Angela Rayner has suggested Reform UK could face action over two mega donations to the party under new laws being pushed through parliament.
The housing secretary was reacting to £72m in donations from two crypto billionaires – Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne – for Nigel Farage’s party given on Friday and Saturday in two lumps of £36m.
With fears that the cash from billionaires could distort British politics, Ms Rayner warned that Reform should not count on keeping all the money as new legislation Labour is pushing through parliament will be “backdated” to cover all donations from March this year.
She told Sky News: “The important thing, and the reason why we’ve got a bill going through parliament at the moment, is that we need to have secure elections that are for the people, and that you can’t buy your way into our democracy.
“That’s why the Rycroft review was set up, and we’ve already taken action against overseas donations, which will be backdated to when the Rycroft was published.”
The Rycroft review was set up to find ways to counter foreign financial interference in UK politics.
Ms Rayner went on: “It will be backdated. As this bill goes through parliament, we’re really clear on overseas donations and also about those that have recently returned to the UK that are also within the scope of the Rycroft review, which was published on 25 March, and we’re really clear that when that was published, and we were making sure that no one could go through any loopholes.”
Pressed on the issue, she doubled down: “We’re saying that if you don’t pay taxes in, you don’t live here, you can’t buy your way into our democracy because you’re a billionaire.
“It’s a really live question for us about making sure that our democracy is about the people and them having a choice, and not about people with billions of pounds being able to buy their way in.”
Then on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she confirmed that the new law “will be retrospective”.
But questioned by Kuenssberg over the way Labour receives millions of pounds from the trade unions, Ms Rayner insisted: “This is different. That money comes from millions of ordinary members.”
She noted that Mr Farage is already under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner because of a separate £5m donation from Mr Harborne, who until recently was living in Thailand.
Questions have also been asked about Mr Harborne funding a protest over the Chagos Islands, which was also connected to Reform UK.
The Metropolitan Police is also investigating Reform after Channel 4 showed key aides of Mr Farage apparently attempting to raise illegal foreign donations. The sting saw the resignation of Mr Farage’s chief of staff, Dan Jukes and policy director, James Orr.
In reference to other parties rewarding their donors, Reform insisted they “want nothing” and will never be given a peerage, knighthood or a government contract for handing over cash.
Reform’s Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick said “we see no reason why we should return these donations” and described them as “a breakthrough moment for Reform, a huge vote of confidence in us as a party”.
He went on: “These are two patriotic British businessmen who have got behind us, everything that we stand for.
“It enables us to do two things: be battle ready for the general election, whether it comes in a few weeks’ time or indeed two years’ time, and to prepare for government.”
Mr Delo was pardoned by US president Donald Trump after being convicted of failing to set up an anti-money-laundering arm to his business in the US.
But Mr Jenrick described him as “a philanthropist” who has raised money for autism and other charities.
On Sky News, he noted that other parties have gone out of their way to reward major donors.
He said of Delo and Harborne: “They’ve asked nothing in return for their donations. We’re not like the Tory party that hands out knighthoods and peerages to their donors.
“Neither these two individuals, nor anyone who donates to our party, is going to be on some honours list in the years ahead if we’re lucky enough to be in government.”
He pointed out that 24 of the last 25 Tory treasurers “have ended up in the House of Lords”.
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