MPs have supported the government’s proposals by approving amendments to the Representation of the People Bill. The bill is currently being scrutinised in the House of Lords.
Speaking as the bill was debated by peers, Communities Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said: “We are considering how we will strengthen the residency requirements, including ensuring that the length of time spent in the UK aligns with broader government policy.”
Baroness Taylor said this was “in addition to introducing a robust regime that ensures that donors contributing above the £100,000 annual cap must demonstrate a genuine and ongoing connection” to the UK.
Tax is one area that already has residency requirements. The criteria includes someone being declared resident for tax purposes if they have lived in the UK for at least 183 days in the tax year.
Challenged on whether the government was targeting Reform donors, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said policy on donations is “never about one political party or one particular set of issues”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Fundamentally we need to make sure that people who want to influence British politics, who want a say in British politics have a stake in Britain.
“That should apply to everyone and will apply to everyone, so I wouldn’t make it about any particular donations or anything that’s been in the public domain.”
When the government set out its plans to cap foreign donations in March and July, it did not mention the idea of an enhanced residency test for political donors.
Asked repeatedly by reporters whether the idea of tightening residency rules had only been discussed after Delo and Harborne’s most recent donations to Reform, the prime minister’s official spokesman would not give a timeframe.
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart accused the government of “playing whack-a-mole”, as she said Labour’s residency requirements “aren’t good enough”.
She said: “We must urgently go further and introduce a universal donation cap to stop Trump’s America becoming Farage’s Britain.”
On Monday, Farage criticised the government’s attempts to retrospectively declare some donations illegal.
He told the BBC: “If the government was allowed to do this, you know what would happen? There would be a response the other way.
“We or the Conservatives would say ‘if you’re going to stop legitimate donors like this, we would say to the trade unions, you can’t give money’.”
Farage argued such a move would “collapse” the system of political funding and lead to taxpayers having to fund political parties, a system he said would be opposed by the British public.
Since 2020, Labour has received almost £43m from trade unions, who raise their money through individual workers’ membership fees.
