Is changing donation laws for Reform retrospectively unfair or politically justified?

[Gav1961]

I wonder if others have a view on this:

I should start by saying I am no supporter of the Reform Party… not by any measure… but it sometimes we all have a right and indeed a duty to speak up when we see injustice. Even when done to those we might dislike. An old-fashioned notion I know, but a valuable one none the less.

So… The Labour party (temporality constituting the government) , who have received tens of millions of pounds from union member subscriptions over the years… so effectively from one body… have decided that whilst the massive donations to Reform are currently legal, they, the labour government with the approval of all the other parties, will make the receipt of such currently legal gifts, retrospectively illegal.

Mmmm…

Last month I saw that same government protest that the convicted ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, cannot be sent back to Pakistan when he is released from prison… because any law made to do this could not be retrospective…. It just would not be British.

OK I have my disagreements and issues with Reform… but does a legitimate UK political party really deserve to be treated worse than a convicted gang leader of groomers?

Anyone else see that as a bit odd, a bit contradictory, a bit self-serving… unconstitutional and illogical? Come on, don’t be shy… it’s just an opinion.

Funny thing is that whilst the cash would undoubtably have helped reform in its bit to run the UK there is one thing that would be more effective in swelling its ranks…. That is a blatantly unfair and self-serving retrospective law hamstringing their attempts to grow.

For anyone who doubts the unintended effects of grossly and manifestly unfair treatment of a one group over another (regardless of its actual merit)… study internment in N Ireland. The single most effective recruited campaign for any organisation… ever. But then not one had at the time tried to bribe the voting public with £5000 dollars each… 😊

People do not like unfairness. I would go so far as to say that Labour are walking into a trap… So predictable was this reaction. Think about it… maybe these guys never thought their £36m was at risk… or am I now getting a little conspiracy theorist?

What are the strategists thinking? Apart from being unfair, non-democratic and blatantly self-serving… There could be no better way to swell the ranks of Reform. The very thing they want to avoid.

His 'philanthropy' has also extended to Rupert Lowe, Yaxley-Lennon, and co and he helped Badenoch out when she got caught out hacking

Well there you go. Foreign influence in the Houses of Parliament.

Well, implying that British people from ethnic minority backgrounds are "foreign" is blatantly racist and I will indeed call it out when I see it.

The fact that you feel no shame over it merely makes you look worse.

Is being a convicted criminal a barrier now? Does that apply to MPs?

They picked foreign ethnicities in their own ethnicity monitoring so you are effectively calling them racist are you not.

Who are the foreign MP's?

Labour panic over Reform but vilifying someone who is a good mathematician and who will give away his wealth is their weakness. Most countries want similar, work hard to attract them and don’t kick themselves in the same way to drive them out.

A business secretary panicking when he should be thinking about who to attract is too politically focused on survival.

There is no such thing as "foreign ethnicity", so no, I'm not calling them racist. I am pointing out your own racism.

Deflection deflection deflection

'From minority ethnic background' does not mean 'not British.
Except to people who are racist or xenophobic, of course.

Yeh I thought that would be pointless. Typical.

Is that declared spending by Reform last year?

Delo might need to correct that figure upwards.

Reform's undercover and probably impermissable donors have been spending freely on not-actually-independent polls etc.

It's mounting up. And that's just the ones which have been caught.

Are you going to ignore he was convicted in the US for money laundering?

If he wasn't pardoned by Trump, do you think many countries would welcome him?

Look up the difference between 'resident' and 'national'.

If Delo and Harborne can prove that they are normally resident in the UK, all is well. So why haven't they done that if it's all so above board?

Reform plots legal challenge if government blocks £72m donations

https://www.thetimes.com/article/383ec4ec-a10a-4c37-a3dc-b7cf060dd1dc?shareToken=3acff326e4dbcf82cb30e6d5693a3f1f

It’s legal currently, it will be relevant when the law passes.

Really? So none of the countries listed in the census ethnicity classifications used by the public sector are foreign countries?

I can't help but believe that ReForm will fritter the money away and there will be outright fraud within Reform of people stealing it or hyper overcharging for their work or services.

Look up my previous post about tax residency.

She is assuming she knows that they haven't declared their residency.

They mentioned taking it to the ECHR

You cant make it up

Do you have a link for these claims?

I doubt anyone on here knows. But they’ll have used lawyers to check laws and what’s coming in. Whether Labour panic and do further changes we’ll see.

It's interesting watching liberal women twist themselves in knots though isn't it.

It's the Piddington phenomenon.

If Delo and Harborne can prove that they are normally resident in the UK, all is well. So why haven't they done that if it's all so above board?

The government haven't decided the legislation yet - best they keep quiet. Why would they help the government out?