Forum Topic

Political Donations

Over the past 48 hours the Lefties have been whining and getting hysterical over the £72M donated to Reform, and this morning Gobby had something to say about donations.   Rayner said that Labour could ban huge political donations after 2 crypto-billionaires handed Reform £72m.   Okay Ginge but what about all the huge donations to Labour made by the Unions?  And very wealthy donors such as David Sainsbury aka Baron Sainsbury of Turville and Lord Alli?  Both honoured by Labour - ergo cash for honours?  Will their enormous donations be curtailed in future too?Info from the Electoral Commission:“This page presents all officially disclosed donations over £1k to Labour since 2010, grouped by donor to show total contributions over time. All figures are based on official disclosures published by the Electoral Commission. How much has Labour received in donations?Labour has received £368,422,723.84 in total donations from 11508 documented donations.Who are the top donors to Labour?The top donors to Labour are: House of Commons (£93,482,615.56), Unite the Union (£52,863,405.53), UNISON (£27,954,012.78), GMB (£26,509,609.90), and Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW)(£23,290,029.17).****Who is the biggest overall donor to Labour?The biggest overall donor to Labour is House of Commons with total donations of £93,482,615.56.****Who has made the most donations to Labour?Unite the Union has made the most donations to Labour with 892 separate donations totaling £52,863,405.53.Donors for Labour ranked:* #1
Trade union
£150,086,650.23
#2
Individual
£64,509,997.55
#3
Public fund
£62,840,205.87
#4
Other
£49,579,803.20
#5
Company
£26,333,034.27
#6
Unincorporated Association
£10,561,587.31
#7
Limited Liability Partnership
£3,257,058.09
#8
Registered Political Party
£867,837.69
#9
Friendly Society
£269,938.21
#10
Trust
£116,611.42****House of Commons donations.🤷🏻‍♀️ What are they and where does the money come from?****I didn’t know this:“Today many Labour MPs come from trade union backgrounds or have close links to unions. In fact, you must be a member of a Not trade union to be eligible to seek selection as a Labour candidate, unless for some reason you have been prevented from doing so.”Still a closed shop then … and not at all democratic!

Sue Hammond ● 32d71 Comments

I think all political parties should be privately funded, our democracy is better for it. Obviously all the changes in Employment Law didn’t come about from pressure from our unions.  The money and time that Lucy Powell the Education Minister is wasting on advocating lentils for school lunches would be better spent on school buildings and teachers.  Dogma, dogma and yet more dogma.

Robert Wheeler ● 32d

Mr Wheeler'The money and time that Lucy Powell the Education Minister is wasting on advocating lentils for school lunches would be better spent on school buildings and teachers.  Dogma, dogma and yet more dogma.'Too true.Not trying to raise educational standards but just banging on about irrelevant social issues.Or placing a sales tax on private education establishments.The Labour government has no idea how to make this country prosperous so picks up on issues like this that please the faithful or win votes from the Greens.The same reason that Burnham and Miliband attack Israel and support the Palestinians.And I note today that Ange the Ginger Whinger has admitted that Labour's flagship 1.5 million new homes pledge has been "slammed as a "big fat lie" as (she) suggested the target won't be achieved. The House Secretary admitted there is only a "slim chance" the Government will meet the goal by the next election".Since Labour took office on 9 July 2024, an estimated 392,400 net additional homes have been delivered in England up to 14 June 2026'.Again when it comes to practical problems rather than Student Union politics Labour has no idea.

John Hawkes ● 31d

Ms HammondI wonder how many Union members were asked if they wish to support the Labour Party and were given the opportunity to opt out ?Let's face it many Unions are less concerned with helping the working class than they are with supporting Palestinian terrorists attacking Israel.

John Hawkes ● 31d

How many people with pensions are aware of the donations made by companies their savings are invested in?

