Nigel Farage's Reform UK has received a record-breaking £72 million ($97.4 million) in just 24 hours through matching £36 million donations from crypto billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. The unprecedented funding, which exceeds the total political donations raised by all UK parties in 2025, has sparked intense backlash and renewed demands for a cap on political donations. The cash injection arrives as the Metropolitan Police investigate Reform UK's finances and Farage faces scrutiny over an undeclared £5 million gift from Harborne.
Record £72 million donations
- ▪The £72 million total received by Reform UK over two days exceeds the £64.8 million raised in political donations by all United Kingdom political parties combined in 2025
- ▪The £72 million combined donations to Reform UK are jointly the largest individual political donations in United Kingdom history
- ▪Reform UK received two £36 million donations totaling £72 million ($97.4 million) within a 24-hour period from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne
Ben Delo BitMEX background
- ▪Ben Delo, the British co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX, was pardoned by United States President Donald Trump on March 27, 2025, following a conviction for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act
- ▪Ben Delo paid his £36 million donation to Reform UK in a lump sum up front to prevent the contribution from being blocked by potential future government caps on political donations
Christopher Harborne Tether investment
- ▪Christopher Harborne, an investor in stablecoin issuer Tether and cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, matched Ben Delo's donation to Reform UK, citing his competitive spirit in a Telegraph article
- ▪Christopher Harborne previously donated £9 million to Reform UK in August 2025 and has given a total of £15 million to the party since the last election
Metropolitan police funding investigation
- ▪The Metropolitan Police Service opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Reform UK breached electoral laws prohibiting political contributions from overseas donors
- ▪The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is investigating a £5 million personal gift given by Christopher Harborne to Nigel Farage before Farage was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2024
Political donation cap calls
- ▪Duncan Hames of Transparency International UK and representatives from Spotlight on Corruption called for a cap on political donations to prevent the Americanisation of British politics
- ▪Labour MP Stella Creasy and other backbenchers proposed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill to cap individual political donations at £100,000 annually
Reform UK electoral strategy
- ▪Reform UK plans to use the £72 million funding to hire approximately 400 campaign managers, placing one in each target constituency to prepare for the next general election
- ▪Nigel Farage stated that the donations from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo will allow Reform UK to contest the next general election on a level playing field
Debatable claims
- ▪The UK should cap political donations from citizens living abroad
- ▪The UK should cap individual political donations
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