No 'immediate' plans to ban Elon Musk giving Nigel Farage's Reform UK large donations - government

There are no "immediate" plans to stop Elon Musk donating large sums of money to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, according to the government.

However, Commons Leader Lucy Powell left the door open for changes in the way political donations are regulated in the future.

There have been reports and rumours that Mr Musk could provide substantial financial backing of up to £80m to Reform after helping Donald Trump get elected in the US.

Asked on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips if the government would block this, Ms Powell said: "We've no immediate plans to do that, but we do have a manifesto commitment to look more broadly at our elections regime in this country."

Labour have promised to introduce votes at 16 as well as ensuring the electoral system "has integrity and is robust", she added.

Ms Powell said foreign donations to UK political parties are currently banned under electoral law.

Challenged on whether Mr Musk could donate through his electric car company Tesla - which reportedly made around £90m in the UK last year - the senior Labour MP said her party is "committed to bringing forward some changes to the way in which elections are run in this country".

She said an elections bill will likely come forward at some point to introduce those changes.

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Richard Tice, Reform's deputy leader, previously told Sky News he would be "delighted" to accept money from Mr Musk.

The party's treasurer, Nick Candy, is said to have already spoken to the billionaire.

Mr Farage has previously said Mr Musk has given "serious thought" to giving money to his political party, following a meeting at Mr Trump's Mar-A-Lago home.

However, Mr Farage said: "He's giving us political support. We have, at this stage, neither solicited or been offered donations."

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Under current rules, donations of more than £500 to UK political parties have to come from individuals and businesses that are UK-based or registered.

Mr Musk has denied the rumours about a potential £80m donation, but has expressed support for Reform UK on his X social media platform.

(c) Sky News 2024: No 'immediate' plans to ban Elon Musk giving Nigel Farage's Reform UK large donations - governme