New Report: Money in Politics
There is no limit on how much one person can give a British political party. On 11 and 12 September, two donors announced gifts of £36 million each to Reform UK. Together, that is more than every UK political party combined accepted in donations and public funds during the whole of 2025.
How did British politics become so dependent on a handful of wealthy donors, why have repeated attempts to change the rules failed, and what would a workable cap actually look like? Open Britain’s new report is a plain-English guide to who pays for British politics, what the law allows and the decision Parliament still has to make.
The Representation of the People Bill is now before the House of Lords, giving Parliament an opportunity to change the rules governing political donations. It will cap donations from overseas donors at £100,000 a year, ban donations in cryptoassets, strengthen checks on donors and tighten the rules governing company donations. These are serious and welcome reforms. The Bill still says nothing about how much a donor living in the UK can give.
The Government has accepted the central argument for an overseas cap: a potentially game-changing donation from one source can distort politics. The guide examines why the same concern stops at Britain’s borders.
It also takes seriously the objections that have stopped reform since 2007. Would a cap damage the link between Labour and the trade unions? Would taxpayers have to fund political parties instead? Would wealthy donors find another route for their money? The guide explains how each problem can be addressed, drawing on proposals already developed in Britain and rules operating in other democracies.
The guide does not prescribe a particular model. It sets out the questions Parliament would need to answer and the safeguards any workable cap would require, from preventing donors routing money through connected people or companies to ensuring the Electoral Commission can enforce the rules.
The Government now acknowledges a “UK-based issue of mega-donors” and has promised a task-and-finish team to find a solution. It has published no remit, membership or reporting date. Meanwhile, the Bill that could put a cap into law is already passing through Parliament, and the rules need to be settled before the regulated period for the next general election begins.
The Government has accepted that unlimited money from one source can pose a danger to democracy. Parliament must now decide whether that danger depends on where the donor lives.
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