Greens call for stronger rules and donation cap
The Scottish Greens have called for strict limits on political donations after Reform UK received two record-breaking £36 million donations, totalling £72 million.
The donations come from a convicted crypto-billionaire, who was pardoned by Donald Trump, and also from the same Thailand-based donor who previously gave Nigel Farage £5million, resulting in a parliamentary investigation.
The eye-watering donations come as the Metropolitan Police investigates Reform UK, following Channel 4’s documentary which resulted in Nigel Farage's senior aide Dan Jukes, and Reform UK's head of policy James Orr, both quitting the party.
The Scottish Greens are calling for a fairer system of public funding for political parties in the longer term to tackle the influence being bought by the elite.
These include strict limits on political donations and campaign spending; new transparency laws, a ban on donations from companies and individuals based outside the UK, as well as stronger powers and more resources and sanctions for the Electoral Commission.
Scottish Green justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman MSP said:
“Reform UK’s £72 million billionaire-funded payday shows that our politics is now up for sale to whoever can write the biggest cheque.
“The power and influence that come with donations of this size are staggering. No single individual should be able to hand a political party millions of pounds, and gain a louder voice than millions of people.
“Nigel Farage has spent years turning hatred, racist scapegoating and division into political capital, and now he is working with crypto-billionaires to turn that politics into a cash machine.
“It is ultimately working communities that are being left to struggle with the rising bills, insecure work and crumbling public services Reform UK keep pushing for, whilst Farage pads his party’s accounts with billionaire cash and blames migrants for all of the country's problems.”
Maggie added:
“We have already seen how this turns out, where billionaire-backed, far-right politics of division takes over. When Donald Trump put Elon Musk at the heart of his government, Musk targeted medical research, public health, education and international aid for cuts.
“That same Trump-style model, where wealthy men buy access and influence while politicians scapegoat minorities, is being imported into our politics.
“As Reform UK receives donations from foreign-based billionaires and individuals pardoned by Donald Trump, our politics is steadily becoming a plaything for the wealthy elite who are buying a seat at the table.
“The Scottish Greens show that politics can be different. We will always stand up for people, communities and our planet, not the interests of a billionaire elite that funds hatred and division from the very top.
“That is why we are calling for hard donation caps that are fit for purpose, full transparency over where political money comes from and an Electoral Commission with the power and resources needed to investigate wrongdoing and impose meaningful sanctions.”