UK donation cap debate sharpens after reported £72m Reform UK funding
Labour is pressing for tighter donation rules, while Reform UK disputes any retrospective effect on contributions from two cryptocurrency billionaires.
The UK debate over political donation limits has intensified after Reform UK reportedly received a combined £72 million from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.
Labour MPs and unions are urging the government to legislate for stricter controls, while Reform says the donations comply with current law and should be retained. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice has accused Labour of seeking to change the rules retrospectively.
Proposals before Parliament would cap donations by British citizens living abroad at £100,000 a year. A further measure would restrict large donations from people who have recently moved back to the UK, with a proposed minimum residency period before the cap no longer applies.
Angela Rayner has reportedly said the proposed restrictions would operate retrospectively, but has not confirmed whether they would cover the donations to Reform. The party has not disclosed when Delo and Harborne returned to the UK, leaving the potential application of the measures unresolved.
Tice said the donations complied with both existing rules and the provisions progressing through Parliament, unless those provisions were changed during the House of Lords process. Peers were due to debate the second reading of the Representation of the People Bill.
The Guardian reported that the dispute could ultimately turn on the legislation’s final wording, the donors’ residency dates and whether the measures can lawfully affect donations already made. No requirement for Reform to repay the money has been established in the supplied reporting.
