Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, has declared that the £72 million in donations his party received from two wealthy businessmen as compliant with current laws. The donations, each for £36 million, are described as the largest in British political history. However, Farage was unable to confirm whether these donors were resident in the UK by a March 25, 2026 deadline, which is part of proposed legislation aimed at capping foreign donations to political parties at £100,000 annually. The article highlights Farage's criticism of retrospective rule changes and his threat to limit trade union donations if such rules are enacted.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
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, led by Nigel Farage, received two record-breaking donations of £36 million each from cryptocurrency investors Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne in as little as 48 hours, totaling £72 million. This makes it the largest political donation in British history. The donations are aimed at professionalizing Reform UK to compete with established parties like Labour and Conservatives ahead of the next general election.
Farage insists that these donations comply with current laws but questions if they would remain legal under proposed changes being debated in Parliament, which could impose a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British expats. These new regulations might be backdated to March 25, potentially affecting the legality of past and future large-scale donations.
Critics argue that such massive funding distorts democratic processes and calls for caps on individual political donations. Labour MP Angela Rayner hinted at introducing a donation cap due to concerns about loopholes allowing wealthy individuals to exert undue influence over politics. There is also growing speculation around the establishment of an 'attack unit' within Reform UK, aimed at targeting rival parties.
The controversy highlights the ongoing debate over the role and regulation of big money in British politics, with potential implications for political funding rules moving forward. Philip Rycroft, a former civil servant, proposed measures to limit foreign influence, which could indirectly affect donations from those who have recently returned to Britain from abroad, like Delo and Harborne. This situation underscores the need for clearer guidelines on political financing and accountability in modern British politics.
Written for “Reform Uk Donations Controversy” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said two big donations given to his party are "100% compliant with the law today", but was not able say whether they would be permissible if a rule change, currently being debated in Parliament, were passed.
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change → publish → Parliament
Ministers are seeking to put a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British expats, backdated to 25 March 2026.
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Ministers → seek → March
Farage argued the government should not retrospectively declare donations illegal and threatened to retaliate by limiting trade union donations, if elected PM.
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donations → argue → donations
Trade union leader Paul Nowak said there was no similarity between "care workers chipping in a few quid a year through their union and a party bought and paid for by billionaires."
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workers → say → billionaires
Over the weekend, Reform announced that it had received two donations of £36m each from wealthy businessmen Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, who are both British but have until recently lived abroad.
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who → announce → businessmen
Speaking to the BBC, Farage said there was "no question" their donations - the largest in British political history - were within the law "as it stands".
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it → speak → law
Asked if the two men were resident in the UK by 25 March, Farage said: "I'm not going into their particular details."
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I → ask → details
He went on to criticise the government's attempts to retrospectively declare some donations illegal, saying: "This cannot be."
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This → go → attempts
"If the government was allowed to do this, you know what would happen?
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what → allow → this
We or the Conservatives would say 'if you're going to stop legitimate donors like this, we would say to the trade unions, you can't give money'."
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you → say → money
Farage argued such a move would "collapse" the system of political funding and lead to taxpayers having to fund political parties, a system he said would be opposed by the British public.
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he → argue → public
Since 2020, Labour has received almost £43m from trade unions, who raise their money through individual workers' membership fees.
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who → receive → fees
The House of Lords is currently debating the government's Representation of the People Bill which caps the amount British people living overseas can donate to political parties at £100,000.
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people → debate → 100,000
The bill also states that those who moved back to the UK would have to wait for at least a year before donating more than £100,000.
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who → state → 100,000
The legislation states that donors must have been registered as in the UK by 25 March 2026 in order to avoid the cap.
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donors → state → cap
It is not currently clear exactly when Delo and Harborne returned to the UK.
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Delo → return → UK
Education Minister Georgia Gould told the BBC's Today programme the government was "really worried about the big money that is coming into politics... and sometimes money from overseas that is shaping politics rather than the ordinary voters".
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that → tell → voters
She said the new rule changes had been added to the bill, following a report by former senior civil servant Sir Philip Rycroft into foreign interference in British politics, published on 25 March.
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changes → say → March
The two £36m donations to Reform have reignited questions about political funding.
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donations → reignite → funding
Speaking to Matt Chorley on Radio 5 Live, Sir Philip said examining domestic donations had not been within the remit of his review but that there was a case for capping all donations, whether they came from British citizens living in the UK or overseas.
"
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they → speak → UK
I don't see any reason why we should have these mega sums of money coming into British politics," he said.
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he → see → politics
He added that the government's decision to retrospectively ban certain donations was "going to be controversial" but said: "If you say, you're going to change the rules to cap donations at some point in the future, then clearly the risk is that you get a lot of those donations coming through the door before you're able to do that."
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you → add → that
Farage said the donations would allow his party to "catch up with the other big parties" and enable them to "professionalise".
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them → say → parties
He argued that trade unions gave money to Labour so that it would enact their policies and that donors gave money to the Conservative Party in order to get "knighthoods and peerages".
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donors → argue → knighthoods
By contrast he said neither Harborne or Delo would get peerages or government contracts, if Reform won the next general election.
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Reform → say → election
Asked if the two men had influence over Reform's policy on cryptocurrency, Farage said he had shown them his party's paper on the subject and they both "thought it made sense".
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it → ask → sense
He added that the two men "will not benefit" from Reform's policies, which he said aimed to properly regulate cryptocurrency.
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he → add → cryptocurrency
Farage was speaking on the same day as the Trade Unions Congress, the federation of trade unions, held its annual conference.
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Congress → speak → conference
TUC general secretary Nowak said Reform were a "party for sale" and their donations were "a crisis for democracy".
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donations → say → democracy
Sharon Graham, leader of the Unite union, said the government should go further and put a cap between £500,000 and £1m on individual donations made by UK residents
Speaking on Sunday, Conservative shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat said it was important to ensure "we do not end up with a sort of Americanisation of politics where money just sort of runs free".
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money → say → politics
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart called for emergency legislation to cap campaign donations and spending.
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Smart → call → donations
Similarly, the Green Party urged the Labour Party to "find its spine and support a tight cap".
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Party → urge → cap
