Rushanara Ali, the minister of democracy, is preparing a “series of new measures” to guard against political meddling from abroad.
When it was revealed that tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is currently an adviser to US President Donald Trump, may donate up to £78 million ($100 million) to Reform UK through a UK branch of his social media business X, there was some disquiet in the UK.
More than 142,000 people signed a public petition to close the loopholes that permit affluent foreigners to donate to UK political parties, which sparked a debate among Members of Parliament.
The head of the elections watchdog had earlier urged the government to immediately close legal gaps pertaining to foreign contributions to UK political parties.
Labour MP Irene Campbell led the Westminster Hall debate by stating: “Elon Musk proposed to donate a large sum to Reform UK and while he could not make a personal donation there are ways he could possibly get around the rules.”
During the debate, a number of Members of Parliament expressed worries about foreign meddling in UK politics. Some of them expressed concerns about a possible donation from Mr. Musk or purported connections between Farage and other foreign players.
Ali told MPs she thought steps needed to be taken to strengthen protections against foreign donations, particularly those made through UK firms, in response to the concerns, which included potential meddling by China, Iran, and Russia.
“The government recognizes the ongoing risk posed by actors who seek to interfere in our democratic process, even though it is evident that foreign donations to political parties and other campaigners are illegal,” she said.
Stronger protections are required to counter this threat since the existing regulations are no longer able to keep up with the ingenuity and tenacity of those who seek to circumvent our laws.
“We are considering a series of new measures which would achieve this such as enhanced checks by recipients of donations and tighter controls on donors, including more restrictions around company donations.”
Ali stated, however, that she would not consider limiting the amount of donations or preventing money from coming from foreigners who have “legitimate ties to the UK” in order to permit political parties to keep raising money.
In late December, Farage, the leader of Reform UK, disclosed a possible payment from Mr. Musk amid speculation that the party would win the next general election. Last year, Reform UK elected its first set of Members of Parliament.
Farage, who had previously outlined how such donations have to be “proportional” to the scale of that company in the UK, discussed the prospect that this could be accomplished through a UK arm of a Musk company.
By the new year, though, the joyous atmosphere between the two had significantly soured, as the software tycoon called for Farage to be ousted as party leader instead of making a gift.
Rupert Lowe, a recently elected Reform UK MP at the time, was Mr. Musk’s choice to lead the party. However, he was permanently expelled from the party after a dispute in which he accused Farage of having a Messiah complex and amid allegations of bullying.
However, the drama spurred the petition and confirmed a legal loophole in the UK for anyone concerned about a possible multi-million dollar donation from an international celebrity with no ties to the UK.
Vijay Rangarajan, the head of the Electoral Commission, told the BBC’s Westminster Hour on Sunday that the government must take action to restrict corporate donations, preferably this year.
“We believe that companies should only be able to donate something like the last couple of years’ worth of profits that they’ve made in the UK,” Mr. Rangarajan said in response to a question concerning rumors that Mr. Musk would donate to Reform UK.
“We think unincorporated associations need to become much more transparent, and we think the parties themselves need to do a bit more in terms of looking at the donors that do come, have a kind of ‘know-your-donor’ set of regulations.”
When asked if the government should take action immediately, he responded, “In the next year or so.”
