NIGEL FARAGE REFORM PARTY UK MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT MPs NEW THINKING POLITICAL CANDIDATES TO CHALLENGE THE INSTITUTIONAL CORRUPTION WITHIN KING CHARLE'S GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL AUTHORTIES

On their website, the Reform UK party say: "Our country has so much potential, but both Labour and the Conservatives have broken promise after promise for the last 30 years.

You are worse off, both financially and culturally. Wages are stagnant, we have a housing crisis, our young people struggle to get on the property ladder, we have rising crime, energy bills are some of the highest in Europe, the NHS isn’t working, both legal and illegal immigration are at record levels and woke ideology has captured our public institutions and schools.

The Conservatives have failed and Labour will fail too. A vote for either is a vote for more incompetence, dishonesty and failure. [Too many chiefs, not enough Indians, the disproportional high numbers are required to sustain dishonest and corrupt practices. The solution being to eradicate MPs, council and police officers and civil servants who cover up their negligence, fabricate false evidence in the process, or who commit any other criminal offence while employed in any official capacity.]

We are ruled by an out of touch political class who have turned their backs on our country.

Reform is the alternative.

Only Reform will stand up for British culture, identity and values. We will freeze immigration and stop the boats. Restore law and order. Repair our broken public services. Cut taxes to make work pay. End government waste. Slash energy bills. Unlock real economic growth.

Only Reform will take back control over our borders, our money and our laws. Only Reform will secure Britain’s future as a free, proud and rich nation."

[Not a bad offer. And, let's face it, Reform cannot do much worse than the previous shambles of institutionally corrupt fibbers like Bojo the Clown. So why not give the new boys (and girls) on the block a whirl.]

THE GUARDIAN 18 DECEMBER 2024 - STARMER URGED TO CHANGE DONATION RULES AMID TALK OF MUSK BANKROLLING REFORM

Keir Starmer must strengthen the rules around political donations to protect the electoral system from foreign interference, the Electoral Commission has said, amid rising concerns about Elon Musk’s plans to donate millions of pounds to Reform UK.

Vijay Rangarajan, chief executive of the elections watchdog, said that linking donations to political parties to the UK profits of companies owned by foreigners was one of the urgent changes needed to retain the trust of voters.

The move, which the Guardian understands is being considered by the government, could cap the amount that Musk, the world’s richest man, could donate through the British arm of his social media company X (formerly Twitter).

Twitter UK’s latest publicly available accounts show pre-tax profits of £8.5m in 2022, on a turnover of £205m, substantially lower than the $100m (£80m) that Musk was initially said to be willing to donate. [What about Tesla UK? Tesla's UK revenue for the 12 months ending December 2023 was £2.47 billion. In March 2024 Tesla announced that it had sold its 200,000th car in the UK. Statista projects that Tesla's revenue in the UK will reach US\$5,166 million in 2024. Tesla electric cars are now commonplace on British roads. Clean car sales help to combat climate change.]

After a meeting with Musk this week at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida estate, Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said the multi-billionaire was giving “serious thought” to bankrolling the party.

The prospect has been met with alarm inside the Labour government, with sources suggesting that it would “not be within the spirit” of the existing party funding rules and that it underlined the need for the legislation to be tightened up.

Electoral law in the UK currently stipulates that all donations and loans to political parties worth more than £500 should come from “permissible donors” registered in the UK. These include voters on the electoral register or companies registered in the UK.

The watchdog also wants political parties to be legally bound to make enhanced checks on donations to assess their risk, and to ensure those who donate to “unincorporated associations” are permissible donors.

“It’s crucial that UK voters have trust in the financing of our political system, so they need to see how parties and campaigners are financed and how they spend that money at elections,” Rangarajan told the Guardian.

“Our current laws include checks on the permissibility of donations and are intended to provide transparency over the source of political donations. But the system needs strengthening, and we have been calling for changes to the law since 2013, to protect the electoral system from foreign interference.

“We recommend three key changes: limit company donations to the money that they have made in the UK; legally require parties to conduct know-your-donor checks on donations to assess and manage their risks; and ensure those who donate to unincorporated associations are permissible donors. We are discussing these proposals with the government.”

Labour pledged in its manifesto to protect democracy from the threat of foreign interference by strengthening rules around donations. The Guardian understands that officials have already begun detailed discussions with the watchdog over drafting and implementation of the plans.

