Government vows to ‘seriously address’ limits on political donations after £72m Reform donations

The government has promised to “seriously address” spending limits on political donations amid concern from campaigners after two crypto-billionaires donated £36 million each to Reform UK.

Schools minister Georgia Gould said the government is “really worried about the the big money that that's coming into politics” and the extent to which it is “shaping politics”.

It comes after Angela Rayner and Louise Haigh wrote to the Electoral Commission to set out concerns about the extent of money in politics and to ask them to look carefully at spending limits.

“It's something I think that that needs to be seriously looked at and addressed”, Ms Gould told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The donations from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, disclosed over the weekend, together amount to three quarters of the money spent at the last general election by all parties combined.

Reform has said it will use the money to fund its preparations for office, and that the men want “nothing” in return.

But campaigners have said the £72 million gifts demonstrate the need for a cap on political donations, and Spotlight on Corruption said the situation “creates risks that the game will be rigged in favour of those with the most cash”.

Proposals for a cap are likely to feature heavily in the House of Lords, which will debate the government’s Representation of the People Bill on Monday.

The Bill already contains measures limiting donations from overseas electors to £100,000 a year, but attempts by MPs to impose a general cap failed after the government promised to task officials with investigating how a measure would work.

Asked about Reform’s latest donations, Ms Gould said: “We are really worried about the the big money that that's coming into politics and the extent to which big money and sometimes money from overseas is shaping politics, rather than the ordinary voters when we knock on doors and have those conversations.

“It's why we've been taking a range of action. We had the the Rycroft Review, which was particularly looking at foreign interference in in politics, and it had an important recommendation that overseas electors' donations should be capped at £100,000.

“And that's legislation we're bringing in to address these issues. And Angela Rayner and Lou Haigh, senior members of the government, have also written to the Electoral Commission to to set out our concerns about the extent of of money in politics, and to ask them to look really carefully at spending limits, not just in elections, but more broadly, because it's something I think that that needs to be seriously looked at and addressed.”

On Sunday, Ms Rayner suggested a cap was still on the table, telling the BBC she wanted to stop people “being able to overpower and buy their way into democracy”.

The Liberal Democrats are likely to push for a cap, having called for “emergency legislation” to impose one and saying the donations exposed “a dangerous flaw in our democratic system”.