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Reuters

Cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne said on Saturday he had donated £36 million (US$49 million) to Britain’s anti-immigration Reform UK, matching an already record contribution to Nigel Farage’s party a day earlier as it prepares for the next election.
The donation gives the veteran Brexit campaigner’s party £72 million from two donors in ‌less than 48 hours at a time when it is confronting allegations about irregularities in its funding, which it denies.
The figure exceeds what either the governing Labour Party or the opposition Conservatives spent during last year’s election campaign, according to Electoral Commission figures. The funds will help Reform, whose lead in opinion polls has slipped over the funding allegations, win over voters before the next election, which is due by 2029.
Harborne, already Reform’s biggest donor, disclosed the contribution in a Telegraph newspaper article, saying fellow crypto investor Ben Delo’s pledge a day earlier had inspired him to match it.
“What do I ⁠expect in return for my donations? Nothing. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government,” Harborne wrote in the article.
Delo’s donation ‌on Friday had already dwarfed the previous record of £10 million that British businessman John Sainsbury, who died in 2022, had left to the Conservatives, according to the Electoral Commission’s online database.

Reform has said that if it comes to power, it would propose a ‌law to boost crypto adoption, including by cutting capital gains tax for digital assets and creating a bitcoin reserve fund at the ⁠Bank of England.
The donation ⁠comes little more than a week after Reform was hit by allegations that two senior aides to Farage had helped arrange for a foreign donor to fund political polling, claims which the party ‌denies.
Earlier in September, Reform said head of policy James Orr and Farage adviser Dan Jukes had stepped down pending an internal investigation after an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 alleged the party had broken ‌electoral law by ‌arranging for a US company to pay for polling commissioned by the party.
Reform has denied any wrongdoing, saying it had been targeted in a hoax by ‌climate activists. Farage has said the party had “broken no laws” and had not taken any improper donations.
Labour has asked police to investigate possible offences linked to the ⁠allegations. Police said they were assessing information provided to them, while the Electoral Commission said it was considering the claims and was in contact with law enforcement.

On Friday, ⁠Delo, the British co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX who was convicted of a US Bank Secrecy Act violation and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, said he would donate £36 million to Reform UK.
Delo said he wanted the party to spend less time fundraising and more time preparing ‌for government, arguing it needed resources to compete ‌with Britain’s two established parties, Labour and the Conservatives.
Farage welcomed the backing from both men on Saturday.
“I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have shown such confidence in Reform,” he said in a statement.
“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.”


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Britain

Farage’s Reform UK gets second record £36 million donation in 48 hours

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage show off his socks during the Reform UK National Conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on September 5. Photo: dpa

A protest placard depicting leader of Reform UK party Nigel Farage and questioning party donations is displayed near the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage makes a thumbs-up gesture on the second day of the annual Reform UK party conference at the NEC in Birmingham on September 4. Photo: AFP

2 Reform UK advisers to Farage step down amid donation scandal

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage (centre), talks with Dan Jukes (centre left) as he visits the area where two men were stabbed the day before in Golders Green, north London, on April 30. Photo: AFP

Aprons featuring an image of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on sale during the party’s annual conference in Birmingham on Friday. Photo: Reuters

A £5 million note bearing the face of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on display during a protest outside parliament in London in July. Photo: EPA

Police widen criminal probe into Reform UK over foreign funding claims

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage delivers a speech during the party conference in Birmingham on Saturday. Photo: dpa

A Reform UK branded London mini cab during the party’s annual conference, in Birmingham, Britain, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage sits with a pint in the garden of The Ship pub after casting his vote in the Clacton by-election earlier in the morning, in the village of Kirby-le-Soken, Essex on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Then-London mayoral candidate Count Binface (left) and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Count Binface, a figure created by comedian Jonathan Harvey, has become a fixture of fun at British elections. Photo: AFP

Count Binface celebrates his second place finish following the Clacton by-election count on Friday. Photo: EPA

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham poses for a photo during a visit to the Oval Community Centre in Stevenage on Wednesday. Photo: dpa

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage arrives to vote in the Clacton by-election on Tuesday. After enjoying a lengthy lead in national opinion polls, Reform has seen its popularity wane. Photo: AFP

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The donation comes as the veteran Brexit campaigner’s party is confronting allegations about irregularities in its funding, which it denies


The donation comes as the veteran Brexit campaigner’s party is confronting allegations about irregularities in its funding, which it denies.


Farage’s Reform UK gets second record £36 million donation in 48 hours

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The donation comes as the veteran Brexit campaigner’s party is confronting allegations about irregularities in its funding, which it denies

The donation comes as the veteran Brexit campaigner’s party is confronting allegations about irregularities in its funding, which it denies