AIBU to think all large gifts to politicians should be declared, regardless of whether they are "political"?

[MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack]

Farage claims that the £5m "gift" from Christopher Harbourne was just a personal gift without any political strings attached. He has variously claimed that it was intended to pay for his personal security or that it was intended as a reward for campaigning for Brexit.

Farage claims that he did not declare this "gift" because there is no obligation on politicians to declare "unconditional, non-political, personal gifts".

Given that Harbourne has separately donated millions to Reform to further its political agenda, it is hard to see how the standards committee will reach any conclusion other than to say that the £5m should have been declared. The rules are very clear that gifts should be declared if there is any doubt. So I don't think Farage's defence stacks up.

However, it seems to me absurd that we don't automatically require politicians to declare all gifts or payments over a certain amount, regardless of whether or not they are deemed to be "political". If someone is bunging significant financial "gifts" towards those in power, do we not have a right to know regardless? Is the distinction between "political" and "non-political" gifts not massively open to abuse? Do we not need to know exactly who our politicians are receiving money from, regardless of how the "gifts" might be presented? Is it possible to receive a £5m "personal gift" from someone without feeling some sense of obligation towards them, even if this is never explicitly articulated?

NB this question is not about Farage and his failure to declare the £5m. It is about the wider principle of whether or not we should require all such large gifts to be declared, regardless of their purpose or whether they are deemed to be "political"?

The panic about Reform being elected as the next government is spreading fast. They are all really worried now that their beloved Labour is going to go the same way as the incompetent Tories did.

Well, get used to it.

Of course people are panicking about the prospect of a Reform government. Anyone with any sense and a vague semblance of a moral compass is inevitably going to be concerned. Reform will be catastrophic for this country, including the vast majority of the people who vote for it. It's hardly surprising that people are worried.

It's still a long time before the next election, though, so there is still plenty of time for Farage to be exposed. And while some Reform voters will like his racist rhetoric so much that they just won't care about the corruption, some people may yet come to their senses.

We are not at Peak Farage just yet, but the time will come. We just have to hope it comes before the next election and not after it.

Garage was not an MP at the time of the gift. He didn't become an MP until 10 months later.

Declared where and to whom? At the time he was a private citizen and not elected to anything.

Labour MP's certainly mopped up the freebies and Lord Ali gave Starmer glasses for passes to number 10 Downing Street. Starmer lied about his son needing a quiet place to do his GCSE revision because gcs 's are over in June and he stayed in penthouse in July.

As always, I agree with you @MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack. I think we’re getting very close to peak Reform now. Between Farage seeming to be afraid to show his face and the shitshow they’re making of running local councils, they’re running out of road.

Every gift a politician receives should be subject to scrutiny and foreign donations and those made in digital currencies should be banned entirely.

All declared. Unlike Farage’s millions.

All the Farage supporters are on the ball!

Yes, and the rules declare that gifts received by newly elected MPs in the 12 months prior to their election must be declared. So it's clear that the "gift" should have been declared.

I note that Farage had previously decided not to stand for election in 2024, but he had a last minute change of heart shortly after receiving the £5m gift. That's quite interesting in itself.

On the register of interests once he was elected, as per parliamentary rules which require declarations relating to the 12 months prior to election.

For the person who asked, it should have been declared on the MPs' register of interests.

And yes, he does have to declare gifts received before he was elected. Clearly the folks who wrote the rules weren't daft!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0l26g01703o
The Commons code of conduct states that new MPs "must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election".
The rules say "purely personal gifts or benefits" from family or commercial loans would not normally have to be registered.
The rules also say "both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered", adding "if there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered".

No. Farage received the gift for his personal protection/reward for Brexit/donation in early 2024. He became an MP on 4 July 2024. So not 10 months and well within the relevant 12 months.

Given Farage and Reform can't keep the story straight and given Farage has pretty much gone to ground, I'd say there is something thing 🐟 here.

The point of this thread is not really to discuss the issues around Farage himself. The parliamentary standards committee is conducting its investigation and will no doubt reach a conclusion at some point.

My point is that no politician of any party should be allowed to hide large gifts by claiming that they are personal. I think we have a right to know who is giving large sums of money to our politicians, regardless of what they might claim that money is for. This is not a party political argument, it's about transparency for politicians for all parties.

I note that Farage had previously decided not to stand for election in 2024, but he had a last minute change of heart shortly after receiving the £5m gift. That's quite interesting in itself.

I didn't know that, @MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack so thank you for the info re the timeline.

I know coincidence doesn't prove causation, but it was a very convenient "coincidence".

And got absolutely roasted for it, even though the gifts were declared.

But when it comes to Farage, £5m is shrugged off by his supporters in the same way the racism of Reform councillors is shrugged off.

Or inconvenient since the news of the donation came out.

Yes, I do think all substantial gifts should be declared, you could have a limit like “anything above £1000 value” or “excluding gifts from family members” to stop Starmer having to list what his wife gave him for his birthday etc.

Id also set the time limit to 2 years before becoming an MP for anything above a £10k, gifted, earned, etc.

I don’t think this is just a Farage thing- but it has highlighted it as an issue. In the same way we should know who is funding parties and campaigns, we should know about personal gifts to MP of high value.

Then you won't have an issue with this gift to Farage being scrutinised?

I don't have an issue with scrutiny of any politician.

Farage seems to able to do exactly as he pleases accepting gifts from any Tom, Dick and Harry and then spouting sh*t to say how he needed it.
The authorities are scared of him since his bank account row (wasn't allowed to join some fancy bank so he threatened to close them down).
Everyone else buying a house has to go through money laundering checks (where was that £10 from - pensioners Christmas bonus) why not him.

Of course they should be. As for Farage, does he think people are stupid? No one in their right mind thinks that a gift of £5M passes the sniff test.

The register of MPs interests isn't a register of crimes. It's just to keep a record of what they've received, so we the public can keep an eye on whether these benefits seem to have influenced them or not.

Somebody staying at a friend's house rather than a hotel is the sort of thing most of us have done without it being a bribe to influence our work. But it's a benefit so MPs declare it so that it can be scrutinised just in case.

In Farage's case, he announced he was retiring from politics in 2021 and resigned as leader of Reform. He has since become heavily involved in c-money.*

Then on 5 April 2024 he received £5 million from a c-money billionaire, and on 3 June 2024 announced he was standing for Parliament.

(* MN holds posts pending approval if you spell out the c-money word. I'll put the links in a separate post because of this.)

One of the reasons billionaires are billionaires is because they don't spaff £5M without getting something in return.

Lib Dems call for inquiry into Farage Bitcoin deal
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9vgw2g3w2o

Farage faces standards probe into £5m gift from crypto billionaire
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0l26g01703o

Absolutely

this has really rattled Farage’s cage he needs to be questioned about it time and time again by the media and MP as that jolly man of the people facade is slipping