Reform UK Receives £72 Million in Two Days as Harborne Matches Delo's Record Donation
Reform UK has received £72 million in less than 48 hours from two cryptocurrency donors, as the party faces allegations over funding irregularities.
Cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne said on Saturday he had donated £36 million to Britain's Reform UK, matching a record contribution made to Nigel Farage's party just a day earlier.
The two donations together give Reform £72 million in less than 48 hours, a sum that exceeds what either the governing Labour Party or the opposition Conservatives spent during last year's general election campaign, according to Electoral Commission figures.
Harborne, already Reform's largest donor, disclosed the contribution in a newspaper article, saying fellow crypto investor Ben Delo's pledge on Friday had inspired him to match it. "What do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government," Harborne wrote.
Delo's donation had already dwarfed the previous record of £10 million left to the Conservatives by British businessman John Sainsbury, who died in 2022. Delo, the British co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX who was convicted of a U.S. Bank Secrecy Act violation and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, said he wanted Reform to spend less time fundraising and more time preparing for government.
The influx of funds comes as Reform confronts allegations about irregularities in its funding, which it denies. Little more than a week ago, the party was hit by claims that two senior aides to Farage had helped arrange for a foreign donor to fund political polling. Earlier in September, Reform said head of policy James Orr and Farage adviser Dan Jukes had stepped down pending an internal investigation after an undercover broadcast alleged the party had broken electoral law by arranging for a U.S. company to pay for polling commissioned by the party.
Reform has denied any wrongdoing, saying it had been targeted in a hoax by climate activists. Farage has said the party had "broken no laws" and had not taken any improper donations. Labour has asked police to investigate possible offences linked to the allegations. Police said they were assessing information provided to them, while the Electoral Commission said it was considering the claims and was in contact with law enforcement.
Farage welcomed the backing from both men on Saturday. "I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have shown such confidence in Reform," he said in a statement. "Both men know that we are the only party that can turn the country around and win the next general election. Thanks to their generosity, we are now able to fight that election on a level playing field."
Reform has said that if it comes to power, it would propose a law to boost crypto adoption, including by cutting capital gains tax for digital assets and creating a bitcoin reserve fund at the Bank of England. The party, whose lead in opinion polls has slipped over the funding allegations, is preparing for the next election, due by 2029.