The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said on 6 July 2026 that ministers will bring forward a further package of political finance amendments aimed at reducing the risk of foreign money entering UK elections. The measures form part of the government’s response to Philip Rycroft’s independent review and are expected to move through the Representation of the People Bill, whose remaining Commons stages are scheduled for Tuesday 14 July 2026. (gov.uk) This is not a wholesale rewrite of election law. The July package is targeted at three specific pressure points identified in the government’s announcement and in the Rycroft Review: high-value donations linked to overseas residence, company donations that can pass an income test without reflecting genuine profitability, and campaign funding received before a person formally becomes a candidate. (gov.uk)
The first change tightens the rules on overseas-linked giving. Ministers say the earlier annual cap of £100,000 on donations from overseas electors will now be reinforced by a timebound rule for people who have recently moved to the UK, so that returning individuals remain subject to the cap for at least a full calendar year. (gov.uk) In practical terms, that creates a clearer waiting period before very large donations can be made above the cap. The government’s stated purpose is to stop the cap being sidestepped by a rapid change in residence status rather than a settled and current connection to political life in the UK. The second sentence is an inference from the government’s description of the measure as a timebound safeguard. (gov.uk)
The second change concerns company donations. Under the 6 July announcement, political donations from companies will be assessed against post-tax profits over the previous five years rather than revenue alone. The government’s case is that turnover by itself says too little about whether a business has a real operating footprint, makes taxable profit, or is contributing to the UK tax base. (gov.uk) That profits test would sit on top of the Bill’s existing company donor rules. In the government’s published policy summary for the Representation of the People Bill, company donors are required to show a genuine and substantive connection to the UK political system through criteria including headquarters, majority ownership or control by UK electors or UK citizens usually resident in the UK, and sufficient revenue to cover the donation. (gov.uk)
The third element addresses money received before formal candidacy begins. Ministers say candidates will, for the first time, have to show that campaign funding received before they officially become a candidate came from legitimate sources, and they will have to declare pre-candidacy donations above £2,230. (gov.uk) This is designed to close a gap in the present regime. The government says donations received before the regulated election period are not currently subject to the same disclosure rules, while the Rycroft Review recommended that any donations used to fund a candidate’s campaign activity should come from permissible donors throughout the electoral cycle and that donations above £2,230 should be declared when nomination papers are submitted. (gov.uk)
The July package builds on the government’s initial response to the Rycroft Review on 25 March 2026. At that stage ministers accepted two immediate recommendations: an annual £100,000 cap on donations from overseas electors and a moratorium on cryptocurrency donations, both to be delivered through amendments to the same Bill. (gov.uk) The review itself had welcomed the Bill’s earlier direction of travel but argued that more work was needed on overseas voters, corporate donations, cryptoassets, and the rules that apply to candidate and non-party campaign finance outside the main regulated periods. The government now says the 6 July measures accept the remaining recommendations from Philip Rycroft. (gov.uk)
The legislative route is also significant. The Representation of the People Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 12 February 2026, reintroduced on 14 May 2026 after the end of the 2024–26 session, and is now due for its remaining Commons stages on 14 July 2026. (gov.uk) That means the government is using Report stage amendments rather than a separate political finance bill. For parties, candidates, compliance officers and donors, the timetable is therefore relatively compressed: once the amendments are published, the operational question will be how evidence of residence, profitability and source of funds must be documented in practice. The second sentence is an inference from the parliamentary timetable and the government’s chosen legislative vehicle. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk)
For political parties and campaign teams, the policy effect is straightforward. High-value donors with recent overseas residence will face an added restriction, company donors will need a stronger financial basis for their giving, and campaign money raised before formal candidacy will come more clearly within the disclosure net. (gov.uk) For policy readers, the broader point is that ministers are moving the regime further towards source-of-funds scrutiny rather than relying only on whether a donor appears permissible at the point of receipt. Whether the package produces a simpler enforcement position will depend on the final drafting of the amendments and how those tests are applied once enacted. The first sentence is an inference drawn from the published measures on donor caps, profits tests and pre-candidacy declarations. (gov.uk)