Will Elon Musk be allowed to donate £80 million to Nigel Farage's Reform UK?

Is it possible for a non-British citizen to donate £80m to a UK political party?

Elon Musk thinks Nigel Farage will be the UK's next prime minister and he's reportedly planning to help make that a reality with a donation of £80 million.

Farage, whose party Reform UK is poised to surge at the next general election, said it would be "great" if South African billionaire Musk went ahead with the huge donation of $100 million (£78m).

Labour had promised in its manifesto to tighten the rules around donations however government sources have said it's not currently a priority.

But should rich foreigners be allowed such an influence over our democracy?

Is Elon Musk really planning to donate £80 million to Reform?

The world's richest man, who helped make Donald Trump the world's most powerful man by donating over $100 million, is no stranger to political donations.

He does support Farage, and if his posts on his social media platform X are to be believed, he has a strong dislike for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Musk recently shared an official petition calling for a fresh general election in the UK, which has around 3 million signatures, claiming the "people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state".

Starmer dismissed Musk's intervention and the petition, saying that is "not how it works", but another comment by the billionaire days later might cause Labour - and the Conservatives - much more concern.

Musk shared a post on X which said "Reform will win the next election". The Tesla and Space X owner simply said "yes" when reposting the claim to his more than 200 million followers.

And the Times reported over the weekend that Musk "could be about to put his money where his mouth is" with a massive £80 million donation.

Farage, speaking about the reports on GB News, said Musk is "very supportive of me" but claimed to be unaware of any donation plans.

"He thinks that if Reform do well in the UK, we can bring about the same kind of change that he intends to do with Donald Trump in America," he said.

But he also said he has "absolutely no idea" about any donations.

It would be a huge blow for Labour if the donation were made, but it would risk obliterating the Tory party which is hoping for a revival with new leader Kemi Badenoch after a catastrophic general election.

It is still unclear whether Musk is considering a donation, but he was not happy when it emerged during the US election campaign that some UK Labour activists were knocking on doors in America in support of Kamala Harris.

The billionaire incorrectly claimed it was "illegal" for the activists to campaign on US soil.

But he has not responded to reports that he will make political donations in the UK.

Would Musk be allowed to make the donation?

According to the rules, Musk, an American citizen from South Africa would not be allowed to make donations of more than £500 to UK political parties, but there are loopholes and at least one of them is supported by the businessman's father.

UK election rules state parties can only accept donations from "permissible sources". The key requirement is being "registered" in the UK - Musk has two routes to fit that criteria.

He could donate to Reform UK via the British wing of his social media company X, which would get around the rule against foreign donations.

Or he could gain British citizenship, which is apparently possibly because his grandmother is reportedly from the UK.

Musk's father Errol told GB News the donation is "a good idea".

He said: "If it's not something he's not allowed to do, I would say as a private person, maybe he's allowed to do that.

"If the thing that's stopping Farage from moving ahead is money, then he should get money so that he can move ahead."

He added: "I'm eligible for British citizenship, so is he, I suppose."

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Will Labour change the rules on donations?

The government promised in its manifesto to “protect democracy by strengthening the rules around donations to political parties” and part of the pledge was to crackdown on foreign donations.

But the plans did not make it into the King's Speech, which means there's very little chance of any changes within the first year of Labour's administration.

The prime minister's spokesperson was asked about reports that Musk might donate to Reform in a Downing Street briefing with journalists.

“When it comes to political donations I would point you to the current rules," he said.

“The government’s commitment remains to protect democracy by strengthening the rules around donations to political parties.”

It has been reported that Labour might seek to cap donations to £100,000 to reduce the impact of rich foreigners but that would impact all UK parties and it's understood that is not being considered.

The spokesperson was also asked whether Labour is looking forward to Musk being involved in UK politics, given he has been appointed to run a new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in Trump's new administration.

They said: “We have always said we look forward to working with the President [elect] and his whole team, his whole administration, to progress with the UK/US relationship.

“There are a number of issues where we look forward to working with the President and his whole team.”

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