Policy paper

Political finance

Updated 28 October 2026

Representation of the People Bill 2026: Political funding 

Political power in the UK should come from people and institutions that have a legitimate stake in UK elections, not from hidden money, illegitimate foreign interests or those seeking to exploit gaps in the rules for their own personal gain.

The nature of money and political influence has changed. New technologies, complex corporate ownership structures and evolving forms of interference have created vulnerabilities that can be used to disguise the source of political funding and undermine public trust.

This government promised in its manifesto to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties and has delivered on that promise. The government has developed a robust and far-reaching suite of reforms, drawing on the work of expert bodies such as the Electoral Commission and the Committee on Standards in Public Life. We also commissioned Philip Rycroft to conduct an independent review to identify the risks posed by foreign financial interference and the action needed to ensure our political finance rules provide robust protection against it.

Through the Representation of the People Bill, we have brought forward the most significant strengthening of political finance protections in decades, based on independent recommendations including those made by the Rycroft Review. The reforms will help keep foreign and illicit money out of politics, ensure the source of political funding is transparent, and give the Electoral Commission the tools it needs, including the ability to impose fines of up to £500,000 for each breach of the law.

The Representation of the People Bill tackles the most immediate vulnerabilities and protects our democracy from foreign interference. But protecting our democracy is not a one-off exercise. A new cross-government team will consider wider and emerging risks and help inform decisions on further reform.

The government will renew trust in politics by delivering the reforms it promised, acting on independent evidence to close routes for abuse and continue to strengthen the system as new risks emerge. We will ensure that political decisions are made on behalf of the British people, not bought by those with vested interests.

Summary of the measures in the Bill 

Cap on donations from overseas electors

It is materially more complex to trace the true source of political donations made by voters living overseas. This creates a clear avenue for the channelling of illicit funds. The Government also recognises concerns regarding the democratic fairness of allowing large donations from British citizens living overseas – and therefore having their wealth taxed abroad.

Reflecting these risks, an annual cap will be placed on the total political donations an overseas elector may make, including regulated transactions. That cap will be set at £100,000 a year, and any individual returning to the UK from living abroad will be subject to the cap for a minimum residency period of at least one full calendar year, January to December.

A safeguard that can be lawfully evaded between announcement and commencement is not an effective safeguard. Therefore, to prevent advance notice of the change being exploited by bad actors donating large sums before the date of commencement, this cap and the minimum residency period will both apply retrospectively from the date they were announced. There will be time after the legislation takes effect for any donations which become impermissible under the new rules to be returned.

Crypto donation ban

The anonymity inherent in cryptocurrency transactions creates a clear route for foreign or illicit actors to channel money into our politics. In order to safeguard the integrity of our political finance system from foreign interference, the Bill therefore introduces a ban on the use of cryptoassets of any amount as political donations.  

To prevent advance notice of the change being exploited by bad actors, the ban will cover all cryptoasset donations made from the date the ban was announced - 25 March 2026. Once the legislation takes effect, there will be sufficient time for donations made in cryptoassets to be returned.

We intend the ban on cryptoasset donations to end once the regulatory environment around cryptoassets is robust enough to protect the integrity of our political finance system from foreign interference.

Know your donor guidance 

We are strengthening obligations on those who receive donations through an enhanced “Know Your Donor” framework. For donations over £11,180, the current threshold for reporting donations to the Electoral Commission for most regulated campaigners, recipients will have to carry out a risk assessment to judge the likelihood of foreign or illicit sources of funding and decide whether to accept or return the donation.

Restrict company donations to companies and LLPs that have adequate connection to the UK

Companies making donations will be required to demonstrate a genuine and substantive connection to the UK, preventing the use of shell companies to channel foreign or illicit money into UK politics.

We are introducing new, stringent eligibility criteria for companies wishing to make political donations. Companies will have had to make sufficient profit over 5 years to cover their donation, and be majority owned or controlled by UK electors or UK citizens usually resident in the UK. These changes are to ensure that political donations reflect genuine UK-based interests and help prevent foreign interference in our democracy.

These new rules will apply to all monetary donations, as well as all in-kind donations above £2,230. Existing rules will continue to apply to in-kind donations up to £2,230 to ensure legitimate hospitality, for example an MP visiting a local business, can continue.

Stronger requirements for unincorporated associations

Unincorporated associations (UAs) have been identified as potential vehicles for funnelling foreign or illegitimate money into election campaigns, therefore we are introducing tighter rules for UAs. These include significantly lowering thresholds for when UAs have to register with (from £37,270 to £11,180) and report gifts (from £11,180 to £2,230) to the Electoral Commission, to improve transparency.

We are also requiring UAs which intend to make campaign contributions above £11,180, to carry out checks on political gifts they receive to ensure they’re from permissible sources.

Forfeiture 

We are also reinforcing the principle that only permissible donors may fund UK politics. Where illicit funds do enter the system via impermissible donors (e.g. individuals not on the electoral register), they will be subject to full forfeiture, providing a clear deterrent and supporting compliance by political parties and campaigners.