Can the government stop Musk donating to Reform?

There have been growing rumours that Elon Musk is considering donating tens of millions of dollars to Reform UK. It comes after party leader Nigel Farage met with the tech billionaire at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion, alongside Reform’s new party treasurer Nick Candy.

- MILLIE COOKE

Asked earlier this month about the reports by ITV of a $100m (£80m) donation, which would be by far the largest contribution in British electoral history, Mr Musk denied it, but his response did not rule out another amount.

The government has said it is committed to reforming the electoral system to protect it from interference, but question marks hang over what that would actually look like.

What are the current rules around political donations?

Political parties in the UK are restricted as to who they can accept donations from. Individuals who want to donate have to be on the UK electoral register, meaning they have to be a British citizen, or an Irish, EU or qualifying Commonwealth citizen living in the UK. British businesses can also donate.

The laws were originally introduced in 2000, partly in response to concerns that foreign sources could donate to political parties in the UK.