Overseas voters moving to UK could face £100,000 donations cap for year

Overseas voters moving to UK could face £100,000 donations cap for yearImage source, PA MediaByRichard WheelerPolitical reporterPublished2 minutes agoOverseas voters moving to the UK would be prevented from giving more than £100,000 in political donations for a year after their arrival, under new proposals.Ministers announced the planned restriction alongside tougher checks on company donations, which they believe will help stop foreign money from influencing UK elections.The government previously announced a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British citizens living overseas backdated to 25 March. They now want an individual to be based in the UK for a minimum amount of time before their donations can exceed this limit. The change could hit two of Reform UK's biggest backers, who have previously donated millions to Nigel Farage's party.British billionaire Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based businessman, last year gave a single donation of £9m to Reform - the biggest single donation to a UK political party by a living person.The cryptocurrency investor and aviation entrepreneur gave £12m in total to Reform in 2025 and a further £3m in January.The Times last month reported Harborne has registered to vote in the UK, external, and in April he said the government's planned crackdown on political finance would not stop him from giving money to the party.Electoral Commission figures also show that Ben Delo, another crypto billionaire, donated £4m to Reform between January and March.Delo, writing in The Telegraph in April,, external said he will move back to Britain from Hong Kong so he can contribute more to Reform.Under the government's planned changes, both Harborne and Delo would be among those donors still covered for a year by the £100,000 cap once they return.Ministers said other changes will include political donations from companies being assessed against post-tax profits over the previous five years rather than revenue alone.The governme...