Reform UK's £72m donations could fall under new retrospective bill, says Rayner

The UK government is advancing new legislation on political donations that could affect Reform UK's record £72m received over a weekend from two figures in the cryptocurrency business, Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, who each donated £36m.

Communities Secretary Angela Rayner, the minister responsible for the bill, confirmed on BBC's Laura Kuenssberg programme that new rules on donations from Britons living abroad would apply retrospectively. Under the legislation, donations from Britons living overseas, or those who returned to the UK within the past 12 months, will be capped at £100,000 a year, backdated to March.

Both donors had previously been based outside the UK — Harborne holds UK and Thai citizenship, while Delo recently returned from Hong Kong. It remains unclear exactly when Delo moved back to the UK, or whether Harborne is still a Thailand resident.

The bill, heading to the House of Lords this week, will impose restrictions on foreign donors, while rules on domestic donations remain under review. The retrospective date ties to the publication of a review on overseas donations by former permanent secretary Philip Rycroft on 25 March, or to 6 July — when the government announced its response — depending on a donor's registration status as an overseas elector.

Labour MPs have expressed frustration that the government did not last week adopt an amendment from MP Stella Creasy proposing an annual £100,000 cap on most domestic donations, despite it having support from 60 MPs across parties.

Rayner stressed the new rules are not aimed at specific donors or parties, framing them as part of broader efforts to protect democracy from foreign interference. A Reform UK spokesperson said all donations strictly comply with Electoral Commission rules and UK law, noting both men are British citizens. The party's economy spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, added that Delo partly returned to the UK to comply with the new rules, calling the donations a vote of confidence in the party.