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BackChristopher Harborne and Ben Delo Donate £36m Each to Reform UK
Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo Donate £36m Each to Reform UK
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Guardian Business7 minutes agoPolitics2 min readUnited Kingdom

Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo Donate £36m Each to Reform UK

The record-breaking donations to the political party have triggered renewed calls for caps on political funding.

Quick Look

  • Cryptocurrency billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo have each donated £36 million to Reform UK.
  • These record-breaking contributions arrive amid ongoing investigations into the party's finances and Nigel Farage's parliamentary conduct.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Reform UK is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police regarding its finances. Nigel Farage is also facing a parliamentary standards probe concerning a previous gift from Harborne.

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The cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne has given £36m to Reform UK, matching a donation from fellow billionaire Ben Delo.

The pledges are jointly the largest donations made to a UK party and are likely to intensify calls for a cap on political donations.

Reform leader, Nigel Farage, said he was “honoured and humbled” by the donations, which come at a time when Reform is facing intense scrutiny regarding its finances.

The Metropolitan police is conducting an inquiry into Reform’s finances, and Farage is facing a parliamentary standards investigation into a £5m gift from Harborne, made before he was first elected an MP in 2024. Reform UK and Farage have denied any wrongdoing.

Farage said: “I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have shown such confidence in Reform.

“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.”

Harborne said: “There will be a lot of media speculation regarding this donation. So what do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government.

“I have already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life. I am committed to putting that to work for Britain and humanity as a whole. I want the same as everyone else in Britain: for my children and grandchildren to have the chance to live happy and productive lives here and be rewarded for their hard work.

“At the next general election people will have to vote for the party that they think will best get that done and I’m making a donation very clearly to the party that I believe will do so.”

Open Questions

  • Will the Metropolitan Police investigation lead to formal charges?
  • Will the UK government introduce new caps on political donations?

Related Topics

This article was originally published by Guardian Business.

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Ben Delo donates record £36m to Reform UK, becoming biggest UK political donor
Developing·

Ben Delo donates record £36m to Reform UK, becoming biggest UK political donor

British cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo, convicted in the US for anti-money laundering failures at BitMEX and later pardoned by Donald Trump, has donated £36m to Reform UK, making him the largest UK political donor. The donation surpasses previous contributions from Christopher Harborne and comes amid police and standards investigations into Reform's overseas funding and undeclared gifts. Delo, who moved back to the UK from Hong Kong, has given £8m to Reform since January and supports over 50 organisations across the political spectrum. Labour MPs have expressed alarm over the influence of mega-donors ahead of the next election.

Guardian UK
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