Sitting MPs could be forced to register any substantial gifts they received in the year prior to the 2024 election, potentially revealing undeclared donations to Nigel Farage and others.
A group of backbenchers, in conversation with ministers, is hoping to amend the representation of the people bill, requiring MPs to update the Electoral Commission with any gifts or other donations received before entering parliament.
The legislative change would apply retrospectively to current MPs. It could also force new political parties to declare any donations received prior to being formally registered with the commission.
Lloyd Hatton, the Labour MP who is leading on the process, told The Observer: “We have a really good opportunity to tackle this issue head-on, whether it’s gifts being privately handed over to politicians months before being elected to office, or large donations being made to political movements or groups before they become parties.”
Hatton said the amendment, which has the tacit support of the government, would apply to the current parliament, including any sums received by MPs in the period before July 2024’s general election. The MP for South Dorset welcomed a debate on the threshold but suggested £100,000 was a reasonable level.
“No one should have anything to be afraid of – it’s a very simple rule. If people are getting big gifts in the window before an election, we have to have that in the public domain,” he said. “The overwhelming number of MPs would have nothing to declare, but there would be a small number who did, and I would not be surprised if Nigel Farage were one of them.”
Last week, the parliamentary standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, opened an inquiry into the Reform leader, to determine whether he breached the code of conduct in failing to declare his £5m gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
The commission has been weighing up the extent to which the money was used for Reform’s purposes, to determine whether it should open a separate second investigation. A spokesperson said: “We continue to consider this under our regulatory remit and will update you in due course as is appropriate.”
Farage has always insisted that he did not need to declare the £5m because it was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all”.
The Commons code of conduct states that new MPs must register benefits other than earnings received in the 12 months prior to election. The rules say “purely personal gifts or benefits from partners or family members” would not have to be registered, and: “If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered.”
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While experts have told The Observer they believe Farage could be censured through the parliamentary investigation – potentially resulting in a recall petition and byelection – others note that separate rules under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act have often been interpreted narrowly.
The amendment borrows from recommendations made by Philip Rycroft, a former permanent secretary, into foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics.
Steve Goodrich of anti-corruption campaigner Transparency International, which has been helping to shape the amendment, said: “What we’re doing is making the law clearer, not changing what it does. Until recently, the commission thought pre-candidacy donations were controlled and reportable. By changing how it interprets the law, the commission has created a giant regulatory black hole that we're now proposing to fill before it does untold damage to public trust in our elections.”
Liberal Democrat MP Steff Aquarone said: “People in North Norfolk [his constituency] want to know that our elections are influenced and decided by them, not by foreign billionaires or hostile states. The government needs to step up and take action before more hostile actors exploit these gaps in our law."
According to Green party MP Ellie Chowns, “the £5m undeclared donation to Nigel Farage by crypto billionaire Harborne shows, once again, that UK politics is vulnerable to distortion by big money. It’s clearly outrageous that this was never declared by Farage. It is a grotesque example of his serial disrespect for standards, and he must not be allowed to get away with it.”
Phil Brickell, Labour MP for Bolton West, said: “The standards commissioner is investigating and we need to wait for the results of that. I fear this scandal once again demonstrates the lengths unscrupulous individuals will go to in order to avoid scrutiny… There must be no loopholes allowing wealthy individuals or opaque interests to exert influence without accountability. The public deserve clarity, consistency and confidence that our politicians cannot be bought in the shadows.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We’re considering Philip Rycroft’s recommendations that changes should be made to the candidate donation rules and will respond in due course.”
Photograph by Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images