Michael Ixer ● 31d

Hello Sue, All those figures are truly eye-watering!  From the figures you provided, from 2010 to 2026, Labour received donations amounting to £23,026,420 per year.Apologies, this is going to be a bit long.....When considering the £72 million donated to Reform over the weekend, I looked it up in detail including searching for each individual on Wikipedia.  Christopher Harbourn is British born but lives in Thailand.  According to Wikepedia, ".... Harborne donated £9 million to Reform UK (the new name for the Brexit Party) in 2025, and a further £3 million in March 2026, making him the largest single donor to a UK political party in a financial year in UK history.[22][23][24] As of April 2026 his donations to Reform UK amounted to more than £22 million in total.[25] In September 2026, he pledged to match a £36 million donation to Reform UK – the largest donation to a political party in UK history.Ben Delo is also British born and lived in the USA.  From Wikipedia again:"In 2014, Delo met Arthur Hayes and Sam Reed, and they co-founded BitMEX, a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform. ...On 1 October 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Department of Justice charged BitMEX and its co-founders, including Delo, with various violations of American law. Delo and three others were charged with violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program.In March 2021, Delo travelled to the United States and surrendered himself to authorities in New York. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was bailed on a $20 million bond before being allowed to return to the United Kingdom.[11][12] On 24 February 2022, the Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that Delo and his BitMEX cofounder had each pleaded guilty to one Bank Secrecy Act violation for "willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering ('AML') program at BitMEX". Under the terms of their plea agreements, Delo and his co-founders each agreed to pay a $10 million civil monetary penalty to the CFTC.[13][14] On 15 June 2022, Delo was sentenced to 30 months' probation,[15] through 15 December 2024. On 29 March 2025, Delo and the other two BitMex founders were pardoned by President Donald Trump."Also, both the above had already donated some £10m earlier in the year.The amounts a eye-watering but, in the case of Reform, sadly, both donors deal in crypto currency and I would not trust either with a penny piece.  But that is just me.

Ivonne Holliday ● 31d

@Ivonne“But that is just me”Yes it is.    However the cumulative £total of donations made from Labour affiliated Unions (Unite and Unison being the largest) over many many decades are even more eye-watering I would say.  Both of these Unions invest heavily in overseas companies so in effect their donations could/should also be classified as foreign funds.  in my opinion.

Sue Hammond ● 31d

Mr Ixer'How many people with pensions are aware of the donations made by companies their savings are invested in?'Can you give us some examples ?

John Hawkes ● 31d

There's quite a difference between unions supporting the Labour party, which they have done from the very beginning, with the full knowledge of their members, and the vast sums from a few very wealthy individuals in the (extremely dodgy) cryptocurrency world.  What will they expect in return?  Not 'nothing' but lighter to non-existent regulation of their 'industry'.  And it's a very murky one at that.I suggest reading Oliver Bullough's latest book on money laundering "Everybody loves our dollars".  Crypto is all too often used by criminals to hide the sources of their wealth and move money around with no central bank scrutiny or oversight.  In fact, in my opinion, crypto has no legitimate purpose to exist as it meets no needs of anyone involved in legitimate international business.Another piece of reading is in the Byline Times: "Nigel Farage Funder George Cottrell’s Inner Circle Hosted Indicted Cocaine Trafficker".  He's based in Montenegro, a well-known centre for financial crime and money laundering.  There are several links I could post but a little Googling will give you a flavour of what is going on there.So, why would Reform attract so many people from the crypto world?  And why do they feel the need to accept their money in the first place?

Jonathan Callaway ● 31d

@JCThankyou for the book recommendations.You say that the Unions’ donations are made with the ‘full knowledge of their members’ but that’s not actually 💯factual is it?  When I first started work I was forced to join the TGWU (later amalgamated into Unite) as it was a condition of employment. There wasn’t the choice to opt out because it was a closed shop, and either was I told how my subs would be invested or spent, so “full knowledge” doesn’t cut it.

Sue Hammond ● 31d

I think you may find that things have changed since then, thanks in part to Mrs Thatcher.  Closed shops are no longer legal, I believe."All forms of closed shops in the UK are illegal following the introduction of the Employment Act 1990. They were further curtailed under section 137(1)(a) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (c. 52) passed by the Conservative government at the time. The Labour Party, then in opposition, had supported closed shops until December 1989, when it abandoned the policy in accordance with European legislation. Equity was one of the last trade unions in the United Kingdom to offer a pre-entry closed shop until the 1990 act." (Wikipedia)

Jonathan Callaway ● 31d

The closed shoo is illegal but Labour has relaxed the rules on political donations from the unions. who are no longer required to seek specific consent from their members if they wish to divert union funds into political causes. The idea is to allow national executives to their members' subscriptions as they see fit, by default as it were.

