Archive · 28 Nov 2025
Report Warns of Unelected Rich Power in Britain
A new report says that very rich people in Britain have a lot of power that they didn't get by being elected.
This is because they can give a lot of money to politicians, own a lot of the media, and have important jobs in the government that they didn't have to run for.
The report says this is a problem because it means regular people don't have as much say in how the country is run.
The report suggests some ways to fix this, like limiting how much money people can give to politicians and making sure there are more different owners of the media.
The Equality Trust report highlights the growing influence of the ultra-wealthy in British politics through unelected power structures.
House of Lords membership has increased from 676 to 803 in the past 20 years, with many peers receiving payment for political advice.
Political donations over £250,000 have jumped from £7.6m to £47m in the same period.
Media ownership is highly concentrated, with the top three conglomerates controlling 90% of the market, up from 71%.
The report calls for limiting private political donations to £5,000, curbing political appointments, and promoting diverse media ownership.
- Who
- Equality Trust, The Guardian, Prof Robert Reich, Inequality Media
- What
- Report on the concentration of power among the ultra-wealthy in Britain
- When
- Past 20 years, with recent analysis and proposed changes
- Where
- United Kingdom
- Why
- To highlight the influence of the ultra-wealthy and the institutions that amplify it, raising concerns about the concentration of power outside the electorate
- House of Lords membership
- 803 (up from 676 in 20 years)
- Political donations over £250,000
- £47m (up from £7.6m in 20 years)
- Media market control by top 3 conglomerates
- 90% (up from 71%)
- Local newspaper ownership by top 2 companies
- 51% of 882 UK local newspapers and websites
- Proposed foreign ownership limit for UK media
- 15%
- Google's share of UK search traffic
- 93%
- Meta and Google's share of UK advertising spend
- Three-fifths