Gifts eclipse prior UK record and last year’s total party donations
Two British-born cryptocurrency billionaires have each donated £36 million (about $48.7 million) to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, totaling £72 million — the largest political donations in British history. The combined gifts eclipse the previous U.K. record of £10 million given to the Conservative Party in 2023 and exceed the sum of all donations made to British political parties last year.
The donations come as Reform is being investigated by police over allegations it broke U.K. rules banning foreign political donations; Reform denies wrongdoing. The scale of the gifts is drawing attention in a political system with strict electoral spending rules and budgets that have traditionally been thinner than in U.S. politics.
The donors are Ben Delo, the British-born co-founder of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, and Christopher Harborne, a dual Thai-British citizen who owns a significant stake in Tether and is based in Thailand. Both said they were backing Reform because they believed the party was best placed to revitalize the U.K.’s slow-growing economy. Both said they sought nothing in return.
Harborne described Reform as “a startup that was up against parties with more than a century of history and deep networks of patronage.” In an article for the Telegraph newspaper, Harborne wrote: “Ben Delo told me he was going to make a record donation of £36m. My competitive spirit inspired me to match it, so that is what I’ve done. And I hope others may join us.”
Farage said the donations meant Reform “will now be able to fight and win the next general election on a level playing field.” Delo said the funding would allow Reform to spend £1 million a month professionalizing the party ahead of the next general election, expected by 2029.
Delo made his fortune as co-founder of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX before being found guilty in 2022 of violating U.S. anti-money-laundering laws; he was pardoned last year by President Trump. In April, he announced he had left Hong Kong to return to the U.K. Harborne recently registered to vote in Britain, which allows him to donate above the proposed £100,000 cap on British citizens living abroad.
A law currently being voted through parliament would restrict British citizens living abroad from donating more than £100,000 to political parties. There are no restrictions on the amount U.K.-based donors can give to parties.
The U.K. parliament’s standards commissioner is also investigating a previously undisclosed £5 million donation, equivalent to around $6.7 million, to Farage from Harborne that was made shortly before Farage said he would stand for election in 2024. Farage says it was a private donation and denies breaking disclosure rules.
Reform has already raised more than any other British political party this year, thanks in part to previous donations by Harborne and Delo. Farage has repeatedly stated that he believes the Labour Party will call a snap election in 2027 as the nation’s public finances deteriorate. Reform, which had led the polls for the past year and a half until its recent scandals, is currently just behind the ruling Labour Party in opinion surveys.
Earlier this month, Farage suspended two top aides after they were recorded by undercover reporters discussing how to funnel illegal donations to the party from a foreign donor, which is against British electoral law. Police are probing the matter. Reform denies it broke any laws.
“My conclusion from Reform’s recent troubles is that the party should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government,” Delo wrote.