Lord Carter of Haslemere
Crossbench life peer since 2019 and former general counsel to 10 Downing Street.
Lord Carter of Haslemere has proposed a yearly ceiling on every donor's gifts, its level fixed by ministerial order on Electoral Commission advice, in an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill pending before the Lords on 5 October 2026.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Should ministers set a yearly cap on every donor to a party?
Timeline for Lord Carter of Haslemere
Tabled an annual cap for all donors set by order
UK Local Elections 2026: Peers table four caps on party donorsBackground
Lord Carter of Haslemere, Harold Mark Carter, is a crossbench life peer and a career government lawyer. He worked at the Home Office and the Foreign Office before serving as general counsel at 10 Downing Street from 2016 to 2023.
He entered The House of Lords in October 2019 and sits as a crossbencher, without a party whip. He is generally known as Mark Carter.
His legal background shows in his amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, which leaves the donation ceiling to secondary legislation advised by the Electoral Commission rather than fixing it in the statute.
Carter would let the regulator set limits
Carter's amendment, tabled after the Lords Second Reading on 14 September 2026, would replace the bill's clause on overseas electors with an annual CAP covering all donors. Rather than write a figure into law, it has ministers set the CAP by order each year on a recommendation from the Electoral Commission.
That design sets his proposal apart from the other three caps tabled, which fix sums ranging from £100,000 over five years to £5m a year. Like them, it would not reach money given before the Act starts. It sits among 73 amendments with no committee date fixed, after the Commons passed the bill with no general donation limit.
What is Lord Carter of Haslemere's donation cap amendment?
Who is Lord Carter of Haslemere?
Is Lord Carter of Haslemere a member of a party?
