Reform UK received its second £36 million donation in two days when cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne matched a record-breaking gift announced by Ben Delo. Harborne donated out of what he described as competitive spirit, expecting nothing personally from the party except for readiness for government. This £72 million total exceeds all donations to UK political parties last year combined, drawing scrutiny over Reform's financial practices and raising questions about compliance with electoral laws.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-12,
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Story summary
Reform UK, a new political party in the UK led by Nigel Farage, received two massive donations totaling £72 million within two days, each donation being £36 million. The first donation came from Ben Delo, and the second from Christopher Harborne, who cited his "competitive spirit" after learning of Delo's contribution. Both donors are based in Thailand; Harborne has already donated millions to Reform and Farage personally, leading to an investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether Farage should have declared a £5 million gift ahead of the 2024 election.
The scale of these donations is unprecedented—previously, the largest single donation was £10 million left as a bequest to the Conservatives. The party's leader, Farage, claims that this influx of cash will allow Reform UK to compete on "a level playing field" against established parties like Labour and Conservatives in the next general election. However, there are ongoing investigations into how these foreign donations align with proposed restrictions on political funding outlined in the Representation of the People Bill.
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Leaning score +0.45 for article 8153 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-12
- Published
Reform UK has received a second £36m donation in as many days, as cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne says he has matched a record-breaking donation announced late on Friday.
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he → receive → Friday
Harborne wrote in the Telegraph, external that his "competitive spirit" had inspired him to equal Ben Delo's donation - the largest ever given to a UK political party.
The Thailand-based entrepreneur said he expected "nothing personally" in return aside from "a party that is ready for government".
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that → write → government
The £72m from these two donations is more than the total received by all UK political parties last year.
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m → receive → parties
Reform leader Nigel Farage said Harborne and Delo's "generosity" meant the party would "now be able to fight and win the next general election on a level playing field".
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party → say → field
Harborne has already donated millions to Reform and Farage, who is currently under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5m cash gift from Harborne ahead of the 2024 election.
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he → donate → election
Farage has argued that he was under no obligation to register the "purely private" gift, as it was unrelated to his parliamentary or political activities.
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it → argue → activities
The party is also facing scrutiny over its finances after a broadcast by Channel 4 News last week showed two senior Reform aides apparently suggesting a way around electoral law to secure foreign party donations.
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aides → face → donations
The Metropolitan Police has said it is investigating, while the party denies any wrongdoing.
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party → say → wrongdoing
The force is also looking into donations given to the party by Fiona Cottrell, mother of longstanding Farage ally George Cottrell, as well as a company controlled by its deputy leader Richard Tice.
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force → look → leader
Harborne wrote on Saturday that he had "already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life", while Reform was a "start-up party" that lacked "the benefit of hundreds of years of patronage".
"A start-up party needs more money than can be provided by membership fees alone, to build and sustain itself and be ready for government," he said.
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he → write → government
Harborne and Delo's donations mark the largest sums received by a UK political party since they had to begin declaring them in 2001.
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they → mark → 2001
Delo, who also announced his donation in a Telegraph op-ed, said he was giving the money away because he wanted a "fair fight and a level playing field".
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he → announce → fight
Addressing the recent scrutiny of Reform's finances, he said: "My conclusion from Reform's recent troubles is that they should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government."
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they → address → government
There are currently no restrictions on the amount of money UK-based donors can give to political parties.
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donors → be → parties
However, the Labour government has introduced a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living oversea, and plans to introduce a similar one for those who have recently returned to the UK.
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who → introduce → UK
