LONDON, Dec 18, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Tech billionaire Elon Musk is in talks with 
UK anti-immigration firebrand Nigel Farage about donating to his hard-right 
party, the British lawmaker has said.

Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, Farage said "the issue of money was 
discussed" when he met the X owner at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in 
Florida on Monday.

"There will be ongoing negotiations on that score," the arch-Eurosceptic 
wrote, in comments that will likely unnerve the ruling Labour party and main 
Conservative opposition.

Musk "described the Labour and Conservative parties as the uniparty, and left 
us in no doubt that he is right behind us", Farage added.

Farage's upstart Reform UK party won five seats in the 650-seat UK parliament 
in July's general election, although it received roughly 14 percent of total 
votes cast.

Reform took support from both Labour and the Tories, and the Brexit 
cheerleader has said it can win the next election in 2029 -- although 
Britain's voting system favours the two main parties.

Newspaper reports have suggested that Musk is preparing to donate up to $100 
million to Reform, but Farage told the BBC on Tuesday that the pair did not 
discuss numbers.

"He wants to help us, he's not opposed to the idea of giving us money 
provided we can do it legally through UK companies," he told the broadcaster.

- Funding loopholes -

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Musk and Farage -- the MP for Clacton, east of London -- 
are both ardent supporters of Trump.

Musk spent at least $270 million to help the Republican win the US 
presidency, according to recent federal filings, making him the country's 
biggest political donor.

Trump has picked the South African-born tycoon to co-lead the so-called 
Department of Government Efficiency when he returns to the White House on 
January 20.

His role is likely to complicate relations between UK Prime Minister Keir 
Starmer and Trump since Musk has been a vocal critic of the Labour 
government.

He has branded Britain a "tyrannical police state" and drew criticism from 
Downing Street during far-right riots this summer when Musk said "civil war 
is inevitable" in the country.

Foreign donations to UK political parties are technically banned, but there 
are loopholes in which donors abroad can give money through British entities.

The government has said it is "committed to strengthening the rules".

Farage has previously criticised American political figures for wading into 
UK politics.

In 2016, he said then-president Barack Obama had "behaved disgracefully" by 
suggesting the UK would be "at the back of the queue" for a US trade deal if 
it voted for Brexit.