A high-profile Tory defector to Reform UK has revealed how much money Elon Musk is likely to donate to his new party.
The tech billionaire has reportedly been considering giving Reform as much as $100 million - and held talks with party leader Nigel Farage in Florida earlier this week.
But Tim Montgomerie, who switched from the Conservatives last month, told Newsnight that the true figure was likely to be much lower, but still “unprecedented in British politics”.
He said: “The $100 million was for America, a country five times bigger than us.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised though if he gave the order of £20 million, which is unprecedented in British politics.
“And I think it probably will happen, and why I think it probably will happen is Elon Musk has clearly got the bug of politics. He’s enjoyed and is committed to what he has done in America, and he made a difference.
“So I think he has an ideological affinity with Reform, which is part of what motivates him. But we’ve also got to remember that he’s a tech guy. He is fascinated by technology and the changes it is having in our world.”
Montgomerie said the UK was “like a laboratory for what [Musk] is interested in”.
“We are at a point where social media is perhaps at least as powerful as mainstream media - it’s direct contact with voters and the trust it has,” he said.
“I think he’s interested in what this thing he’s spent billions on can do.”
“He’s fascinated by technology and Britain - he’s not playing a game - but it’s almost like we’re a laboratory for what he’s interested in”
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) December 18, 2024
Reform UK member @montie speculates that Elon Musk might give twenty million dollars to the party: #Newsnightpic.twitter.com/AWFbBFpovm
It is against the rules for a foreign national, like Musk, to give money directly to a British political party.
However, there is speculation that he could channel any donation through the British arm of X, the social media platform he owns.
The government is known to be looking at how it can tighten the rules further to prevent foreign interference in UK politics.
Harry Quilter-Pinner of the IPPR think-tank told Radio 4′s Today programme: “The rules should be changed so that Elon Musk cannot give £100m to one political party, either through X or shell companies. We need a democracy that is driven by people and not by money.”
