House of Lords to debate overseas donation cap after £72m gifts to Reform UK
The House of Lords will debate changes to political donation law on Monday after Reform UK received £72m from two billionaires within 24 hours.
The donors, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, are both British and have spent time living overseas, BBC News reported. The bill that would limit donations from British voters living abroad to £100,000 returns to the Lords, the upper house of Parliament, on Monday. Ministers want the limit to apply from 25 March.
Reform UK's economic spokesman Robert Jenrick said the donations were “entirely in line with the law as it is and as far as they know the law as it will be in future.” He told the BBC he does not expect the party will have to return any of the money.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the rule changes would apply retrospectively, meaning back to an earlier date, and anyone not complying would have to return the money. The BBC reported it was told that both men have returned to the UK, with Delo understood to have been back since last year.
The bill before peers
The government's plan focuses on overseas electors, British citizens who live abroad but can still vote in UK elections. It would limit their donations to £100,000 and apply from 25 March, the date of the government announcement titled ‘Cap on donations from overseas electors and ban on crypto donations to protect democracy’. Ministers described the package as “landmark changes to protect UK democracy from foreign actors and financial influence”, according to the government announcement.
The plan builds on a review by former civil servant Philip Rycroft on countering foreign influence in UK politics. The Lords Library noted in February that the Labour Party pledged in its manifesto to strengthen donation rules, in its briefing ‘Reforming the law on donations to political parties’.
Peers have discussed the principles for months. Hansard, the official record of Parliament, lists a Lords debate titled ‘Donations to Political Parties’ on 12 February 2026. That record includes a statement that Elon Musk promised £100 million to Reform UK. A further Lords debate titled ‘Political Party Finance and the Electoral Commission’ followed on 2 July 2026.
The residency test
The bill sets out what happens to people who move back to the UK. The government has proposed that the £100,000 limit keeps applying to them for the rest of that calendar year and the next calendar year. Think of it as a grace period that follows a donor after a move. Under that rule, a donor who returned last year would be outside the overseas limit by 2026. A more recent return would still be covered.
Jenrick said the gifts meet the current rules on who can donate and will meet the future rules. Rayner said the backdating applies and non-compliant funds must be repaid. The Electoral Commission, the elections watchdog, would have to check those claims against donation dates, electoral-roll status and residence.
The current rules are narrow. The House of Commons Library said foreign political donations are banned in the UK. The 15-year limit on voting rights for British citizens living overseas has been removed, which widened the group who can vote and donate. Ministers said a financial limit is now needed for overseas electors for that reason.
Pressure for a wider cap
Labour peer Lord Wills said he intends to amend the bill to also limit donations from people living in the UK. That would change the bill from an overseas measure to a general limit on individual giving. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told the BBC that “a limit on individual donations was necessary.”
A petition on political donations started by Jeremy Stone gathered more than 140,000 signatures and was discussed in the House of Commons. Hansard lists the Commons debate titled ‘Political Donations’ on 31 March 2025.
The broader context here is familiar to specialists in party funding. Retrospective election law is difficult to write and harder to enforce. Backdating to the announcement date gives clarity on paper, but leaves questions about gifts made in good faith under the old rules, about valuation dates for gifts paid in parts, and about the Commission's powers if a party disputes a repayment notice. Three questions matter on Monday. First, whether peers accept backdating to 25 March or require the law to start on Royal Assent, when the bill is signed into law. Second, whether the extra year of cover for returners survives. Third, whether the Wills amendment gains support and forces the government to decide on a domestic limit it did not propose. The answers will decide whether the £72m stays with its recipient, and whether future large gifts flow through UK-resident donors instead.
