Lord Carlile of Berriew
Crossbench peer and KC, former Liberal Democrat MP and terrorism legislation reviewer.
Lord Carlile of Berriew has tabled a Lords amendment to the Representation of the People Bill capping any UK-resident donor at £5m a year, the most permissive of four donation caps awaiting committee stage on 5 October 2026.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Would a £5m yearly donor cap stop the biggest gifts to parties?
Timeline for Lord Carlile of Berriew
Tabled a £5m annual cap on UK-resident donors
UK Local Elections 2026: Peers table four caps on party donorsBackground
Lord Carlile of Berriew, Alex Carlile, is a crossbench peer and KC. He was Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomery from 1983 to 1997 and led the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
He became a life peer in 1999 and was the Independent reviewer of terrorism legislation from 2001 to 2011, reporting on how counter-terrorism powers were used. He left the Liberal Democrats in 2016 and has sat as a crossbencher since.
In the Lords he has turned to party funding. His 2026 amendment to the Representation of the People Bill would set a £5m annual limit on any UK-resident donor, counting connected persons together.
Carlile proposes a £5m yearly ceiling
MPs approved the Representation of the People Bill at Third Reading on 2 September 2026, 411 to 102, and it reached the Lords with no general cap on donations.
After peers gave the Bill its Second Reading on 14 September, Carlile tabled an amendment limiting any UK-resident donor to £5m a year, with connected persons counted together. By 5 October it was one of 73 amendments waiting for a committee stage with no date set, and the loosest of four donation caps, against Lord Cromwell's £100,000 every five years at the other end. As drafted, none of the four would apply to gifts made before the new law starts.
What is Lord Carlile's donation cap amendment?
Who is Lord Carlile of Berriew?
Is Lord Carlile still a Liberal Democrat?