Steven Rose ● 31d

Very true.  Try progressing in your career or actually working on the railways, public sector and not belonging to a union.  What’s the saying “all for one and one for all”.Labour’s hissy fit over these donations shows their policies are not strong enough for the electorate.

Robert Wheeler ● 30d

That's an absurd objection. If you’re in a union you get to vote for its leadership and that leadership then has discretion to do many things without specifically asking permission for every individual decision.To see just how absurd your argument is, take the election of governments: once elected, they decide many things without going back to ask voters.The objection to these mega donations is that they are made by individuals with no constraints on their actions who, by the way, made their billions through dodgy crypto - and Delo is a convicted criminal, albeit one who was very dubiously pardoned by Trump.Finally, spare us the silly kneejerk anti-Labour stuff, Robert.

Richard Carter ● 30d

Perhaps the cap on foreign-based donors should be set at the size of their UK tax bill? They call themselves patriots but make no noticeable contribution to the country at all.

Jonathan Callaway ● 30d

Mr CarterDon't strangle yourself with your pearl clutching.Remember the gifts and donations made to Starmer by Lord Alli ?'In 2024, The Guardian reported that Alli had donated £500,000 to the party since 2020, as well as giving Starmer personal donations worth over £50,000'May be less than the crypto millions given to Farage but the principle is the same.And Lord Sainsbury has been generous also."Taste the Difference" ?

John Hawkes ● 30d

The point which Robert and I were making is that, contrary to Jonathan's statement, thatp political donations by the unions are made with the full knowledge (and agreement) of the members, in fact the national executives have mo meed to consult the members at all.I don't see the difference between a rich individual like Lord Sainsbury contributing to the Labour Party and millionaires contributing to Reform. I suspect that these moral objections are simply motivated by dislike of Reform - a party which, I hasten to add, I don't support.

Steven Rose ● 30d

You complain that union national executives have no need to consult the members at all. But following my analogy, the government had, quite rightly, no need to consult the population about, say, its donation to the calamitous Nepali floods, whilst if it had to follow your example, it would have done. Which just shows your argument is, as I said before, absurd.And the difference with Lord Sainsbury is that he is a genuine resident of the UK, whilst these dodgy billionaires scuttled out of the country to avoid paying their due in tax and are now only, at the last moment, pretending to be real UK residents so they can buy up Reform.

Richard Carter ● 30d

I would favour a £100k cap on any political donation by any individual in the UK.My point about the donors to Reform concerns their connections to an unregulated business that is widely used by tax dodgers and money launderers. I see some parts of the press are now referring to Reform as a wholly owned subsidiary of the crypto industry. Nobody ever suggested Sainsbury’s (the shops) got any benefits from supporting Labour even if members of the family got a gong or two. The link between political donations and gongs has been evident for years. All the major parties do it. I don’t like it either.One further point about Sainsbury vs Harborne et al is that the Sainbury family have been major philanthropic donors to multiple good causes, not least the British Library, the National Gallery and many more.

Jonathan Callaway ● 30d

Union members used to have to opt in to political donations, but too few wanted to do so, so Labour has changed the legislation so that now they have to opt out. National executives can now rely on the apathy rather than the consent of their members to fund Labour.

Steven Rose ● 30d

Apathy often rules, unfortunately, and in this case it’s being used as a clever tactic by Labour.  A simple tick-box question and answer would be the fair and correct way to recruit members ie ‘do you want to join xxxxx Trade Union?  Tick the relevant box, Yes or No.    Sign the form.  Job done!

Sue Hammond ● 30d

The opt-in law was introduced only in 2016 as a spiteful anti-union measure, so saying they "used to have to opt in" gives the false impression that it was always so.

