Sensemaker Daily
The existence of many of these holdings has not previously been made public.
As part of Tortoise’s investigation into the House of Lords, we are publishing a list of 16 peers who own shares in 19 publicly listed companies.
The existence of many of these shareholdings has not previously been made public. Those whose investments exceed £100,000 have declared that they have an interest in the company, but not the value – until now.
The House of Lords’ code requires peers to register the shareholding worth more than £100,000 in any single company, or if they hold a controlling share – far higher than the £70,000 threshold for MPs.
The declaration threshold for British parliamentarians, both MPs and peers, is far higher than the threshold for equivalent countries.
In the US, members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives must disclose all shareholdings worth more than $1,000. In France, Spain and Italy members of the senate have to declare all shareholdings, with no minimum threshold, according to the World Bank.