Labour are hoping to block Elon Musk from handing Reform UK a huge $100million cash injection by drawing up new rules to restrict foreign donors, it has emerged.
Mr Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, met with Reform leader Nigel Farage in December amid speculation he is poised to significantly bolster the party’s coffers.
As a US citizen, the South African-born businessman cannot legally make a personal donation to a British political party.
But he could hand Reform a considerable slice of his vast fortune through one of the UK subsidiaries of his various companies, which include Tesla and X/Twitter.
According to Sky News, the Government is looking at restricting political donations based on how much a company makes.
This would see either profit or share of revenue used to calculate a potential cap for the amount each UK-based business can give.
Government sources told the TV news channel the changes were partially about Mr Musk.
The British arm of Mr Musk’s company X, known as X.AI London Limited, has yet to report making any money – meaning he could not use it to donate to Reform under the plans.
Labour are hoping to block Elon Musk from handing Reform UK a huge $100million cash injection by drawing up new rules to restrict foreign donors, it has emerged
Mr Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, met with Reform leader Nigel Farage in December amid speculation he is poised to significantly bolster the party’s coffers
Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Musk clashed last year over rioting in the UK. The businessman sparked fury by claiming ‘civil war is inevitable’ amid the violent chaos in UK cities and towns
Ministers are also said to be considering the introduction of enhanced due diligence checks on donations from unincorporated associations.
The report added that Labour’s belief is Mr Musk is likely to donate to Reform just before the next general election.
The Government is therefore hoping to pass new legislation on restricting political donations before then.
The Prime Minister’s adviser on ethical standards recently called on the Government to ‘protect electoral integrity’ by limiting donations from companies to only profits made in the UK.
Doug Chalmers, chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said the law should also be changed so political donations made by businesses do not exceed their net profits after tax in the two years prior to a donation.
‘At stake here is the basic principle that only those who are entitled to vote and conduct business in the UK should be able to fund our political parties and therefore influence the outcome of UK elections,’ he told the Financial Times.
‘It is an important area that needs addressing to protect UK electoral integrity.’
In its manifesto before July’s general election, Labour said it was ‘committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections’.
The party vowed to ‘protect democracy by strengthening the rules around donations to political parties’.
It has since been revealed how Sir Keir Starmer abandoned plans to announce an outright ban on foreign political donations following the intervention of Labour peer Lord Alli.
A new book charting Sir Keir’s rise to power, titled Get In, disclosed how Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner was due to announce plans for an outright ban alongside former PM Gordon Brown.
But a Labour official said the plans were abandoned after Lord Alli – who donated thousands of pounds worth of suits and glasses to Sir Keir – told the Labour leader’s team to ‘pull it’.
Mr Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has taken a keen interest in British politics and the rise of Reform.
He met with Mr Farage and Reform’s treasurer – property mogul Nick Candy – at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida late last year.
Those talks fulled rumours Mr Musk is ready to plough some of his fortune into the party, which would turbocharge Reform’s challenge to both the Tories and Labour.
But Mr Musk’s support for Reform was thrown into doubt soon after the meeting when he publicly told Mr Farage he ‘doesn’t have what it takes’.
He also appeared to endorse Rupert Lowe as a replacement leader in social media comments in January.
Mr Lowe has recently been stripped of the Reform whip as the party was plunged into civil war.
He has vociferously denied allegations of workplace bullying and violent threats, which saw him reported to police.
The Great Yarmouth MP has instead claimed to be victim of a ‘witch hunt’ after he publicly criticised Mr Farage’s leadership.
Sir Keir and Mr Musk clashed last year over the widespread rioting in the UK.
The businessman sparked a furious backlash by claiming that ‘civil war is inevitable’ amid the violent chaos in British cities and towns.
He also branded the PM ‘Two Tier Keir’ as he fuelled claims that UK police treat some groups more harshly than others.
But Mr Musk was left red-faced after being forced to retract false claims about Sir Keir setting up detainment camps in the Falkland Islands for rioters.
