Reform UK has received a £36m donation from British cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ben Delo, the party said, in what it described as the largest single payment to a UK political party.

The cash pledge is a record for a UK political party and comes as Reform faces growing scrutiny over its finances and as the Labour government pursues limits on donations from British citizens living abroad.

Record Sum From Ben Delo

Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, said he was “honoured and humbled” by the donation.

Delo said in a letter published by the Daily Telegraph that he was making the move because he wanted “a fair fight and a level playing field”. The entrepreneur, who is Sheffield-born and based in Hong Kong, said he had concluded that Reform should spend less time raising funds to compete and more time preparing for government.

Reform said Delo had already donated £4m to the party. He previously said he would move back to the UK from Hong Kong to continue his support.

Under current rules, there are no limits on the amount that UK-based donors can give to political parties. However, Labour has previously introduced a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens who live overseas or have recently returned to the UK.

Delo said he planned to donate £1m a month between now and the latest date by which Labour could call a general election in 2029. He added that he would give the money upfront if the government attempted to restrict large donations in the future.

Scrutiny Over Foreign Funding Claims

Reform’s fundraising has been under scrutiny after police announced an investigation on Thursday into allegations the party may have breached foreign funding laws.

The probe followed a broadcast by Channel 4 News last week, in which an undercover reporter recorded two senior Reform aides appearing to discuss ways to secure foreign party donations in line with electoral rules.

The party denied any wrongdoing and said it would co-operate with the investigation.

Separate inquiries also involve Farage and Reform-linked payments. The parliamentary standards commissioner is examining whether Farage should have declared a £5m cash gift he received from Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne ahead of the 2024 election.

Farage has argued he had no obligation to register what he described as a “purely private” gift that was not linked to his parliamentary or political activities.

The Metropolitan Police is also investigating whether payments made to Reform in the weeks before the last election complied with donation laws. The inquiry includes donations made directly to the party by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of George Cottrell, a long-standing Farage ally.

Police are also looking at payments from a company controlled by Reform deputy leader Richard Tice, which received £1m from Fiona Cottrell in June 2024.

Wider Row Over Limits For Expats

The government is seeking to restrict donations further through the Representation of the People Bill, which has its second reading in the House of Lords on Monday. The bill would prevent expats who return to the UK from donating more than £100,000 for a year after their arrival.

Restrictions on donations from Britons abroad have prompted conflict with Reform and key donors, who have accused Labour of seeking to stifle their progress. A cabinet minister said British democracy was “not for sale”.

The donation also follows Delo’s US pardon. Last year, Donald Trump granted him an unconditional pardon after a breach of anti-money laundering laws linked to Delo’s crypto trading platform, BitMEX. Delo had pleaded guilty in 2022.

Labour and Liberal Democrats responded to Delo’s donation. A Labour Party spokesperson said Farage was “still up to his neck in scandal” and that the party could not “buy their way out of questions about sleaze, criminal mates and dodgy finances”. Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart said Farage was trying to “bring Trump’s America to our shores by buying his way into power” and called for a cap on political donations.

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12 September 2026

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There certainly seems to be something of an "Achilies heel" emerging with reform doesn't there?

Money - very large quantities of it - from some pretty dodgy sources. Crypto currency millionaires, Far East based donors, US Presidential pardons after convictions for money laundering, foreign donors discussing with the party how to get round the rules...

It may be that Channel 4 went "after him", but there is rather a lot to go after isn't there?

Need to change the headline to £72 million

Christopher Harborne has just matched the £36 million donated above

And allegedly, Elon Musk has just promised Reform any amount that they want.

This is why the big 2, Labour and Tories, are getting upset. No longer the financial big dogs of UK Politics.

It just reinforces that the billionnaire oligarchs can buy a government of their choosing. It's true the voters will decide. But with that kind of bottomless pit of money, the propaganda machine will be running 24/7, headed by the best spin doctors money can buy.

9 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

It just reinforces that the billionnaire oligarchs can buy a government of their choosing. It's true the voters will decide. But with that kind of bottomless pit of money, the propaganda machine will be running 24/7, headed by the best spin doctors money can buy.

