Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 6
UK Ministers Cap Returning Overseas Voters' Donations at £100,000 for 1 Year
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 6

UK Ministers Cap Returning Overseas Voters' Donations at £100,000 for 1 Year

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 6

Summary

  • A new proposal would keep overseas voters who move to the UK under a £100,000 annual political-donation cap for their first year back, extending a limit already applied to Britons living abroad.
  • Ministers paired that move with tighter company-donation rules, measuring eligibility against post-tax profits over the previous five years to block foreign-linked money from entering UK elections.
  • The changes could curb major Reform UK donors including Christopher Harborne, who gave £9 million in a single donation last year, and Ben Delo, who donated £4 million between January and March.
  • Candidates would also have to prove pre-candidacy funding came from legitimate sources and declare donations above £2,230 received before formally standing.
  • The measures, part of the government's response to a foreign-meddling review, are due as amendments to the Representation of the People Bill when it returns to the Commons on 14 July.

Insights

With new UK donation caps, what loopholes will billionaires use to continue funding political parties from abroad?
Why is Britain tightening political finance laws just as the US Supreme Court has decided to loosen them?