BBC News
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Richard Wheeler, Nick Eardley and Iain Watson
Story summary
Reform UK, a new political party led by Nigel Farage, received £72 million in donations over two days in early July 2023. The donations were from British expatriate businessmen Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, each contributing £36 million. This unprecedented funding aims to bolster Reform UK's efforts to become a serious contender for the next general election by hiring top talent and professionalizing their operations.
The donations have sparked debates about political financing in Britain, with Labour politicians calling for stricter donation caps. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner hinted at the possibility of introducing new rules to cap individual donations due to concerns about loopholes that allow large sums from overseas donors. However, Reform UK maintains these donations comply with current laws and are a crucial step toward preparing the party for potential government roles.
Critics argue that such massive donations threaten democratic principles by allowing wealthy individuals significant influence over political parties. Trade unions like Unite have criticized the disparity between small contributions from union members and large sums from billionaires. The ongoing parliamentary debate includes discussions on backdating new rules to cover donations since March 2026, potentially invalidating recent contributions if implemented. Farage has warned against retrospectively declaring these donations illegal, suggesting potential retaliation if his party gains power.
This influx of funds represents a significant shift in the landscape of British politics and underscores growing concerns about the role of wealth in political influence. Farage insists that the money is an investment to ensure Reform UK can effectively challenge established parties like Labour and the Conservatives in future elections. However, there are calls for more stringent regulations on donations to prevent similar large contributions from dominating party financing.
Written for “Reform Uk Donations Controversy” on 2026-09-15,
grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
The government is planning to tighten residency rules for political donors to ensure that those giving significant amounts of money reside in the UK.
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those → publish → UK
The announcement follows a row over two donations totalling £72m to Reform UK from two British crypto-billionaires who have both recently lived abroad.
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who → follow → billionaires
Reform leader Nigel Farage said the donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne are "100% compliant with the law today" but he was unable to say they would be permissible under proposed rule changes.
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they → say → changes
The government wants to change the law on donations to UK political parties from British voters living overseas, including a £100,000 cap backdated to 25 March.
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government → want → March
It also wants to introduce a minimum residency period of at least 12 months in which the cap would still apply for those who move back to the UK.
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who → want → UK
It is not currently clear exactly when Delo and Harborne returned to the UK.
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Delo → return → UK
Under the current rules, foreign donations are illegal in the UK, but British voters living abroad can give as much as they want to political parties.
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they → live → parties
MPs have supported the government's proposals by approving amendments to the Representation of the People Bill.
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MPs → support → Bill
The bill is currently being scrutinised in the House of Lords.
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bill → scrutinise → Lords
Speaking as the bill was debated by peers, Communities Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said: "We are considering how we will strengthen the residency requirements, including ensuring that the length of time spent in the UK aligns with broader government policy."
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length → speak → policy
Baroness Taylor said this was "in addition to introducing a robust regime that ensures that donors contributing above the £100,000 annual cap must demonstrate a genuine and ongoing connection" to the UK.
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donors → say → UK
Tax is one area that already has residency requirements.
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that → have → requirements
The criteria includes someone being declared resident for tax purposes if they have lived in the UK for at least 183 days in the tax year.
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they → include → year
Challenged on whether the government was targeting Reform donors, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said policy on donations is "never about one political party or one particular set of issues".
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policy → challenge → issues
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Fundamentally we need to make sure that people who want to influence British politics, who want a say in British politics have a stake in Britain.
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who → tell → Britain
"That should apply to everyone and will apply to everyone, so I wouldn't make it about any particular donations or anything that's been in the public domain."
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that → apply → domain
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart accused the government of "playing whack-a-mole", as she said Labour's residency requirements "aren't good enough".
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requirements → accuse → mole
She said: "We must urgently go further and introduce a universal donation cap to stop Trump's America becoming Farage's Britain."
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America → say → cap
On Monday, Farage criticised the government's attempts to retrospectively declare some donations illegal.
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donations → criticise → attempts
He told the BBC: "If the government was allowed to do this, you know what would happen?
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what → tell → 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
Union leaders agreed a statement on political donations on Tuesday, following discussions at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton.
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leaders → agree → Brighton
It called on the government to "protect our democracy from being captured by the super-rich" and pledge to work with policymakers to "clean up our politics".
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It → call → politics
They also argued that trade union funding is the "cleanest money in politics" which is "heavily regulated".
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which → argue → politics
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
The government has previously said it was "determined to tackle" the issue of "mega-donors", and has established a new taskforce to do this.
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it → say → this
Unite - the country's second biggest union - has called for a cap of between £500,000 and £1m on individual donations but this would not apply to trade union donations.
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this → call → donations
Other smaller unions favour a cap across the board but some bigger unions are wary in case this would threaten donations to Labour.
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this → favour → Labour
Before the joint statement was issued, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told the BBC that "we're talking about apples and pears" when asked about the donations to Reform and those from trade unions.
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we → issue → unions
She told Today: "Individual donations from very, very wealthy people, from billionaires, the Americanisation of our democracy is very, very different from everyday people, workers putting 10p-a-week into a political fund that fights on a whole range of things."
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that → tell → things
Graham added: "If there's an ick feeling, a yucky feeling about something then it's probably wrong.
"
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it → add → something
I think most people will think two crypto billionaires giving £72m to Reform in two days is a problem for British politics and if it's wrong then deal with it."
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it → think → it
Delo and Harborne each gave £36m to Reform in two days and now share the record for the largest ever donation given to a UK political party.
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Delo → give → party
Both men had already donated millions of pounds to Reform ahead of the announcement of their latest contributions.
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men → donate → contributions
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