The proposed changes come after an Electoral Commission investigation resulted in the Conservatives being fined £17,800 for failing to properly declare a Tory peer’s £67,000 donation to cover refurbishments to Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat.

The Bill, which has been backed by MPs and will be debated this week in the House of Lords, also contains plans to introduce voter ID. 

Alex Norris, the shadow levelling up minister, said: “Tory proposals which would allow the Government to influence the work of the Electoral Commission is nothing short of an attack on our democracy.

“The Commissioners are completely right that the Government’s attempts to subvert its independence risks undermining its ability to independently and impartially monitor our democratic system, and that is not something that we would stand for anywhere else in the world.”

A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “We completely disagree with the Electoral Commission’s claims about the Elections Bill – our reforms will not affect their operational independence.

“The Pickles review on electoral fraud was clear that reforms were needed to improve accountability. Making the Electoral Commission more accountable will strengthen the integrity of the electoral process and help prevent fraud.”