Richard Carter ● 30d

@RCWhy was it “spiteful” Richard?  You really need to calm down and try to accept that not everything will go Labour’s way.  I realise that you are very peed off by Reform’s donations but be mindful of your blood pressure. 🙀

Sue Hammond ● 30d

@JC 13.51 ‘the Sainbury family have been major philanthropic donors to multiple good causes, not least the British Library, the National Gallery and many more.’And probably tax-deductible …

Sue Hammond ● 30d

Mr Carter'Which just shows your argument is, as I said before, absurd.'"Calm down dear, calm down".'But following my analogy, the government had, quite rightly, no need to consult the population about, say, its donation to the calamitous Nepali floods, whilst if it had to follow your example, it would have done'.The elected Government and a Trades Union, however its officials are appointed, are in no way comparable in structure, ranges of authority and responsibility and modus operandi.All in all your claim is a non sequiturEven you must be able to recognise this.But then you believe that the Government has the right to recognise Gaza and the West Bank as a state called Palestine.Even though the Gaza portion is under the unelected control of Hamas, Islamic terrorist rapists and killers and the West Bank has not held elections since 2006 and is the fiefdom of Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) since 2005 following the death of Yasser Arafat. He is also the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since 2004 and a long-standing member and leader of the Fatah party, which he has chaired since 2009.Both Hamas and the PA hate each others guts and are only united in their antisemitic hatred of Israel.Views shared by you and others on this Forum if your posts are anything to go by.You keep banging on about Reform funding in order to obfuscate the fact that you, most Labour supporters and many of its MPs support Islamic attacks on the only western style democracy and thriving economy in the region namely Israel.Which also of course, I am sure much to your chagrin, is an ally of this country and major contributor to its security.

John Hawkes ● 30d

I am with Sue, Richard. Why is it spiteful to ask union how they want their subscriptions to be spent?

Steven Rose ● 30d

Just the other month, Labour was trying to cancel local elections in constituencies where rival parties generally do well; now donations. The idea of a level playing field clearly horrifies them..

Michael Brown ● 30d

... union members... I have some sympathy with the view that British citizens living abroad should not be allowed to make political donations since they don’t have to live with the consequences of the policies adopted by the party to which they contribute. But I  am not sure there should be a test of moral rectitude before someone can donate money. How would Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, survive such a test?

Steven Rose ● 30d

Or Rayner …?

Sue Hammond ● 30d

It's that Carter bloke, again. He's against all things commonsense and truth. Is he some kind of plant?

Michael Brown ● 30d

I must object to your comment.  "..that Carter bloke..."Not only is it disrespectful but it is unacceptable.I may not agree with everything he says, particularly when it comes to matters of traffic.But to call him a plant?  I wonder if you are one.

Ivonne Holliday ● 30d

It wasn’t just the change over political donations and other internal union affairs like heightened reporting requirements, and expanded powers for the union regulator, but a series of measures intended to cripple union activity. Examples include:• The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights raised concerns that the law breached Article 11 of the ECHR regarding freedom of association;• High balloting thresholds that set an impossibly high bar that undermined democratic workplace representation;• Lengthening the required strike notice period and restricting picketing supervision created practical hurdles that frustrated lawful industrial action;• Making it excessively difficult for workers to defend their pay and conditions.Al of which was expressly designed to frustrate the normal activities of trade unions

Richard Carter ● 30d

I am not sure I agree with the view that the 2016 legislation set ballooning thresholds at 'an impossibly high level'. Back in the 1970s strike action could be initiated on a show of hands in the workplace. Margaret Thatcher then brought in legislation requiring unions to hold a ballot. Strikes only became lawful if over half of those eligible to vote took part in the ballot, whereupon a simple majority of votes cast would suffice. This meant that strike action could take place with the consent of only 26% of the work force(i.e. just iver half of a half). The 2016 legislation stipulated that in sectors of national importance such as health, education, transport and border security at least 40% of the workforce would need to vote in favour. The aim was to stop a relatively small number of trade unionists holding the whole country to ransom. I think that was a reasonable compromise between the rights of the state and the rights of trade unions. Labour's 2025 legislation has now  removed that 40% threshold. Is that such a good idea?

Steven Rose ● 30d

In 2014, Louise Haigh received a conditional discharge and a fine over her failure to correct a claim for her mobile being stolen. Angela Rayner was cleared of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over stamp duty, and was fully cleared after settling an additional £40,000. Regrettable, sure, but hardly crimes of the century.What I find odd about this is the coy silence about Reform in Wales: one leader, Nathan Gill, was convicted of taking bribes from Russia and is now enjoying the hospitality of HM prisons, and his successor, Dan Thomas, has been arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour. What charmers!

Richard Carter ● 30d

What is also forgotten is that those very sectors health, education etc employees have to join the trade union for their professional insurance against any claims while in the workplace.

