Proposed £100,000 Donation Cap and Its Projected Impact on Reform UK

Friends of the Earth analysed Electoral Commission data for the period April 2025 to March 2026 and calculated that a £100,000 annual donation limit would have reduced Reform UK’s total receipts from £26.7 million to £4.1 million – just 15 % of the amount actually received. The party’s registered average donation was £137,496, almost six times higher than Labour’s £23,406 and thirty times higher than the Liberal Democrats’ £4,496. The analysis also found that Reform received £20.4 million from donors who each gave at least £1 million, compared with £3.1 million for the Conservatives and £2.6 million for Labour. Two billionaire donors – Christopher Harborne, who contributed £15 million, and Ben Delo – together accounted for 71 % of Reform’s registered donation income over the year.

The Guardian

Under the same £100,000 cap, Labour would retain about three-quarters of its donations, raising £8.1 million instead of £10.8 million; the Conservatives would keep just over half, falling to £8.3 million from £15.5 million; the Liberal Democrats would retain roughly 90 %, dropping to £5.2 million from £5.8 million; the Greens would be unaffected with £468 k. Consequently, Reform would no longer be Britain’s best-funded party, with Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems each raising more than Reform under the cap.

The Guardian

A Reform spokesperson said the party “complies fully with UK electoral law and the suggestion that legitimate donations from successful individuals are somehow less valid than funding from trade unions… is absurd.” The spokesperson added that a £100,000 cap “would do nothing to improve democracy” and would “simply restrict political participation while entrenching the established parties.”

The Guardian

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson noted that the government is already “taking robust action to tackle foreign interference in our democracy through our landmark representation of the people bill, including capping donations from overseas electors and banning donations made via crypto currency.”

The Guardian

Friends of the Earth chief executive Asad Rehman argued that “democracy shouldn’t be for sale” and warned that reliance on fossil-fuel interests undermines public trust. He called for a “meaningful cap… to level the playing field, making parties more accountable to the people they represent, not the biggest chequebooks.”

The Guardian

The GMB union advised its affiliated Labour MPs not to support the cap, and party whips reportedly urged MPs to follow the union’s warning.

The Guardian

• “When political parties rely on money from fossil fuel interests and other major polluters, it undermines trust that decisions are being made in the public interest.” — Asad Rehman, chief executive, Friends of the Earth

The Guardian

• “The stakes couldn’t be higher when those same parties are calling to scrap climate action, expand oil and gas drilling, and weaken environmental protections.” — Asad Rehman

The Guardian

• “A meaningful cap on political donations would help level the playing field, making parties more accountable to the people they represent, not the biggest chequebooks.” — Asad Rehman

The Guardian

• “A Reform spokesperson said: “Reform UK complies fully with UK electoral law and the suggestion that legitimate donations from successful individuals are somehow less valid than funding from trade unions, for example, is absurd.” — Reform spokesperson

The Guardian

• “Meanwhile, a £100,000 cap on donations would do nothing to improve democracy. It would simply restrict political participation while entrenching the established parties, which benefit from longstanding institutional funding networks.” — Reform spokesperson

The Guardian

• “We are already taking robust action to tackle foreign interference in our democracy through our landmark representation of the people bill, including capping donations from overseas electors and banning donations made via crypto currency.” — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson

The Guardian