‘This issue is bigger than Elon Musk’: MPs call for crackdown on foreign political donations

A Labour and Liberal Democrat MP have called for proposals to be introduced to curtail foreign political donations, following speculation Elon Musk could donate as much as $100 million to Reform UK.

Joe Powell, the Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater, said this “issue is much bigger than Elon Musk” and noted research which estimates that £1 in £10 of political donations come “from questionable sources”.

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, added: “Surely even in these febrile times, it shouldn’t be difficult to build a consensus around the proposition that foreign money should not be coming into British politics.

“So can we not just get the parties together now to agree the strongest possible package of reforms so that we don’t have to react when it’s too late?”

The comments came as MPs questioned Sir Jeremy Wright, a member of the speaker’s committee on the electoral commission.

Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.