Robert Wheeler ● 30d

There are two versions of the story concerning Louise Haigh. One is that she was mugged and falsely pretended that her mobile phone had been stolen in order to get a newer model at the expense of the insurance company. The other is that she was mugged and genuinely believed that her phone had been stolen. She got a new phone but later  the original phone turned up and she failed to report its recovery. The fact that she pleaded guilty to fraud leads me to believe that the first version is the truth. If the second version were true, she could  have said that she meant to report the recovery of the phone but simply forgot to do so. It would have been a case of forgetfulness rather than deliberate fraud and it is unlikely that she would have been prosecuted in those circumstances.

Steven Rose ● 30d

It could be a long winter of strikes as the buses,tubes, dustmen etc seek unaffordable rises.I remember being a young admin officer in the town hall in late 7os when the council were privatising the refuse collection and the dustmen held a courtyard vote for strike action for the whole town hall afaibst 'Chopes chopper' with dustmen in the crowd cajolling ( a polite term) staff to vote in favour.We are heading back to those days.

Andy Pike ● 29d

“ The 2016 legislation stipulated that in sectors of national importance such as health, education, transport and border security at least 40% of the workforce would need to vote in favour. The aim was to stop a relatively small number of trade unionists holding the whole country to ransom. I think that was a reasonable compromise between the rights of the state and the rights of trade unions. Labour's 2025 legislation has now  removed that 40% threshold. Is that such a good idea?”No.  It is diabolical and proves that this Labour government is dancing to whatever tune their paymasters, the Unions, play. 

Sue Hammond ● 29d

Ms Hammond'The 2016 legislation stipulated that in sectors of national importance such as health, education, transport and border security at least 40% of the workforce would need to vote in favour.'I would doubt many Trades Unionists would vote to support the TUC's and the Labour Party's policy on immigration.All the illegal immigrants do is to take away British workers jobs and reduce their wages.That is aside from the crime they commit and the cost of housing them.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckz7zyn1lwypoInteresting the reaction of the ladies of Piddington. "Village votes to leave UK over asylum housing plan"'Residents of an Oxfordshire village have voted to become independent from the UK in a symbolic referendum held in protest at plans to house more than 1,000 migrants at a former military base.Villagers in Piddington, near Bicester, voted on Tuesday over Home Office proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at nearby MoD Bicester.'Anyone ever watched  the classic film 'Passport to Pimlico' starring Stanley Hollowayand Margaret Rutherford ?What goes around comes around.

John Hawkes ● 29d

Mr CarterUnlike Haigh and Rayner the Reform oddballs are not leading Ministers in our current Labour Government.A government that sets out self-righteously to persuade us how upright and caring for others it is.

John Hawkes ● 29d

Back to the subject of enormous political donations I heard an excellent Russian saying today: “the only thing that’s free is the cheese in the mousetrap.”I wonder if Nathan Gill, the last but one leader of Reform in Wales, was aware of it?And I wonder if Nigel Farage et al are aware of it too.

Jonathan Callaway ● 28d

@JCGill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery after taking around £40,000 in payments between 2018 and 2019.  He represented Wales in the European Parliament from 2014 until the UK’s departure from the EU in January 2020, took the money in exchange for tabling motions, delivering speeches, and facilitating media access for individuals linked to pro-Russian interests. This all happened before he joined Reform and I am not aware of any similar investigations happening during his membership of the Party.    Perhaps you could enlighten me?

Sue Hammond ● 28d

Gill was a member of Farage's Brexit Party and previously a member of Farage's UKIP whilst an MEP from 2014 to 2020.  He joined Farage's Reform when it was first set up.He and Farage go back a long way and as I understand it, many of Gill's statements in the EU parliament were uncannily close to statements made by Farage himself.

Jonathan Callaway ● 28d

I realise they have known each for a long time, so what?  Your previous post seemed to imply that Farage was guilty by association which as far as I know isn’t recognised in law.  I asked you for any proof that NF was involved with bribery but you haven’t answered my question, so please do so now.  Thankyou

Sue Hammond ● 28d

From Reform on FB:https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1djYsoSvfd/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Sue Hammond ● 28d

Hello Sue. Yes it’s guilt by association, something that doesn’t look good in the court of public opinion, aka the opinion polls. There is no evidence Farage has done anything illegal in connection with Gill’s activities but that’s not the point is it?  He keeps bad company and Reform is unusually accident prone in its choice of candidates and officials. That’s another reason why the polls are looking less rosy for Reform right now. Elsewhere on this thread I have made clear my dislike of the cash for gongs culture in Westminster so maybe we can agree on that. But Reform looks no better than the rest and that Russian saying has the ring of truth.

