UK government tables crypto donation ban; Labour MPs push tougher

Some Labour MPs want to go further. Liam Byrne, the Labour chair of the Commons business and trade committee, is leading an amendment that would ban cryptocurrency for good. According to the Guardian, which first reported the push, his proposal had drawn at least 20 signatures by midday Thursday. The Liberal Democrats have separately tabled an amendment requiring parties to disclose past crypto donations.

Byrne has made his case directly. In a video on X, he said £200 million had “come flooding in to build the media political complex behind populists in Britain” over the past five years, and that without action “all kinds of dark money” could “wash up in UK politics without us really knowing where it’s coming from.”

Other changes reported by the Guardian would lower campaign spending limits and screen donations for signs of foreign interference. The bill returns to the House of Commons on July 14, when MPs will weigh the government’s amendment against the tougher proposals.