The Government has told officials to examine how a cap would work, with Ms Rayner saying she wanted to stop people “being able to overpower and buy their way into democracy”.

In her interview, she also appeared to hint that Reform could be made to return the money due to new rules on overseas donations that will be back-dated to cover gifts since March.

“If the unions have their way, we’ll have a two-tier system that only allows major donations from the unions and no one else. Reform will be watching very closely.”

They were proposed in a review by former civil servant Philip Rycroft aimed at countering foreign influence in UK politics.

They also apply to donations made in the first year that someone moves back to the UK.

Mr Delo has been based in Hong Kong but said in April he would return to the UK to avoid restrictions on overseas donors, while Mr Harborne is based in Thailand.

Ms Rayner told the BBC: “With the retrospective action, anyone that’s received donations that don’t comply with what was in the Rycroft review, what legislation is currently going through Parliament, would have 60 days to return that money.

“That is not for those individuals, let me be really clear, I do not understand those individual circumstances, but that the retrospective action will apply from March 25.”

Reform’s economic spokesman Robert Jenrick told the BBC his party did not believe it would have to return the money once the new proposals become law.

He said: “These two donations are entirely in line with the law as it is, and as far as we know, the law as it’s going to be in the future.”

The twin donations offer Reform a boost after a difficult summer that included the launch of a criminal investigation into allegations it breached rules on political donations and a parliamentary probe into a separate £5 million gift from Mr Harborne to party leader Nigel Farage.

Mr Farage has said he intends to use the £72 million to fund “the best research and policy department British politics has ever seen” and recruit “the best minds in every area” to prepare for government.

Reform has also insisted the two men want “nothing” in exchange for the donations, and will not receive a knighthood, peerage or government contracts.

Mr Farage has long been a supporter of the cryptocurrency industry, and his party has announced a number of crypto-friendly policies.

Last year, Reform said it would slash taxes on crypto assets and set up a “Bitcoin reserve”, while the party also accepts donations in cryptocurrency.

He told the BBC: “At the moment, it’s a wild west in many respects. What we want to see is good regulation here in the UK through the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) so we can protect people.”

Mr Tugendhat also criticised the cryptocurrency industry, telling Sky News: “The crypto industry has got many supporters, I know, including in Iran where they use it to buy weapons from Venezuela; including in Russia where they use it to launder money in order to pay agents around Europe.”

The Liberal Democrats have called for “emergency legislation” to impose a cap on donations.

The party’s Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart said the donations to Reform exposed “a dangerous flaw in our democratic system”, adding: “People across the country will rightly ask whose interests Nigel Farage truly represents.”

Angela Rayner to consider capping political donations after Reform lands record £72m

Angela Rayner is considering whether Britain should introduce a cap on political donations after Reform UK secured an unprecedented £72 million from two cryptocurrency billionaires.

The extraordinary fundraising haul has reignited a long-running debate over the role of wealthy individuals in British politics and whether existing rules provide sufficient safeguards against excessive financial influence.

Rayner, the government minister responsible for democracy and elections, has indicated that ministers are prepared to examine the possibility of limiting the amount individuals can donate to political parties. The comments came after Reform received two separate £36 million donations from cryptocurrency entrepreneurs Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.

The proposals have already generated a political confrontation.

Reform argues that its donations were lawful under the rules in force when they were made and has accused Labour of attempting to change the rules because the party has suddenly secured an enormous financial advantage.

The government says its concern is broader: ensuring that Britain’s political system is protected from excessive financial influence, particularly where donors have spent significant periods living overseas.

The debate could now lead to one of the most significant changes to Britain’s political funding system in years.

The £72 million windfall

The immediate trigger for the debate is the extraordinary scale of Reform UK’s fundraising.

Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne each donated £36 million to the party, giving Reform a combined £72 million in contributions.

The donations are among the largest ever made to a British political party and have transformed Reform’s financial position.

The party says the money will help it prepare for future elections, expand its policy operation and build campaign infrastructure.

The scale of the donations, however, has immediately raised questions about whether wealthy individuals should be permitted to provide such enormous sums to political organisations.

