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.
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Nigel Farage has lashed out at a Labour push to wipe out two 'super-donations' to Reform.
Mr Farage insisted the gifts from crypto billionaires - totalling £72million - were 'compliant' with the law as it stands.
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it → see → law
But he would not be drawn beyond saying he was 'confident' they would remain permissible even if the Government goes ahead with retrospective changes.
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Government → draw → changes
Panic erupted in Labour circles after the huge donations from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has urged Andy Burnham to act, but insisted the flow of union cash should not be affected.
Rules to crack down on overseas political funding are still going through Parliament, but they are due to be backdated.
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they → erupt → Parliament
That means expats who have donated money since the end of March, including those who subsequently moved back to the UK, will be restricted to giving £100,000 a year.
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who → mean → 100,000
A 'minimum residency' period of a year has also been proposed before the cap is removed.
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cap → propose → year
Both Mr Harborne and Mr Delo are thought to have moved back to the UK, but the timings are unclear.
uncertain
timings → think → UK
Mr Farage told the BBC: 'Both these donations are 100 per cent compliant with the law today, of that there is no question whatsoever,' the Reform leader told the BBC.
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leader → tell → BBC
Asked whether Mr Delo and Mr Harborne were UK residents as of March 25 - the cutoff date before the restrictions would apply - he replied: 'I'm not going to go into their particular details.
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I → ask → details
All I'm going to say is, with the law of the land as it stands, they are both compliant.
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they → go → land
Now, there is talk, and Angela Rayner was talking about this yesterday, there is talk of them retrospectively declaring donations illegal.
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donations → be → this
Earlier, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice condemned 'hyperventilating hypocrisy' from critics.
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Tice → condemn → critics
And ex-PM Boris Johnson said the demands for restrictions looked 'absolutely pathetic' given Labour had been 'troughing' on union cash for years.
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Labour → say → years
Nigel Farage insisted the gifts from crypto billionaires - totalling £72million - were 'compliant' with the law as it stands
Andy Burnham has been urged to crack down further on donations to political parties
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak (pictured addressing the annual conference in Brighton today) said the gifts from crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo showed the influence of the 'super-rich'
Downing Street has said it had set up a unit to look at what extra restrictions need to be put on political funding.
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restrictions → insist → funding
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Nowak – who will address the TUC conference in Brighton later – was asked if he wanted the donations blocked retrospectively.
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donations → speak → Brighton
'I'm not quite sure what the detail of the law would look like, but I am quite sure about this,' he said.
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he → look → this
'Nobody can be comfortable about the prospect of the super-rich effectively buying and selling British politics...
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rich → buy → politics
'This is the Americafication of our politics and I don't say that in a good way.'
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I → say → way
Mr Nowak dismissed the idea that union funding was comparable to the Reform donations.
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funding → dismiss → donations
'Everybody knows what we're after because we are open democratic organisations that represent millions of working people up and down this country,' he said.
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he → know → country
As far as I'm concerned trade union money is the cleanest most transparent money in British politics.'
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money → concern → politics
However, Labour former Cabinet minister Lord Blunkett said he believed union donations should be covered by a limit.
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donations → say → limit
'Obviously, we've been talking about overseas donations.
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we → talk → donations
I think there should be a cap on donations internally as well for domestic reasons,' he told Times Radio.
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he → think → Radio
And I think we should reach an agreement that respects that both business, trade unions, and wealthy individuals, as well as the poor devils who sustain the Labour Party over the many years I've been in it, which is giving £20 here and £50 there.
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which → think → 20
'All of us deserve a system that protects our freedom, protects our democracy and allows us to argue the case without distorting that case.'
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us → deserve → case
Mr Johnson waded in to condemn Labour's hypocrisy on funding.
'Just because some people want to support one party very generously, Labour kicks up a huge fuss and says they're going to cap donations,' he told GB News.
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he → wad → News
They've got huge amounts of money – troughing it from the trade unions.
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They → get → unions
It's absolutely ridiculous Labour are trying to cap donations.
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Labour → try → donations
I think the next election is going to be fought on the shape of the British economy and on British society and the government that has the most credible [plan] and I think it's the Conservatives...
'
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it → think → ]
Kemi Badenoch, I think, has the most credible plan for cutting the grotesque expansion in welfare spending, in spending more on defence, as some of your correspondents have just been saying.
'
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some → think → correspondents
That is where the argument is going to be.'
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argument → go → ?
Under the Representation of the People Bill, which was being debated in the Lords this afternoon, a 'minimum residency period' could prevent expats returning to Britain from breaching the limit for a calendar year after they come home.
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they → debate → year
Labour peer Lord Wills, a former justice minister, intends to amend the Bill so that political donations from those living in the UK could also be capped.
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donations → intend → UK
Speaking in Monday's debate in the Lords, he said: 'This is a matter of fundamental principle about our democracy.
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This → speak → democracy
'Individual wealth and malign state interest have been poisoning our politics for years now.
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wealth → poison → years
And increasingly in ways that have never been seen before.
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that → see → ways
He added: 'Capping political donations is only a start to tackling these challenges to our democracy.
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Capping → add → democracy
But we have to start somewhere and this Bill offers us an opportunity to do so.
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Bill → have → opportunity
Large political donations and the challenges they pose to the health of our democracy have been evident for many years.'
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they → pose → years
Lord Wills earlier told his fellow peers his contribution to the debate had been written before news broke of Reform's mega-donations, adding: 'What I'm about to say should not be interpreted as referring directly to those donations.'
Asked in interviews yesterday whether the law could spell problems for two recent £36million donations to Reform from cryptocurrency billionaires living abroad
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law → tell → billionaires
…and 13 more, not listed.
