Nigel Farage has described a record-breaking £72 million double donation to Reform UK as an “investment in democratic renewal”, promising to transform the often error-prone party into an organisation capable of governing Britain.
The unprecedented funding package came after billionaire financiers Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo each gave £36 million, together setting a new benchmark for political donations in Britain. With Westminster increasingly speculating about the prospect of an early general election, Mr Farage said the money would help Reform recruit “the best minds in every area”.
In an article for the Mail on Sunday, Mr Farage said the cash would be directed towards professionalising Reform UK, including hiring campaign managers in key target seats and attracting leading policy specialists. Sources believe he may also create an “attack unit” focused on challenging political opponents.
Privately, Mr Farage accepts that Reform does not yet possess the experience or depth of talent needed to operate a government.
He said: “The money will be used for one purpose only: to make certain we are ready to form a government at the next election.
“Now the British people have a genuine alternative: a properly funded, professionally organised and determined party that will put this country’s interests first once more. This money is an investment in democratic renewal, pure and simple.”
Nigel Farage celebrated the £72 million combined donation from two crypto billionaires on Saturday. He is pictured at Reform UK’s annual conference on September 5.
The first £36 million donation came from Ben Delo, the BitMEX co-founder and Britain’s first Bitcoin millionaire.
Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based technology investor, matched Delo’s contribution with a further £36 million.
Mr Farage said both crypto billionaires had paid their donations upfront, a move intended to avoid any future Labour effort to impose limits on political gifts. The funding will also accelerate his drive to build a Reform UK operation that can compete with the Conservative and Labour parties.
Reform announced on Friday evening that it had received a £36million donation from Mr Delo, the co-founder of a digital currency trading platform.
Then, on Saturday, it said the sum had been matched by Mr Harborne, a tech investor based in Thailand who is registered as a UK resident for voting and donating purposes.
Until now, the biggest single donation to a political party had been a £10million bequest left to the Tories, while the biggest donation from a living person was the £9million Mr Harborne gave Reform last year.
It takes the total amount raised by Reform this year close to £90million, compared with just over £10 million for the Tories and £8million for Labour.
The main parties have all moved on to an election footing since Mr Burnham succeeded Sir Keir Starmer in July, in case he tries to capitalise on the resultant ‘bounce’ in Labour’s poll ratings.
Sir John Curtice, the country’s pre-eminent election guru, warns below that while the money ‘will leave Reform better placed to fight the next election’ there was ‘no guarantee it will win’.
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Sir John, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said: ‘On their own, local party activists – the troops on the ground – do not win elections. They need ‘air cover’ from effective nationwide campaigning.
It takes the total amount raised by Reform this year close to £90million, compared with just over £10million for the Tories and £8million for Labour
‘And even the best research will not persuade voters to back a party if they do not believe in its objectives.’
Mr Harborne, a former Tory donor who has previously donated a total £15million to Reform, is at the centre of an investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner into whether a personal £5million gift to Mr Farage should have been declared.
It is just one of a slew of negative stories about the source of the party’s finances. Last week the Metropolitan Police launched a criminal inquiry into claims that senior figures in the party breached legal donation rules after being caught on camera in an undercover sting.
Mr Harborne stressed that he did not expect to be rewarded with an honour or influence over policy, as has been the case with donors to other parties.
He said: ‘There will be a lot of media speculation regarding this donation. So what do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing.
‘No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government. I have already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life.
‘I am committed to putting that to work for Britain and humanity as a whole. I want the same as everyone else in Britain: for my children and grandchildren to have the chance to live happy and productive lives here and be rewarded for their hard work.
‘At the next general election, people will have to vote for the party they think will best get that done and I’m making a donation… to the party I believe will do so.’
Mr Delo said that he had given his £36million – in addition to £4million donated earlier this year – because he wanted to ensure a ‘fair fight’ at the next election against the ‘entrenched advantages’ of Reform’s opponents.
The 42-year-old announced he was moving back to the UK this year after Labour announced plans to cap donations from British citizens living abroad.
He 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.’
Mr Harborne says his three main concerns are the ‘existential threats’ facing humanity – nuclear war, artificial intelligence and climate change – and he believes Reform is the only party which can tackle them.
Bridget Phillipson MP, chairwoman of the Labour Party, said: ‘Farage can’t buy his way out of the sleaze and scandal he and Reform UK are drowning in – or the multiple police investigations that are ongoing into Reform’s dodgy finances.
‘The serious questions Farage and Reform need to answer aren’t going away – in fact they’re just piling up. It’s time Farage and Reform came clean with the public and prove they’re not just in it for themselves.’