The Financial Times reported that ministers were exploring whether a donation ceiling could be introduced, while acknowledging that such a move could create complications for Labour because trade unions are an important source of funding for the governing party.

That makes the issue politically sensitive on all sides.

Rayner puts a cap on the table

Rayner’s comments represent a significant development because Labour had previously been cautious about introducing a universal limit.

The government is now considering whether a broader cap could provide a way of preventing future donations on the scale of Reform’s £72 million windfall.

The precise level of any possible cap has not been settled.

A previously discussed figure of £100,000 has been associated with proposed restrictions on certain overseas-linked donations, but that is not the same as a confirmed universal cap on all political donations.

That distinction is important.

A system limiting donations from overseas-based or recently returned British citizens would operate differently from a rule applying to every individual donor regardless of residence.

The government is therefore considering both the principle of a cap and how such a system could be designed.

Why Reform is under scrutiny

The residency of the two Reform donors has become a central part of the argument.

Ben Delo was previously based in Hong Kong, while Christopher Harborne had been based in Thailand.

Both are now registered as UK donors, and Reform maintains that the donations complied with the law at the time they were made.

However, ministers are examining proposals that would strengthen residency requirements for political donors.

The Independent reported that the government was considering enhanced checks requiring donors to demonstrate an ongoing connection with Britain. The proposals could be backdated to March, potentially creating questions about the status of the recent Reform donations.

Reform has said it is confident that the £72 million was donated legally.

The government has not declared that the donations are unlawful under the current rules.

Instead, ministers are considering whether the legal framework itself needs to change.

The argument over overseas donors

At the heart of the controversy is a relatively simple question: should a British citizen who has spent years living overseas be able to make a huge political donation after returning to Britain?

The government believes stronger safeguards may be necessary.

Supporters of tighter restrictions argue that political influence should be closely connected to an individual’s current relationship with the country.

Opponents argue that British citizenship should remain an important basis for participation in British political life and that donors should be judged according to the law in force when they contribute.

Reform has used the issue to argue that Labour is attempting to alter the rules after receiving a politically damaging fundraising shock.

The government rejects the suggestion that the measures are designed specifically to target Reform. No independent finding has established that the government’s motive is to punish the party.

A problem for Labour too

Introducing a universal donations cap would not affect Reform alone.

Labour itself receives significant financial support from trade unions, wealthy individuals and other donors.

The Guardian reported that Labour has received nearly £43 million from trade unions since 2020. At the same time, the party has been attempting to strengthen grassroots fundraising as Reform’s enormous donation haul changes the financial landscape.

That creates an obvious complication.

If Parliament establishes a strict limit on every form of political contribution, Labour could also lose access to some of its traditional sources of funding.

Trade unions are not simply individual donors, however. They are membership organisations, and Labour supporters can argue that union political funding represents collective contributions from large numbers of members.

Critics can make the opposite case: that large organisations should also face meaningful limits if the objective is to prevent financial power from becoming disproportionately influential.

The details of any future legislation would therefore matter enormously.

Labour’s fundraising challenge

The debate comes at a time when Labour is itself working to improve its finances.

On September 16, the party held a reception for major donors at Downing Street as internal pressure grew for political funding reform. Labour has also appealed to ordinary members for smaller contributions.

The contrast with Reform’s £72 million donation is striking.

Two individuals have effectively provided Reform with an enormous financial reserve, while Labour is attempting to broaden its fundraising base.

That difference has added urgency to the political argument.

It also explains why some Labour figures are interested in a wider discussion about the role of big money in British politics.

Reform warns against a “two-tier” system

Reform has strongly resisted proposals that could affect its donations.

Richard Tice, one of the party’s senior figures, has warned about what he described as a potential “two-tier system” in political donation rules.

The party’s argument is that donors should not be treated differently simply because they have previously lived abroad if they are legally eligible to donate under existing rules.

Reform also argues that changing the rules retrospectively would create uncertainty for political parties and donors.

The government takes a different view.

