Record Donations Propel Reform UK's War Chest
Reform UK has received £72 million in donations within 48 hours from two cryptocurrency billionaires, a record-breaking cash injection that party leader Nigel Farage says will allow it to fight the next general election on a "level playing field."
The first donation, £36 million, was announced on Friday by Ben Delo, the British co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX. A day later, Christopher Harborne, a Thai-based businessman already Reform's biggest donor, said he was matching the sum, according to statements reported by multiple outlets.
The combined figure exceeds what either the governing Labour Party or the opposition Conservatives spent during last year's election campaign, according to Electoral Commission figures cited by several reports. The donations come as Reform, which opinion polls have shown gaining ground, prepares for a general election due by 2029.
Who Are the Donors?
Delo, 42, was born in Sheffield and worked as a software engineer at IBM before moving into finance and co-founding BitMEX in 2014. The platform at its peak handled more than one trillion dollars in trading volume annually, according to his foundation's biography, as reported by the BBC.
In 2022, Delo was convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls at BitMEX, receiving 30 months of probation and a $10 million fine. He was later granted an unconditional pardon by President Donald Trump, as reported by several outlets including the Daily Mirror and LBC.
Harborne, who has been donating to Reform for some time, said he had been giving around £1 million a month to the party. In a Daily Telegraph article, he wrote: "Whilst I have been making donations to Reform of around £1 million a month, Ben Delo told me he was going to make a record donation of £36 million. My competitive spirit inspired me to match it, so that is what I've done."
Delo's donation had already dwarfed the previous record of £10 million left to the Conservatives by the late businessman John Sainsbury, according to Electoral Commission records.
Motivations and Party Response
Both donors framed their gifts as an attempt to counter the financial advantage of other parties. Delo, writing for the Telegraph, said: "Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of 'our democracy' while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field." He said he wanted Reform to "spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government."
Harborne said the donation was "a philanthropic gift to our country" and said: "What do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government."
Farage welcomed the backing, saying he was "honoured and humbled" by Delo's confidence in Reform. He said both men "know that we are the only party that can turn the country around and win the next general election." Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice said the money would allow the party to employ campaign managers in almost every constituency, as well as top-quality researchers and policy staff.
Funding Investigations Cast a Shadow
The donations arrive at a sensitive time for Reform. The party is facing a Metropolitan Police criminal investigation into allegations it breached rules on political donations, including an alleged arrangement for a US company to fund polling. Reform denies any wrongdoing and says it will cooperate fully.
Earlier in September, Reform said two senior aides to Farage had stepped down pending an internal investigation after an undercover Channel 4 investigation alleged the party had broken electoral law. The party has dismissed the allegations as a hoax by climate activists, and Farage has said the party "broken no laws" and taken no improper donations.
Separately, Farage is facing a parliamentary standards investigation into a £5 million personal gift from Harborne in 2024, before Farage was elected to Parliament. The donation was reportedly not declared at the time.
Calls for Donation Caps Intensify
The rise of Reform's mega-donors has prompted debate about political funding. The government has said it is looking at ways of limiting mega-donations to prevent excessive influence, according to reports. Stella Creasy, the Labour MP who has pushed for a cap, said: "The government has admitted UK mega-donors are a problem – donations like this show why we must act." She argued the donations demonstrate the need for legislation to limit what individuals can give.
Meanwhile, Reform has said that if it comes to power, it would propose a law to boost cryptocurrency adoption, including cutting capital gains tax for digital assets and creating a bitcoin reserve fund at the Bank of England.