Rupert Lowe, leader of the hard-right party Restore Britain, has revealed that he considered but ultimately turned down an offer from Elon Musk to give the party "as much money as we wanted", made at a fundraising event in Mayfair for Restore's exclusive "Cromwell Club" donor network. Lowe said he rejected the offer partly because of "optics" and partly because accepting foreign money would be illegal under UK electoral law, which requires donors to be registered UK voters or UK-registered companies. The revelation highlights the close but complicated relationship between Musk, a vocal backer of Lowe's party since its February launch, and British politics, as scrutiny of party funding intensifies.

Lowe told other attendees that Musk had made the unlimited financial offer, though he maintained that Musk's social media support was "incredibly powerful" and did not need to be disclosed, unlike a cash donation, which would have to be declared to the Electoral Commission and returned within 30 days if impermissible. The disclosure comes as rival party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, faces a Metropolitan Police investigation following a Channel 4 undercover sting, and after Reform received a record £72 million in donations from two crypto billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, in 24 hours—taking its total fundraising this year to almost £90 million, far outstripping the Conservatives (£10 million) and Labour (£8 million).