UK Tightens Donor Residency Rules After Reform UK’s £72 Million Windfall
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 15
UK Tightens Donor Residency Rules After Reform UK’s £72 Million Windfall
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 15
Summary
MPs backed amendments to the Representation of the People Bill that would tighten residency tests for major political donors after Reform UK received two £36 million gifts from crypto-billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.
The government wants a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British voters overseas—backdated to March 25—and a minimum 12-month UK residency period, with ministers saying big donors must show a genuine, ongoing connection to Britain.
Nigel Farage said the donations are legal under current rules but could not say whether they would survive the proposed changes, while ministers declined to say whether the tougher residency test was devised only after the Reform donations.
The row has widened into a broader funding fight: Liberal Democrats want a universal donation cap, unions defended Labour-linked funding as regulated member money, and ministers say they are targeting the wider problem of mega-donors.