The government is bringing in new rules on political donations. Communities Secretary Steve Reed says people living abroad won't be able to give large amounts to UK political parties anymore. The changes will also affect how companies donate, and require politicians to be more open about money they receive. Parliament will debate these rules on 14 July.

The main change: anyone who is a British citizen but lives abroad can donate a maximum of £100,000 per year. If they move to the UK, they have to live here for a certain amount of time before they can give more than that. These rules started on 25 March 2026 and apply going forward.

There are also two other changes coming. Companies will no longer be judged by how much money they make overall — they'll be judged by their actual profits (money left after costs). This is stricter, because a big company that isn't making much profit won't be able to donate. And anyone who wants to become a candidate for elected office must now declare any donations over £2,230 they've already received, even before they officially enter the race.

Why is this happening?

A former civil servant called Philip Rycroft was asked to look into foreign money being used to influence UK politics. The government was worried about hostile countries trying to interfere with British elections. Rycroft completed his review, and the government responded with this package of changes on 26 March 2026.

The Electoral Commission — the independent body that oversees political finance — gave its own response on 30 June 2026. They also flagged concerns about foreign money in UK politics and suggested the rules weren't strong enough.

Why now? The Reform UK connection

Recent donations to Reform UK show why these rules matter. Christopher Harborne, a British billionaire based in Thailand, gave £12m to Reform UK in 2025. That included one single donation of £9m — the biggest amount ever given to a UK political party by one living person. He gave another £3m in January 2026. Another billionaire, Ben Delo, who made his money in cryptocurrency, gave £4m to Reform between January and March 2026.

Under the new rules, donations this size from people living abroad wouldn't be allowed. Nigel Farage, Reform UK's leader, was also accused by other parties in April 2026 of breaking rules by not declaring a cryptocurrency donation, which highlighted another problem.

Campaigners at Transparency International think the government hasn't gone far enough. They want a cap of just £10,000 per person per year, much lower than the £100,000 the government is proposing.

What happens next

When Parliament debates this on 14 July, one key question will be: how long does someone have to live in the UK before the donation cap no longer applies? If the time is too short, rich people might still find ways around it. If it's too long, British people who live abroad for work or family reasons might think it's unfair.

Companies are likely to complain about the profits rule, because it can work differently for different industries. Some businesses have naturally slow years, or have to spend heavily on equipment — the five-year average might catch them unfairly.

The £2,230 declaration threshold — the amount above which candidates have to announce donations — mirrors rules that already exist for during election campaigns. That bit probably won't be very controversial. But it does mean political parties need to start keeping track of donations much earlier than they do now, before the 2029 general election.

Overall, this is the biggest change to how political donations work in the UK since 2006. Whether it actually works, and whether it survives court challenges, will become clearer as Parliament debates it.