Lord Cromwell
Crossbench peer WHO returned to the Lords as a life peer in June 2026.
Lord Cromwell has tabled the tightest of four donation caps on the Representation of the People Bill: £100,000 per individual every five years and £7m a year in total donations to any party. By 5 October 2026 committee stage had no date.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Could a £7m yearly ceiling on party donations pass the Lords?
Timeline for Lord Cromwell
Tabled a £100,000 five-year individual cap and a £7m party cap
UK Local Elections 2026: Peers table four caps on party donorsBackground
Lord Cromwell is Godfrey Bewicke-Copley, a crossbench member of The House of Lords. He succeeded to the barony of Cromwell in 1982.
He sat as an elected crossbench hereditary peer from 2014 until The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 removed that seat in April 2026. He returned to The House as a life peer on 1 June 2026.
In the autumn of 2026 he tabled a CAP of £100,000 per individual every five years, with a £7m annual limit on each party's donation income, as an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill. Lord Carlile of Berriew's £5m a year sits at the other end of the range.
Cromwell proposes the tightest donation cap
Peers gave the Representation of the People Bill its Second Reading on 14 September 2026. By 5 October, 73 amendments were tabled for committee stage, which had no sitting date. Lord Cromwell's would CAP an individual's gifts at £100,000 every five years and a party's total donation income at £7m a year.
Cromwell tabled one of four amendments that would limit donation size. Unlike Lord Carter of Haslemere's design, which leaves the figure to a ministerial order, it writes the number into the Bill. A CAP of that kind would stop a single donor giving Reform UK what Ben Delo gave it in September. As tabled, his amendment would not apply to money given before the Act comes into force.
What is Lord Cromwell's donation cap?
Who is Lord Cromwell?
Would Lord Cromwell's cap affect past donations?
