Fresh calls for tightening of political donation rules as Elon Musk mulls giving a huge $100m cash injection to Nigel Farage's Reform UK
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Elon Musk's looming donation to Reform UK should serve as a 'wake-up call' for a rethink of financing rules, a former member of the elections watchdog has warned. David Howarth, who served on the Electoral Commission between 2010 and 2018, called for a 'tight cap' on political donations.
![[Those talks fulled rumours Mr Musk is ready to plough some of his estimated $300billion fortune into the British political party]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/24/12/93234525-14224237-The_meeting_will_fuel_rumours_that_Mr_Musk_the_Tesla_boss_and_ow-a-17_1735042524107.jpg)
The former Liberal Democrat MP also demanded new laws to ban companies from being able to donate to politics altogether. It comes amid speculation that Mr Musk, thought to be the world's richest man, is poised to bolster Reform's coffers by $100million (£80million).
![[The Mar-a-Lago meeting also sparked demands for ministers to rush through measures to overhaul Britain's political donation laws]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/24/12/93234523-14224237-Mr_Farage_has_previously_insisted_he_knows_nothing_about_a_poten-a-18_1735042526933.jpg)
As a US citizen, the South African-born businessman cannot legally make a personal donation to a British political party. But he could hand Reform a considerable slice of his vast fortune through one of the UK subsidiaries of his various companies, which include Tesla and X/Twitter.
Mr Musk, who has become a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, has taken a keen interest in British politics and the rise of Reform. He recently met with Reform leader Nigel Farage and the party's treasurer - property mogul Nick Candy - at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Elon Musk recently met with Reform leader Nigel Farage and the party's treasurer - property mogul Nick Candy - at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Those talks fulled rumours Mr Musk is ready to plough some of his estimated $300billion fortune into the British political party.
