Union leaders stop short of backing donations cap after Reform UK receives £72m

Trade union leaders have stopped short of backing a cap on political donations, while calling for further action to address the influence of big money in politics, according to a joint statement issued after Reform UK received an unprecedented £72m from two donors.

The statement follows reported divisions among general secretaries over whether unions should support a specific cap on donations from individual donors to political parties, while protecting trade union contributions from any such limit.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) described union funding as the "cleanest money in politics," according to the report, arguing that it derives from workers' subscriptions rather than from wealthy individual backers.

The debate comes amid scrutiny of large political donations after Reform UK was given the £72m sum from two donors, a figure described as unprecedented in British politics.

Union general secretaries have been reported as split on the question of whether to endorse a formal cap on individual donor contributions, even as they collectively pushed for additional measures to limit the influence of large sums of money in the political system.

The Guardian reported that the joint statement represents an attempt by union leaders to address concerns about "Americanisation" of UK politics, in which wealthy individual donors could exert outsized influence, while distinguishing such funding from the collective, subscription-based model used by trade unions.