Labour MPs seek permanent crypto donation ban in UK political funding overhaul

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Labour MPs seek crypto ban

Highlights

Labour MPs proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Bill to permanently ban crypto donations, tighten donor rules, and reduce campaign spending limits by 15%.
The move follows scrutiny over Reform UK’s £15 million funding from Thai crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and £4 million from Ben Delo, and new rules capping overseas citizen donations at £100,000 annually since March.
Proposed amendments require checks on start-up funds for new parties and mandate explicit foreign influence risk assessment, with voting age and voter ID rules also set to change in the bill.

Proposed amendments before Commons vote

As reported by Financial Times, the proposed changes are being advanced by Liam Byrne, Anneliese Dodds, Yuan Yang and Mark Sewards, who have written to colleagues seeking support for new clauses to the Representation of the People Bill.

The amendments would permanently prohibit crypto donations to political parties, introduce checks on start-up funding for new parties, reduce campaign spending limits by 15% and tighten existing "know your donor" rules. In their letter, the MPs say concerns over dirty money, foreign influence and the integrity of British politics have intensified, citing recent reporting on Nigel Farage’s financial affairs.

The bill already contains measures aimed at reducing the scope for foreign influence in elections, including restrictions on political donations from companies without British owners or sufficient UK revenue. Rules added in March, and taking effect at that time, also cap donations from British citizens living abroad at £100,000 a year and temporarily ban cryptocurrency donations.

Byrne says there is no sufficient case for allowing crypto donations, arguing that crypto assets are opaque and designed to enable cross-border transactions, while the cost of regulation would not represent value for money. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which oversees the bill, says it will consider the amendments before Tuesday.

Funding scrutiny and wider political impact

The push for tougher rules comes amid controversy over Reform UK’s funding, including £15 million from Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne since last year and £4 million from crypto investor Ben Delo, although those donations were made in cash. Reform announced last year that it would become the first political party to accept cryptocurrency donations.

Another proposed amendment, put forward by Yang, would require checks on new parties’ start-up capital because parties can currently be established with unlimited and unverified funding. The MPs point to Electoral Commission data showing Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party was registered earlier this year with £2.5 million of unchecked funds.

Dodds’ amendment would cut campaign spending limits by 15% to curb what she describes as a spending arms race between parties, while Sewards’ proposal would explicitly require foreign influence risk to be considered in donor due diligence. The bill also includes other electoral changes, such as lowering the voting age to 16 for UK parliamentary elections and local elections in England and Northern Ireland, and expanding accepted voter identification to include bank cards as non-photo ID.

Andy Burnham, who is set to become prime minister later this month, has signaled support for further tightening electoral and political financing law. In June, he argued for a cap on political donations in Britain to guard against perceptions that any one party could be unduly influenced by a single person or organization.

Our earlier coverage on the Metropolitan Police investigation into donations linked to Robert Jenrick’s 2024 Conservative leadership bid detailed how the Electoral Commission referred potential offences beyond its remit. We outlined allegations that part of the £100,000 donation stream may have originated from a U.S. businessman and company, highlighting how concerns over foreign-linked money are intensifying across British politics.

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