UK unions split over donations cap as TUC chief says ‘super-rich’ corrupting politics

The head of Britain’s trade union movement, Paul Nowak, has said the government must act to “stop the super-rich corrupting our politics”, as union leaders met on Monday to discuss possible support for a domestic cap on donations.

Union leaders are split on the prospect of limiting domestic donations to political parties, with many including the GMB fearing it would lead a future rightwing government to curb union donations.

Labour-affiliated unions are working on a statement on political donations which is expected to be put before the TUC general council on Tuesday, the Guardian understands. But union sources said there were “significant differences” between general secretaries on how to proceed.

On Sunday, Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, broke ranks and backed a limit, after two crypto billionaires, Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, donated £72m to Reform UK within 24 hours.

In his annual address to the TUC conference in Brighton Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said the donations were “a crisis for our democracy”.

“Tell me, why is it that two cryptobillionaires have donated £72m to Reform in just two days?” he said. “The evidence is clear: Reform UK is a party for sale. Nigel Farage is a politician for sale. And given half the chance, they’d sell our country down the river.

“Make no mistake, this is a crisis for our democracy. We cannot allow our political system to be captured by corporate interests.”

He said there was no similarity “between care workers chipping in a few quid a year through their union and a party bought and paid for by billionaires. So, we need a proper conversation about how we clean up our politics that doesn’t push workers to the margins – but does stop the super-rich corrupting our politics”.

He said no donations at all should be allowed from those who did not live and pay taxes in Britain. A bill currently before parliament would allow overseas British donors to give up to £100,000. He said the government must also go further on foreign funding for political ads. “Elon Musk, keep your grubby hands out of British politics,” he said.

Reform UK’s deputy leader has declined to say when two crypto billionaires who gave a combined £72m to the party returned to the UK. The bill currently in the House of Lords puts significant limitations on overseas donors, including for a calendar year after they return to the UK.

Richard Tice said that while he was completely confident Reform had complied with all current and proposed laws on donations, he could not say when Delo returned to the UK from Hong Kong, or how much time the Thailand-based Harborne spent in Britain.

The two separate donations of £36m by Harborne and Delo are unprecedented in UK political history and will give Reform enormously boosted resources before the next election.

Delo was based in Hong Kong but has returned to the UK. Asked when, Tice said it was “many, many months ago”. Harborne is registered to vote in the UK, but also lives in Thailand.

The former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he thought that the retrospective nature of the cap was “pathetic” and unfair.

“Just because some people want to support one party very generously, Labour kicks up a huge fuss and says they’re going to cap donations,” he told GB News.

“I think the next election is going to be fought on the shape of the British economy and on British society and the government that has the most credible [plan] and I think it’s the Conservatives.”

But he said he questioned the motives of Reform UK’s donors. “The problem with Reform … whatever the motives of these guys, these crypto kings, in funding Reform with squillions. I wonder whether they want Reform to be pro-crypto,” he said. “Reform is weak on welfare, and I think weak on the economy.”

On Sunday, the Unite trade union said it was in favour of a cap – and the largest trade union, Unison, said it would fight attempts by billionaires to influence politics.

“For individual donors there must be a cap,” said Graham. “I think at some point it gets beyond what people think as normal.”

Andrea Egan, Unison’s general secretary, said: “As his support dwindles in this country, Farage is turning to crypto billionaires in an attempt to undermine our democracy. The trade union movement will oppose him every step of the way.”