Ministers believe Parliament can establish stronger rules if it considers existing safeguards inadequate.

The disagreement could ultimately require Parliament to settle exactly how the new provisions should work.

Could the £72 million be affected?

This is one of the most important questions surrounding the controversy.

The current donations were made under the existing legal framework.

However, proposed changes could introduce stricter residency requirements and limits on certain overseas-linked contributions.

The Independent reported that ministers were examining measures that could be backdated to March.

That means the legislation could potentially have consequences for donations already made.

Reform has indicated that it is confident about the legality of the money and has resisted suggestions that it should be returned.

Until Parliament completes its consideration of the legislation, however, it would be premature to state that Reform will definitely have to return any portion of the £72 million.

The outcome depends on the final wording of the legislation and how it is applied.

The wider question of political influence

The controversy has moved beyond Reform.

Campaigners and politicians from several parties have raised concerns about the influence of very wealthy donors.

The £72 million is particularly significant because it demonstrates how a small number of individuals can provide a political party with resources on a scale that would be extremely difficult to reproduce through ordinary small donations.

That does not necessarily mean the money translates directly into political support.

Campaign spending remains regulated, and political parties must still persuade voters.

But the ability to employ staff, conduct research, develop policy and maintain a national campaign infrastructure can provide a party with substantially greater organisational capacity.

That is why the size of the donations has attracted so much attention.

The danger of focusing only on Reform

There is also a broader argument that political funding rules should be designed around general principles rather than a single party or a single set of donors.

The £72 million may have triggered the current debate, but any new rules could affect Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform and other parties.

They could also affect trade unions, companies and individual donors.

A sustainable system would therefore need to establish clear rules that apply consistently.

That is likely to become one of the central questions if the government proceeds with a cap.

What Rayner’s proposal actually means

Despite the dramatic headlines, Rayner’s position does not mean that Britain has already introduced a donation cap.

She has indicated that the government is willing to consider the idea.

The details remain unresolved.

There is no confirmed universal maximum that every political donor must currently obey.

At the same time, ministers are pursuing separate proposals involving overseas donors and residency requirements.

That distinction is essential to understanding the current situation.

The £72 million donations remain a major political controversy, but the legal status of the money is governed by the rules currently in force unless and until Parliament changes them.

A new phase in Britain’s political funding debate

The Reform donations have clearly changed the political conversation.

Before the £72 million windfall, proposals for a comprehensive donation cap were already part of wider discussions about political finance.

After two individuals each gave £36 million to Reform, the issue became much more immediate.

Rayner’s willingness to consider a cap suggests that the government recognises the political pressure surrounding the scale of the donations.

But any reform will have to address difficult questions.

Should the same limit apply to individuals and organisations?

Should trade unions be treated in the same way as wealthy individuals?

Should overseas British citizens face different rules?

Should new legislation apply only to future donations or also to contributions already made?

And what should happen when a donor satisfies the rules at the time of giving but no longer meets them under a later law?

These are legal and political questions that Parliament will have to resolve.

What happens next

For Reform UK, the immediate priority is likely to be protecting the £72 million and ensuring that the party can use the money for its political organisation.

For Labour, the challenge is to demonstrate that any new rules are based on consistent principles rather than a response to one party’s fundraising success.

For Rayner, the next stage will be determining whether a workable donation cap can be designed without creating new loopholes or unfairly disadvantaging particular political organisations.

Meanwhile, the controversy is likely to keep attention focused on Britain’s wider political funding system.

The £72 million donations have exposed the extraordinary financial power that a small number of wealthy individuals can potentially exercise within the existing framework.

Whether that leads to a permanent change in the law remains to be seen.

For now, the government’s position is that reform is on the table, while Reform insists that its donations were legal and should remain untouched.

The debate has therefore moved beyond one extraordinary fundraising announcement.

It has become a wider argument about money, political influence, residency and the rules of democratic competition in Britain.

And Angela Rayner’s decision to consider a cap means that the £72 million Reform donation may ultimately become the catalyst for one of the most significant debates over political finance in modern British politics.

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