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Members of Parliament have backed the government’s proposed changes by passing amendments to the Representation of the People Bill, which is currently under review in the House of Lords. During the bill’s debate, Communities Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage addressed measures aimed at bolstering residency requirements for political donors, ensuring that the duration an individual has spent in the UK aligns with wider government policies.
Baroness Taylor further explained that, alongside these residency rules, a stringent system would be introduced. This system requires donors who contribute more than the £100,000 annual threshold to prove a genuine and ongoing connection to the UK. This mirrors existing residency-related criteria used in other areas, such as taxation, where an individual is considered a UK tax resident if they have been present in the country for at least 183 days within a tax year.
When questioned about whether the government was specifically targeting donors to the Reform party, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds emphasized that donation rules are not designed to single out any political party or issue. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said, “Fundamentally we need to make sure that people who want to influence British politics, who want a say in British politics have a stake in Britain. That should apply to everyone and will apply to everyone, so I wouldn’t make it about any particular donations or anything that’s been in the public domain.” The government had not mentioned plans to strengthen residency requirements when it initially proposed capping foreign donations earlier this year.
Opposition voices have criticized the government’s approach to donation regulations. Lisa Smart, the Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson, accused the administration of responding reactively rather than proactively, calling Labour’s current residency rules insufficient. She advocated for a universal donation cap to prevent British politics from being influenced in a manner akin to the United States under Donald Trump, stating the urgency to prevent “Trump’s America becoming Farage’s Britain.” Meanwhile, former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage condemned attempts to retroactively invalidate certain donations, warning that such moves could destabilize political funding by prompting reciprocal restrictions on trade union donations, which have traditionally been a significant funding source for Labour. He highlighted that since 2020, Labour has received close to £43 million from trade unions funded by individual members’ fees.
Trade union leaders recently issued a joint statement following the Trades Union Congress in Brighton, emphasizing their intent to safeguard democracy from undue influence by wealthy individuals. They pledged collaboration with policymakers to “clean up our politics,” asserting that union funding represents the “cleanest money in politics” due to rigorous regulations. Despite this, there was no direct proposal from unions to impose caps on individual political donations. Currently, the UK places no limits on the sums donors based in the country can provide to political parties.
The government has expressed determination in addressing issues related to “mega-donors” and has set up a taskforce to investigate and manage such concerns. Unite, the UK’s second-largest union, has called for individual donation caps between £500,000 and £1 million; however, this would exclude trade union contributions. Other unions are divided, with smaller ones supporting comprehensive caps while some larger bodies fear such limits might reduce funding for Labour. Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham underscored the difference between massive donations from billionaires and the modest, regulated contributions from ordinary workers, stating, “Individual donations from very, very wealthy people, from billionaires, the Americanisation of our democracy is very, very different from everyday people, workers putting 10p-a-week into a political fund that fights on a whole range of things.” She acknowledged public unease surrounding recent donations, remarking, “If there’s an ick feeling, a yucky feeling about something then it’s probably wrong.” The donations in question relate to Robert Delo and Michael Harborne, who each contributed £36 million to Reform within two days, setting a new record for the largest political donations in UK history. Both had previously made significant donations to the party prior to their most recent contributions
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