TUC Warns of ‘Out of Control’ Political Spending as Row Over Party Donations Escalates

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned of the dangers of “out of control political spending” in British politics, though it stopped short of explicitly backing caps on political donations, according to a statement reported by the Guardian.

The warning comes amid a wider debate over political party funding in the UK, following comments from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage that a Reform government would move to stop trade unions funding the Labour Party if unions attempted to block a reported £72m in donations to his own party.

The Liberal Democrats said they intend to try to introduce a cap on political donations by amending the Representation of the People Bill as it passes through the House of Lords.

Lisa Smart, the Liberal Democrats' Cabinet Office spokesperson, said in a statement: “We can’t keep playing whack-a-mole with each new attempt by Farage to sell out our democracy. Labour’s residency requirements aren’t good enough and the Conservatives simply sat on their hands whilst in power. For decades governments of both colours have stood by and done nothing.”

Smart added that the scale of recent donations to Reform UK was “unprecedented in British politics” and should “deeply concern anyone who cares about the health and integrity of our democracy.” She said: “We cannot afford to see the Americanisation of our politics, with out of control political spending, funded by stratospheric sums of crypto and corporate cash.”

She further claimed the donations showed “whose side Reform are on,” alleging that “crypto billionaires, foreign and powerful corporate interests” were lining up to contribute large sums to advance their own agendas.

The dispute forms part of an ongoing debate in UK politics over the transparency and scale of political donations, involving figures from Reform UK, the Labour Party, trade unions and other parties, according to the Guardian's live coverage of the story.