A group of UK Labour MPs is pushing to permanently ban cryptocurrency donations to political parties and candidates, going beyond the government’s existing temporary moratorium with a report-stage amendment that would treat all crypto-linked contributions as impermissible under election law.
What Labour MPs want to change in the UK donation rules
Labour MP Liam Byrne has tabled amendment NC34, titled “Prohibition on accepting donations in cryptoassets to political parties and candidates,” at the report stage of the Representation of the People Bill. The amendment would classify crypto donations as coming from a non-permissible donor, effectively making them illegal to accept. For related coverage, see Bitcoin ETF Outflows Hit as Ether Fund Streak Ends.
NC34’s scope is broader than a simple token ban. It covers donations made wholly or partly with cryptoassets, donations funded from the proceeds of cryptoassets such as digital tokens and memecoins, and donations accepted via a custodian wallet provider or cryptoasset exchange provider. For related coverage, see Injective npm Package Hit by Attempted Backdoor Attack to Steal Wallet Keys.
That language is designed to close workaround routes. A donor could not, for example, sell memecoins for sterling and then donate the cash, or route a contribution through a crypto exchange to obscure its origins. The amendment explicitly targets these intermediary paths, an approach that goes further than previous proposals to ban crypto donations in the UK.
The Guardian reported on 9 July 2026 that Labour MPs were backing Byrne’s permanent-ban proposal as part of a package of tougher election-finance amendments at report stage. According to unconfirmed reports from crypto media, the effort may have the backing of at least 20 signatories, though this count has not been independently verified from official sources.
If enacted, the Electoral Commission would be required to publish guidance within three months of the section coming into force, giving parties and candidates a clear compliance framework.
How the current UK crypto donation moratorium already works
The UK government announced on 25 March 2026 a complete and immediate ban on cryptocurrency donations in politics, to remain in place until Parliament and the Electoral Commission are satisfied the regulatory environment is robust enough.
The restriction was announced with retrospective intent. The government said parties or candidates who received crypto donations after 25 March 2026 would have 30 days after the law formally comes into force to return those contributions.
There is a critical legal distinction that many reports on the topic miss. The Electoral Commission has clarified that the government intends the moratorium to apply retrospectively from 25 March 2026, but no changes have yet been made to the law itself. The moratorium is policy intent, not enacted statute.
The House of Commons Library has stated that, subject to parliamentary approval, cryptoassets are no longer permissible as donations in UK politics as of 25 March 2026. That conditional language, “subject to parliamentary approval,” is precisely why Byrne’s amendment matters.
Why a permanent ban matters for parties, candidates, and crypto policy
The distinction between a temporary moratorium and a permanent statutory prohibition is not academic. A moratorium can be lifted when the government decides conditions have changed. A permanent ban written into the Representation of the People Bill would require new legislation to reverse.
Byrne’s amendment would convert the framework established in the government’s response to the Rycroft Review into a durable legal prohibition. The proposal’s explicit treatment of crypto proceeds and intermediary services is designed to prevent the kind of routing that a simpler ban might leave open, similar to concerns raised in broader debates about crypto regulation in other jurisdictions.
For political parties and candidates, the practical next steps are concrete. If NC34 passes, the Electoral Commission must publish compliance guidance within three months. Until then, the existing moratorium framework already signals that accepting crypto donations carries legal risk, even without the permanent ban in force.
The amendment’s progress through report stage will determine whether the UK’s current policy-level restriction becomes one of the most comprehensive statutory bans on crypto political donations in any major democracy.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
