Should Elon Musk butt out of UK politics?

6 January 2025, 18:28

Foreign intervention in a country’s domestic politics is rarely greeted with rapturous applause. 

Remember Donald Trump’s sharp words about Labour party members volunteering for the Democrats during the presidential election campaign.

But when the interference originates from the world’s richest man, with direct control of a dominant social media outlet, who also happens to be a member of the incoming US administration, it can have severe or even tragic consequences.

So far, his ill-informed pronouncements about the UK have further polarised communities, inflamed tensions, and increased the risk of individuals being targeted. 

His association with Trump’s team also makes for a choppier relationship between the US and the UK.

Which of the damaging actions of the self-professed ‘Chief Troll officer’ should the government seek to thwart?

The UK government is unlikely to attempt to stop Musk using X as his personal megaphone to promote extremists in the UK or far right groups like the AfD party in Germany (‘suspected’ of extremism by a German court).

But the UK government should want to deny billionaires (foreign or British) the ability to buy influence over policy and politicians, at the expense of the average voter.

The simplest way to do this would be to introduce a strict cap on political donations.

We advocate £5,000 per company or per individual, per year.The good news for the UK government is that action to reduce Musk’s influence, cap donations and get him to butt out of UK politics would be popular. 

2 out of 3 respondents to a recent UK poll said they didn’t want Musk to become influential in UK politics. 

And a poll conducted for Unlock Democracy last month found that by more than 4 to 1, the public favour limiting the amount of money companies or individuals can donate to political parties or politicians. 

Musk would be the first to back such a proposition. 

He was after all very keen to invoke the criminal statutes he claimed Labour volunteers had violated in the US when they helped Kamala Harris’s campaign. 

He could hardly complain if similar moves were taken to stop foreigners meddling in electioneering here.

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Tom Brake is the Director of non-profit Unlock Democracy.

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