"...rumours swirl that Elon Musk might be minded to make a $100m donation to Reform... it would be an epic game-changer..."
GB News: 27th December 2024: PopCon Director, Mark Littlewood, argues that it would be very difficult to stop Elon Musk stepping in to save Britain from becoming a “tyrannical police state” if he was determined to do so.
"Reform UK are on the march. If you thought their haul... in the July general election marked their high-water mark, you may have to think again...
...Opinion polls now show a tight three-way race... Local council by-elections are showing an increased Reform presence on the ballot and some pretty good results, mixed in with some spectacular ones...
...Moreover, rumours swirl that Elon Musk might be minded to making a $100m donation to Reform... In the relatively impoverished arena of British politics, it would be an epic game-changer... Farage wouldn’t just start outspending his opponents, financially he would blow them out of the water.
It’s important to underline that Farage has poured scorn on whispers of a mega-donation. Musk himself hasn’t said anything to confirm the suggestions... But...
...let’s imagine a scenario... in which Elon Musk... has decided he’d like to throw a bit of loose change ($100m...) in Farage’s direction. What could or should the British government do to stop it?
Of course, there’d be endless screaming about foreign interference in our democratic processes. Although given Labour sought to facilitate dozens of “volunteers” campaigning for Kamala Harris, this presumably would be based on the scale of that interference, not the principle of it.
Musk would need to find a legal UK-based vehicle to donate directly to a political party here. But that shouldn’t prove problematic for a man of his means... A cap could possibly be imposed – no donation of more than £1m per company per year... But how difficult would it be...
...Crucially though, politics is not just about elections or even parties. Musk could set up a Reform-sympathetic think tank, technically separate from the party, but spending millions a year on honing policies and messages. He could set up a nationwide magazine or newspaper... He could hire huge venues for massive rallies where the speakers were typically senior Reform spokesmen. He could burn through tens of millions quickly – providing a huge boost to a political party without directly donating to it...
...If Musk... wishes to get involved in the British political process, it is near impossible to stop it, unless we are serious about declaring their nation of origin an enemy state. How much influence does the Musk-owned Twitter/X platform already have on British politics? Quite a lot. How are you going to try and regulate that?
Information, education... and ideas all now flow across borders at a bewildering speed. That impacts on our politics and leaves a domestic regulator neutered.
If Elon Musk does want to get more heavily involved in UK politics, you can try to ignore him. But you almost certainly can’t thwart him..."