Reform UK Leads Political Fundraising with Millions from Crypto Donors

Reform UK is raising millions more than the other political parties from private donations, bringing in £9m largely from cryptocurrency billionaires in the first three months of the year.

Nigel Farage’s party took a £3m donation from the cryptocurrency and aviation investor, Christopher Harborne, who is a British-Thai dual citizen, and £4m from the cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ben Delo, who is relocating to the UK from Hong Kong.

Between them, the pair’s donations account for a third of all private money flowing into politics in the first quarter.

Reform’s fundraising far outstripped Labour and the Conservatives, which each raised about £4m from private donations.

The party’s donation from Thailand-based Harborne brings his total donations to £15m in the last year, while Delo is a first-time donor to the party. The party also secured £1m in donations from David Grainger, an investor in health and longevity.

Another new donor is Navroz Udwadia, the co-founder of an investment firm called New Wave Global, while a company owned by Reform’s leader on South Tyneside council, Paul Mackings, donated £111,000.

The Conservatives’ coffers were boosted by £1.1m from a donor called Mary V Doran, while Labour’s biggest contributors were regular donors David Sainsbury and Gary Lubner, as well as the major trade unions.

Overall, the sums given in the first three quarters of the year were more than double the amounts from the previous year, reflecting Reform’s donations from crypto investors.

Susan Hawley, the executive director of the Spotlight on Corruption campaign group, said the figures exposed “the scale of big money flowing into British politics and raise serious questions about who is funding our political parties and what access that money may be buying”.

“Time and again, we see a small number of wealthy individuals and opaque corporate structures playing an outsized role in financing our democracy. That risks undermining public trust and fuels the perception that the rich can simply buy political influence, bypassing and undermining our democracy.”

Keir Starmer was pressed this week to bring in a cap on donations, but he reiterated the government’s plans to limit overseas donations only and impose a moratorium on donations made in cryptocurrency.