Ministers anticipate that new laws on political donations, outlined in the version of the representation of the people bill that recently left the Commons, could block some or all of the £72m in donations announced for Reform UK over the weekend. Further amendments to the legislation are planned when peers debate the bill, aiming to tighten these restrictions.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has criticised the proposed new laws, calling them unfair. He highlighted that these laws would apply retrospectively from March 2026, when the intention to legislate was first announced, rather than from when the bill receives royal assent.
Farage stated that if Reform UK forms a government after the next election, it would ban trade union funding for the Labour party if the crackdown on Reform UK's donors proceeds. He noted that the Unite union alone has given Labour over £50m in recent years.