“Now is the moment to close the loophole,” said one source. “Any donation from Musk would be a significant risk politically because it would open up Reform UK to the charge of being financed by foreign money.”

As a US citizen, Musk cannot legally make a personal political donation to a British political party. But in an interview after the meeting Farage said: “He wants to help us, he’s not opposed to the idea of giving us money, provided we can do it legally through UK companies.”

Reform UK has said it wants to “professionalise” the party as it attempts to grow its support after winning five seats at the general election. This could include setting up offices in constituencies across the country, an internal research operation and spending millions on political advertising.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “The rules around donations are already clear and work is ongoing to reinforce the existing safeguards in that space … we’ll set out more details on that in due course.”

Tightening the rules would require primary legislation and ministers are not expected to bring forward a bill to deliver on their manifesto pledge until the end of next year at the earliest, with the changes not introduced until 2026.

Some officials are concerned that pressing ahead with the Electoral Commission’s recommendations any sooner could look like a politically motivated attempt to prevent Reform UK from building up a war chest before the next election.

But Labour backbenchers are pressing the government to act. Joe Powell, the MP for Kensington and Bayswater, said on BlueSky: “I am utterly staggered by Reform UK’s shameless plans to subvert UK election law. [We are sure Reform and Mr Musk will act lawfully at all times, with integrity and honesty, unlike politicians who say they won't raise taxes, and then proceed like Vampires, to drain the life blood of helpless pensioners with stealth taxes. Those very same persons who voted Labour and trusted them, mainly because they had no other choice. Reform UK is the next logical choice. A chance to shake up stagnant UK.]

“A Reform MP explained to me this morning just how they’ll do it. This is about more than any specific individual – it’s about hostile foreign actors trying to undermine our democracy.” [UK based businesses are hardly hostile, they have invested in the UK in good faith, and should have a say about an administration that says one thing to get elected, then does the opposite one their feet are under desks in Downing Street. UK bosses are entitled to free speech and freedom of thought, as per Articles 9 and 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998.]

Labour figures are also concerned about the photograph of Reform UK’s treasurer, Nick Candy, a multimillionaire property magnate, posing alongside Musk and Farage at the Mar-a-Lago meeting.

They fear that wealthy rightwingers could be encouraged to donate to Reform UK in anticipation of a similar meeting with a senior member of the Trump administration, particularly if they run a business that could be hit by tariffs.

The Commission on Standards in Public Life, which advises the PM on ethical issues, has also previously recommended that donations be linked to UK profits in its review on regulating election finance.

Lord Khan of Burnley, an elections minister, told peers this month: “We are considering changes that will help protect our system from foreign interference, such as tighter controls on donations.

“For example, the Electoral Commission has pointed to a need to consider the rules on company donations. Details of these proposals will be brought forward in due course.” [What about rules to prevent potholes from housing over development in the countryside?]

MSN NEWS - 18 DECEMBER 2024 - MUSK READY TO BANKROLL FARAGE 'WITH BIGGEST DONATION IN BRITISH POLITICAL HISTORY'

Elon Musk has backed Reform UK and opened discussions with Nigel Farage about making a major donation to the party to defeat both Labour and the Conservatives.

Mr Farage met the tech billionaire at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida club, on Monday and “the issue of money was discussed” amid speculation that he could donate as much as $100 million (£78 million).

Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Farage, the Reform leader, said Mr Musk “left us in no doubt that he is right behind us” and launched “ongoing negotiations” about a financial contribution.

It is the first time that either Mr Farage or Mr Musk has acknowledged rumours that the latter is considering a multi-million pound donation, which could be the largest in British political history.

The SpaceX and Tesla entrepreneur is a vocal critic of the Labour Government and has accused Sir Keir Starmer of eroding freedom of speech by running a “tyrannical police state”. [We know of cases where legitimate complaints to police, have led to the complainant's being arrested, instead of those in positions of trust who are accused of crimes. The police are thus being used like the Gestapo to attack political opposition and quash legitimate concerns. With chief constables in on it. These are termed SLAPP actions, designed to prevent Public Participation.]

Mr Farage shared a photograph of the two on Tuesday with the caption: “Britain needs Reform.” Mr Musk replied: “Absolutely.”

The Reform leader was joined by Nick Candy, a London property magnate and former Conservative donor who defected to Reform last week, becoming the party’s treasurer and promising to bring in “tens of millions of pounds”.

