Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, known crypto tycoons, have donated £36 million and £5 million respectively to the political party Reform UK. This donation surpasses previous records for individual contributions in British politics. The donations come amid ongoing debates over campaign finance regulations, with Labour already imposing a cap on expatriate donations and proposed restrictions from the government aiming to limit individual donor influence.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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.
Written for “Reform Uk Receives Large Donations” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
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Mr Harborne, whose £5 million personal gift to Nigel Farage to pay for his security is the subject of a parliamentary investigation, told The Telegraph that Reform “needs more money than can be provided by membership fees alone” to create the sort of infrastructure older parties have built over more than a century.
asserted
parties → pay → century
It comes the day after Mr Delo, who was convicted in the US of failing to establish an adequate anti-money laundering program, provided his own £36 million donation to ensure a "fair fight and a level playing field" against the entrenched advantages of the Labour and Conservative parties.
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who → come → parties
Before Friday, the largest single donation to a political party had been a £10 million bequest left to the Conservatives, while the biggest donation from a living person was £9 million given by Mr Harborne to Reform last year.
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donation → leave → Reform
Earlier this year Labour imposed a cap of £100,000 on donations to political parties from expatriate donors.
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Labour → impose → donors
The government has also proposed further restrictions on donations in its Representation of the People Bill, with some MPs calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to impose caps on UK-based individual donors to match the cap on foreign donors.
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MPs → propose → donors
The BitMEX co-founder Mr Delo has accused the Government of wanting to “rig” the next election and the donations from him and Mr Harborne have come before Labour has a chance to make major changes to donation rules.
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Labour → accuse → rules
In February 2022, Mr Delo pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program at BitMEX.
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Delo → plead → BitMEX
But he was granted an unconditional pardon last year by US President Donald Trump.
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he → grant → Trump
Writing for the Telegraph, 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.
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I → write → fight
“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 → spend → government
The two donations mean that Reform has now raised more than £86m in donations so far this year, compared to £10.2 million raised by the Conservatives and £7.7 million by Labour.
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Reform → mean → Labour
Mr Farage told The Telegraph: “I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have shown such confidence in Reform.
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Delo → tell → Reform
Read More
“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.”
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we → read → field
The extra £72 million that Reform now has to spend will enable it to recruit more policy staff and campaign managers in target constituencies.
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Reform → have → constituencies
The huge donations will be a welcome boost to Nigel Farage’s party at a time where he is facing a police investigation into oversees funding for Reform UK, alongside a standards inquiry into the undeclared £5 million "unconditional gift" he received from Mr Harborne.
Mr Farage has said he has done nothing wrong and the gift was not political.
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gift → face → nothing
Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and has said it will co-operate fully with the probe.
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it → deny → probe
Mr Farage’s long-time aide Dan Jukes, who also denies wrongdoing, and head of policy James Orr have been suspended pending an internal investigation into the allegations.
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who → deny → allegations
A Labour spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage is still up to his neck in scandal over his secret £5 million ‘gift’ from his other crypto-billionaire backer and the criminal investigation into potentially illegal donations.
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Farage → say → donations
“The questions he faces aren’t going away – in fact they’re piling up.
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they → face → fact
“Reform UK can’t buy their way out of questions about sleaze, criminal mates and dodgy finances.
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UK → buy → sleaze
“It’s time Farage and Reform finally came clean with the public, co-operated fully with the police, and proved they’re not just in it for themselves.”
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they → ’ → themselves
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart said: “Nigel Farage wants to bring Trump’s America to our shores by buying his way into power.
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Farage → say → power
He’s trying to get into Number 10 as if it’s a stop on a monopoly board.
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it → try → board
“It can’t go on like this.
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It → go → this
Andy Burnham needs to introduce a cap on political donations.
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Burnham → need → donations
Our democracy depends on it.”
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democracy → depend → it
