Labour Members of Parliament are advocating for a cap on political donations within the United Kingdom, a move they believe would be supported by Andy Burnham if he assumes leadership. Alex Sobel, a Labour MP, has put forward an amendment to a bill currently before Parliament that proposes capping individual political donations at £1 million. Currently, there are no restrictions on the amount of money UK-based donors can contribute to political parties.
MPs supporting the cap are confident it would garner support from numerous colleagues, including Burnham, who is widely anticipated to become the next prime minister later this month. However, the current leadership under Sir Keir Starmer has not endorsed such a cap. The bill containing this amendment is scheduled to complete its House of Commons stages before Burnham's potential succession, leaving open the possibility that the government could withdraw the bill or that Burnham could pursue a cap once the bill reaches the House of Lords.
Burnham himself has expressed support for a donations cap. In an email exchange from May, he stated that a cap "would guard against the perception of any one party being unduly influenced or swayed by one person or organisation." While acknowledging the need for wider review of political funding, his initial thought suggested a cap of approximately £500,000.
In the first three months of 2026, UK political parties reported accepting £20.7 million in donations, according to the Electoral Commission. Reform UK received the largest portion, £9.2 million, largely from two significant donors. Last year, Christopher Harborne donated £9 million to Reform UK, marking the largest single donation from a living individual to a UK political party. Campaign groups like the Electoral Reform Society argue that the absence of a cap allows a small number of wealthy individuals to exert undue influence on politics.
Sobel's proposed £1 million cap specifically targets individual donors, excluding collective organizations such as trade unions, which are traditionally major Labour donors. Another amendment, tabled by the Liberal Democrats and co-signed by some Labour MPs, suggests a cap of £50,000, with a call for some form of public funding for political parties. Dr. Simon Opher, one of the signatories, stated that parties should not accept donations in the hundreds of thousands of pounds, asserting that "It's the 21st century and we are better than that."
Transparency International, an anti-corruption organization, has called for more extensive reforms, noting that while the Representation of the People Bill includes some positive steps, it falls short of implementing a cap on single donor contributions. The organization warns that without such a cap, the wealthy will continue to influence democracy disproportionately.
The government has already proposed a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British citizens living overseas and plans to ban cryptocurrency donations, as part of measures to address foreign financial interference. Reform UK, however, has criticized these proposed restrictions, accusing Labour of attempting to hinder its fundraising efforts. Harborne, a businessman based in Thailand, has suggested he may challenge the £100,000 cap on overseas donations in court.
During the 2024 general election, the Labour Party received more donations than all other parties combined, totaling £9.5 million. Over £8 million of these donations came from ten sources, including trade unions and several prominent figures from the business and investment sectors.