Mr Farage wrote that he hoped to learn from Mr Trump’s election victory and had discussed the Republican “ground game” in Pennsylvania, where Mr Musk controversially gave cash handouts to registered voters.

He said: “I have come home with copious notes of how they increased the turnout, voter registration and so much more, and all of this I intend to implement as part of the professionalisation of our party.

“It is also heartening to listen to Elon speak about UK politics with such deep care. He regards the mother country of the English-speaking world as being in very deep trouble. [Of that there is little doubt]

“Inevitably, following such intense media speculation, the issue of money was discussed and there will be ongoing negotiations on that score.”

The Telegraph understands that Mr Musk has significant concerns about the UK’s Online Safety Act, which requires social media companies including X – which he owns – to regulate their content.

Scrapping or amending the legislation may become a key request of Mr Trump when he enters trade negotiations with Britain next year.

Mr Trump’s team has warned that the UK must choose between a closer trade relationship with either the US or the EU, suggesting that talks could end with tariffs of up to 20 per cent on UK exports if the incoming president is not placated.

Mr Farage said that, during his visit to Mar-a-Lago, several of Mr Trump’s allies had asked him about Sir Keir’s decision to sign away the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which some Republicans think will threaten the Diego Garcia airbase.

“I was able to assure them that the Chagos Islands’ surrender was not only wholly unnecessary but represented a bad deal for the United Kingdom, America, the free world and not least the Chagossian people,” he said. “I promise the Labour Government there is trouble ahead on this issue.”

In a sign of Mr Farage’s growing familiarity with the new Trump administration, he also met JD Vance, the vice president-elect.

Mr Vance has spoken to Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, and David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, since the US election last month, but no party leader other than Mr Farage has met Mr Musk.

In a statement, Mr Farage said: “I had a great meeting with vice-president elect JD Vance yesterday. He is a friend of mine and I have known him for 14 years – Kemi Badenoch has known him for 14 days.

“I have always said I will help this Government with contacts. It isn’t just President Trump and the incoming vice-president, but I have known large numbers of the cabinet for many years.

“I will always do what is in the national interest, and renewing strong our ties with America after four years of Joe Biden can only be a good thing for our country.”

On her recent trip to Washington, Mrs Badenoch said she was “excited about Doge”, an efficiency project Mr Musk will lead next year, describing its work as “absolutely brilliant”. But he has declined to return her warm words, preferring to criticise Sir Keir and back Mr Farage.

During riots across the UK in August, he posted online that “civil war is inevitable”, drawing criticism from a Downing Street spokesman, who said there was “no justification for comments like that”.

After Labour imposed inheritance tax on British farmers, he claimed the UK was “going full Stalin”. He also supported a petition for a new general election last month, writing online: “The people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state.”

As a US citizen, Mr Musk cannot legally donate to a UK political party, but he could give Reform money via the British branch of X.

A contribution of £78 million would easily eclipse the biggest single party donation in British history – a £10 million gift by Lord Sainsbury to the Conservative Party in 2023. It would also deal a major blow to both Labour and the Conservatives, who are challenging Reform in dozens of local council elections in May.

Lord Mandelson, the Labour peer in contention to be the UK’s next ambassador to the US, has said the Government must use Mr Farage and other Trump allies as a “bridge” to Mr Musk, and that it would be “unwise” to ignore him.

What have you got to lose? Reform cannot make more of a foul up than the previous charlatan's pothole policies.

PARTY OBJECTIVES

The Party believes that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereinafter “The United Kingdom”) should only be governed by her own citizens and that its governance shall at all times be conducted first and foremost in the interests of the United Kingdom and its peoples and that the only laws that should apply within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom are those wholly made by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Party further believes that the integrity of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereinafter “The United Kingdom”) should be
maintained.

In pursuit of these objectives the Party will at all times adhere to the principle of full equality before the law. The Party shall conduct itself and its affairs in such a way that it does not discriminate against or in favour of any person on the grounds of their race, religion, gender, ethnic origin, education, beliefs, sexual orientation, class, social status, sectarianism or any other basis prescribed by law. Further the Party shall at all times adhere to the principles of the rule of law, liberty, democracy and respect for the human rights and the essential, traditional freedoms of the people of the United Kingdom and those under the protection of the United Kingdom.

Nigel Farage

Nick Candy

https://www.https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/musk-ready-to-bankroll-farage-with-biggest-donation-in-british-political-history/ar-AA1w1mnc
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/18/starmer-protect-elections-foreign-interference-elon-musk