Jonathan Callaway ● 28d

Why not discuss policies rather than personalities?

Steven Rose ● 28d

Largely because Reform doesn't actually have any policies  apart from anti-immigration rhetoric, and because it does have "personalities" that are mainly odious or dubious, usually both. For example, Farage himself, Yusuf Ali (who is too extreme even for many Reform people), 3p Lee, Jenrick, Braverman, the list is very long.

Richard Carter ● 28d

Here are Reform’s policies Richard try actually discussing whether any of these would work.https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reformparty.uk/policies&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwilicnzyfeWAxVnVUEAHdJaJ14QFnoECAQQAg&usg=AOvVaw08BJUSZmJraIIoCGA2Ns_mFor info l am not a Reform member but l do object to this notion that everyone who objects to the level of illegal immigration is right wing and this incessant stupid name\cartoon calling.  By the way does anyone feel better off with Labour in power?

Robert Wheeler ● 28d

Character matters in politics, at least as much as policies. A number of recent PMs have had character flaws and at least one was undone by the looseness of his relationship with veracity. If an elected leader shows poor judgement, not least in his choice of associates, candidates and donors, it is difficult to overlook that and try to focus on any policies he may have to offer. Having said that, here’s an interesting report on an alleged Reform policy in the online Independent newspaper. Here’s the link (sorry, Sue):https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-farage-crypto-currency-tax-breaks-donations-b3051857.htmlWhat do you make of that?

Jonathan Callaway ● 27d

Very helpful, Robert: to see their policies, I'd have to download 10 (ten!) separate pdfs and then wade through them. No thanks, but perhaps you'd like to do the spadework for us and produce a summary.

Richard Carter ● 27d

Mr Callaway'He (Farage) keeps bad company and Reform is unusually accident prone in its choice of candidates and officials.And so is Labour."Labour MP calls for military action against Israel during heated Commons debate on GazaTahir Ali also called for Israel to disarm as he clashed with a Lib Dem colleague over the future of Hamas's weapons."The man is obviously a thicko.And of course he represents a strongly Islamic constituency in Birmingham - "World record holding Council for the longest time since it collected any rubbish"What does the man expect Israel to do when attacked by Islamic terrorists ?In fact just blatant antisemitism; a view shared by many Labour MPs.

John Hawkes ● 27d

Oh dear Richard wjat an unfortunate turn of phrase  ' you do the spadework' hpw very 1970s and current right wing.Perhaps you are really a reform supporter. You certainly seem to speak their language.

Andy Pike ● 27d

Mr Carter'Largely because Reform doesn't actually have any policies  apart from anti-immigration rhetoric, and because it does have "personalities" that are mainly odious or dubious, usually both. 'Whereas Labour of course has an open door policy on immigration and has many, many MPs that are Islamists or fellow travellers and in Tahir Ali a downright ignorant antisemite.For example Google Nadia Whittome and read the balanced view she holds regarding the conflict in the Middle East.Doubtless however you would agree with her.And all its MPs and members are warm hearted defenders of the poor and oppressed and strongly fights against those that they consider are not ie Israelis and Jews.And I assume you supported Labour when Corbyn was in charge before being booted out of the Party for antisemitism by Starmer.And Dianne Abbott has only just had the whip restored after being kicked out by Starmer for antisemitism.Doubtless as someone with similar views on Israel and Jews as Corbyn and Abbott you were appalled and returned your membership card.

John Hawkes ● 27d

Mr Wheeler'For info l am not a Reform member but l do object to this notion that everyone who objects to the level of illegal immigration is right wing and this incessant stupid name\cartoon calling.'You understate how you and others that do not support Labour's immigration policy are regarded.To the likes of Mr Carter and the West Putney progressives, you are probably considered a "Right wing fascist running dog" !

John Hawkes ● 27d

Mr Pike'Oh dear Richard wjat an unfortunate turn of phrase  ' you do the spadework' hpw very 1970s and current right wing.Perhaps you are really a reform supporter. You certainly seem to speak their language'.I doubt Mr Carter has touched a spade in his life.Far too plebian !I think he is an ex-Guardian journalist and so a keyboard is his idea of the working man's tool.

