding is necessary for governance, campaigns, and public services, the line between legitimate support and undue control can blur and this is especially obvious in the absence of transparency. For example one just has to look over at the scale of financial influence and lobbying in countries such as the United States, and it becomes clear how democratic systems can be subtly, or overtly, distorted.
Democracy, once believed to be expected by right and self-correcting, now feels increasingly fragile. With each passing decade, unchecked donations, grants and influence are seeping into the cracks of our own democracy.
Our Mission
Our goal may sound ambitious, but its foundation is simple: collect and connect publicly available data to make the flow of political money clearer and more accessible. There are many ways that money enters into our parliment system, for example through individual donations to MP's, or even through larger, political party donations. By law these transactions have to be logged and stored, but what is often lost in translation, is the knock on effect of these actions. What would an organisation stand to gain from these 'charitable' donations.
Consider a hypothetical: if a large donation is made through a charitable proxy, what does the donor expect in return? Could it be favourable legislation, or perhaps access to lucrative government contracts? Our mission is to connect the dots and offer a level of transparency that makes such questions easier to answer, and harder to ignore. To log these transactions, and log them in a human first, user-friendly accessible way for the public to explore where money flows, who’s spending it, and who stands to benefit. You can already explore our first step in our live database Here (which still needs some work) and soon we will be aggregating and visualising this data in an approachable and transparent format. This includes breakdowns of staffing costs, travel, office expenses, and more. As we incorporate more datasets, such as foreign-linked funding, third-party lobbying, and contract awards - the broader picture begins to emerge.
By providing these insights, we aim to help the public "follow the money" and better understand the forces shaping our government.
Why It Matters
We believe this information should be available to everyone, not just political analysts or data scientists. Greater accessibility leads to greater accountability. And it’s our hope that, in time, this results in fewer decisions being made for financial gain alone, and more in service of the public good.
Whilst our focus is of course uncovering the broader financial landscape, even basic insights, such as identifying which MPs spend the most public money on expenses remain surprisingly difficult to access. The data provided by Parliament is fragmented and difficult to navigate, often requiring manual filtering and comparison. That’s why we’ve built tools to make this information clear, accessible, and easy to compare directly on our website.
What’s Next
Currently, we provide a detailed dashboard on Members of Parliament and their expenses. But this is just the beginning. Our roadmap includes expanding to the House of Lords, tracking party donations, and monitoring the distribution of public contracts. By Q4 of 2025 we are hoping to have our foot in the door of this sector, and rapidly expand our insights and offerings into 2026.
We’ll continue to share our findings through publications like this, operating in the spirit of a modern think tank, one focused on transparency and accountability in government.
How We’re Funded
Our commitment is to keep this data free and open to all. We believe paywalls limit accountability, so we’ve chosen a different route.
Of course, managing a dataset of this scale comes with real costs - hosting, development, research, and more. To stay sustainable, we rely on a combination of individual donations, ethical partnerships, and licensing agreements.
If you believe in what we’re building, please consider supporting our work.
We're a completely non-profit organisation committed to expanding our research across more sectors. Your contribution, no matter the size, can make a significant impact in helping us achieve this mission.
