Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:06 pm on 15 January 2025.
Lord Dodds of Duncairn
DUP
3:06,
15 January 2025
The Minister keeps referring to the fact that foreign donations are not allowed to parties in the United Kingdom but, of course, that is not correct because donations can come from the Irish Republic. In there lies a severe problem, in that funds from the United States, for instance, can be channelled via the Irish Republic into political parties in the United Kingdom with representation in these Houses, so will the Minister and the Government look at that issue?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