John Hawkes ● 27d

Really, Andy, that's one of the daftest comments I've seen. Its simply an idiom, meaning "hard, sometimes boring work done in preparation for something" - from the Cambridge Dictionary, which quotes over a dozen references to it in Hansard. And it's neither 70s or right wing.

Richard Carter ● 27d

@JC 09.31‘What do you make of that?’Not much to be honest.  Cryptocurrency is here to stay and whichever party is in power will have to accept that fact and have policies that accommodate it.  Labour is seeking vengeance by retrospective taxing because nobody in the Party had the foresight to invest in crypto themselves. Personally I struggle with the concept of a currency that doesn’t physically exist and that has been my loss.  In the early days of crypto I had the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin but unfortunately I didn’t have any spare money so couldn’t do it.  In hindsight I wish I had borrowed a couple of thousand but blockchain was too risky at that time to take a chance.  Had I been bolder I would be a millionairess now …😩PS I agree with you about poor judgement of associates but thankfully Mandelson got rid of Starmer …😸

Sue Hammond ● 27d

Since fervid opponents of Reform on the Forum seem unsure of its policies, preferring instead to attack Nigel Farage personally, here is a selection:Channel Migrants - Deploy the Royal Navy, supported by the Border Force, to intercept all migrant boats and safely return those on board to France or Belgium under escort.Immigration- Abolish Indefinite Leave to Remain, rescind existing permission, stop benefits for foreign nationals,  deny asylum to all those who enter the UK illegally, leave the ECHR and use visa sanctions to deport all those who have no right to be here back to their country of origin, introduce a 5 year renewable visa for migrants with higher salary thresholds (except in priority areas like social care), fluency in English and good character.Tax - Increase the tax free allowance to £15k, abolish the rise in Employers’ NI , remove tax on overtime up to £70k pa, increase the VAT threshold to £150k for small businesses. reverse the IHT raid on family farmsEnergy -Scrap green levies to reduce billsEducation -Introduce a ‘patriotic’ approach to history lessons, ban critical race theory, ban transgender ideology, abolish tuition fees for STEM subjects, end student loans for foreign nationals, provide tax relief for independent schools.Benefits -Replace PIP and Universal Credit health elements with a new Health Security Allowance, restrict unconditional payments solely to the most severely affected cases, introduce 20 hours of mandatory work for those fit enough to do it.Some of these ideas are also Conservative policy. Perhaps contributors to the Forum would like to say which of these policies they support and why, and if they oppose them, give their reasons.

Steven Rose ● 27d

I support all of them obviously but would like to nick one from Restore and add hold a referendum on the restoration of capital punishment.

Sue Hammond ● 27d

8 don't agree and never have agreed with capital punishment.

Steven Rose ● 27d

What? You haven't included real meadures like the stocks, flogging and the rack? What a milquetoast liberal you really are!

Richard Carter ● 27d

StevenI think that I support all of these in the main.Not just those relating to illegal immigrants invading our country but also those that relate to benefits, the budget for which is way out of control and beyond the capacity of the economy to deliver.It also facilitates a debilitating, 'something for nothing' attitude which is not going to help PM Burnham 'kick start our economy'.Interesting as to how the Budget will address the problem.My only doubt is whether a Labour government recognises these issues as problems and has the guts to fight against its MPs and supporters who certainly do not.What do you think Mr Carter ?

John Hawkes ● 27d

Steven'don't agree and never have agreed with capital punishment.'Is this on moral grounds or the possibility of fatal miscarriages of justice ?In my opinion, if someone deliberately sets out to kill another or carry a knife or gun in circumstances where there is reasonable certainty they might kill, do they themselves not forego the right to life if they do so ?Let's face it we are quite willing to kill thousands in international disputes and are living in a society where religious extremists are quite happy to kill.Capital punishment would get them off the streets and make us all a little bit safer.People have free will and if they don't want to suffer capital punishment they should not kill others or carry weapons that could be used for this purpose.It's the same old balance of good against evil.

John Hawkes ● 27d

Mr Carter'What a milquetoast liberal you really are!'Instead of childish and petty insults why do you never address the serious issue in question ?The stocks might well be a deterrence were yobbos have to face the opprobrium of the general public for certain crimes.As for flogging, I have never seen any post where you condemn what is a standard punishment, for women and men, in the Islamic states you support.The rack history recalls was used to extract information from the victim.I do not support this though I am not sure I would protest too much should this method of interrogation provide information that would save the lives of others.For instance used on Islamic terrorists to stop future bombings and murders.What are your views on the punishments you list and if you are against them do tell us why."It's cruel and defies the ECHR" are not sufficiently detailed objections.So let's hear them.

John Hawkes ● 27d

Hello Steven,As far as I am concerned, Farage is a big problem.  The party may have a list of populist policies but not real solutions to the problems.Deploy the Royal Navy to intercept migrant boats?  What is the HM Coastguard for - or are you/he planning to abolish it? Abolish indefinite leave to remain? Excuse me?  Is that not a legal way to stay in the UK as opposed to arriving on a dinghy?  If somebody has been given indefinite leave to remain 40 years ago, you will rescind it tomorrow????  The proposed increase of tax free allowance is long overdue and reversing the IHT on family farms is definitely acceptable.Energy:  we must become self sufficient and stay that way.  Importing energy from Russia, albeit indirectly, is ridiculous!The list continues but my main grudge is against Farage. I do not think I can say here exactly why, but I really think he is the limit.

Ivonne Holliday ● 27d

My objections to capital punishment, John, are1) the whole business of state execution is extremely ugly2) there is no evidence that it actually deters murder 3) error and police misconduct make many murder convictions unsafe e.g. the Guildford Four, the Birmingham Six, now exonerated, would have been executed by the state.But to get back to Reform’s policies:1) the UK has a navy, a coastguard service and a border force, but instead of using them to stop invasion by migrants, they are employed to conduct the migrants to British shores2) Reform wishes to replace indefinite leave to remain with renewable five year visas only granted to people able to make a positive contribution 3) the personal antipathy to Nigel Farage seems out of alll proportion, motivated largely by lingering resentment over Brexit.

Steven Rose ● 27d

At least we can agree on capital punishment, but it's a different matter on Reform's policies. You listed earlier various proposals, including the performative cruelty of rescinding indefinite leave to remain (despite the effect on people who have settled here, had families and of course contributed massively to the country, and I note you address the suggestion to replace ILR but don't mention rescinding it for people who already have it), the ludicrous idea of a "patriotic" approach to history lessons and idea that it would be possible to Increase the tax free allowance to £15k, abolish the rise in Employers’ NI , remove tax on overtime up to £70k pa, increase the VAT threshold to £150k for small businesses. reverse the IHT raid on family farms and scrap green levies without even attempting to cost these. And on the latter, the IFS has analysed the financial policies and found them wholly wanting.

Richard Carter ● 27d

I see reading a recent post on LinkedIn by Geoff White, an excellent cyber security journalist I follow, that Ben Delo (who recently pledged a donation of £36M to reform, and who was convicted on money laundering in the US was enabling trading by Iran through his company in contravention of sanctions. I wonder if this will create problems when Reform undertake mandatory AML checks on these donations?

Michael Ixer ● 27d

I am glad that we are now discussing policy rather than personality. Is it true that the huge wave of immigrants to the UK have ‘contributed massively’ to the country. Many immigrants take out more in terms of healthcare, education and benefits than they contribute in taxes. Reform’s idea of a patriotic approach to the country’s history is clearly intended as a corrective to the view promoted in many schools of Britain as a wicked imperialist nation whose wealth was built on the profits of the Atlantic slave trade. Reform believe that they they can pay for the tax breaks, which will revive the economy, by reducing the benefits bill.

Steven Rose ● 27d

Mr Carter'What are your views on the punishments you list and if you are against them do tell us why."It's cruel and defies the ECHR" are not sufficiently detailed objections.So let's hear them'.I am still waiting, but in all honestly I never expected Mr Carter to reply.He is the Millwall supporter shouting out slogans against the opposing team but never offering any comment that might show he has anything sensible or rational to say on the matter.

John Hawkes ● 25d

Interesting article - Ben Delo: how Reform donor created a ‘magnet for money' ... https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-09-19/ben-delo-how-reforms-record-donor-created-a-magnet-for-money-laundering

Michael Ixer ● 24d