You think any Brit billionaires would want a commie Labour government?

You could be right, but seems a bit far fetched to me.

Edited 20 hours ago20 hr by BritManToo

34 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

It just reinforces that the billionnaire oligarchs can buy a government of their choosing. It's true the voters will decide. But with that kind of bottomless pit of money, the propaganda machine will be running 24/7, headed by the best spin doctors money can buy.

You have just described Tories and Labour over the last 30 years.

Time to pony up.

Did you not get your email yesterday 😀😀

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

You think any Brit billionaires would want a commie Labour government?

You could be right, but seems a bit far fetched to me.

It refers to the two billionnaires giving 72 million pounds to Farage's movement.

20 hours ago, webfact said:

The donation also follows Delo’s US pardon. Last year, Donald Trump granted him an unconditional pardon after a breach of anti-money laundering laws linked to Delo’s crypto trading platform, BitMEX. Delo had pleaded guilty in 2022.

The perfect pedigree to fund Reform UK! 😅

UPDATE

Reform Lands Another £36m Donation From Crypto Tycoon

Reform UK has received a second £36m donation within two days after cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne matched a record-breaking gift announced late on Friday.

The Thailand-based Harborne said in a Telegraph article that his “competitive spirit” led him to match the donation made by Ben Delo, described as the largest ever given to a UK political party. Harborne added that he expected “nothing personally” in return.

Reform said the £72m total from the two donations would be used to hire “the brightest and best minds” to work on policy and to develop “the most comprehensive plan for government ever”.

Second £36m Pushes Total To £72m

The party said the money would also allow it to strengthen its campaign operations, including hiring up to 400 campaign managers in every target constituency and putting itself “on election footing”.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said the combined “generosity” from Harborne and Delo would mean the party could “now be able to fight and win the next general election on a level playing field”.

At the BBC Radio 4 programme PM on Saturday, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice rejected criticism that the donations could harm democracy. He said Reform was “delighted and very humbled” by the support, arguing it would let the party focus on employing staff for social media, policy and campaigning.

Challenges Over Donation Scrutiny

The fresh funding comes as Reform faces increased scrutiny of its finances, with the Labour government seeking to cap donations to UK political parties from British expats.

MPs from other parties have renewed calls for tighter limits on individual donations. Labour has introduced a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living overseas and plans a similar cap for those who have recently returned to the UK.

There are currently no restrictions on the size of donations from UK-based individuals, but the scale of the latest gifts has drawn fresh attention. Reform has received a total of £72m more than the amount taken by all UK political parties combined in 2024, which stood at just over £69m.

Tice told Sky News earlier that Delo’s donation was provided as an upfront payment intended to prevent the Labour Party from legislating against it, and said it would be spent over two or three years.

Police Investigations And Wider Political Criticism

Harborne has previously donated millions to Reform and to Farage. Farage is currently under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5m cash gift from Harborne ahead of the 2024 election. Farage has argued he had no obligation to register the “purely private” gift because it was unrelated to his parliamentary or political activities.

Reform is also being questioned after a Channel 4 News broadcast last week showed two senior aides appearing to suggest ways to get around electoral law to secure foreign party donations. The Metropolitan Police said it is investigating, while the party denies wrongdoing.

The police are also looking into donations made to the party by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of George Cottrell, a long-standing Farage ally, as well as a company controlled by Tice.

Harborne wrote on Saturday that he had “already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life” and said Reform was a “start-up party” that lacked “the benefit of hundreds of years of patronage”. He said membership fees alone are not enough for a start-up party to build and sustain itself ahead of government.

Delo, who announced his donation in a Telegraph op-ed, said he wanted a “fair fight and a level playing field” and added that he was moving back to Britain from Hong Kong. He later said Reform should spend less time raising funds to compete and more time preparing for government.

Delo was granted an unconditional pardon by US President Donald Trump last year over a breach of anti-money laundering laws at his crypto trading platform, BitMEX, where he had pleaded guilty in 2022.

Other Parties Call For Caps

In 2025, nine donations of £1m or more were made to political parties. Harborne’s £9m gift to Reform was the largest. Labour made five donations of £1m or more totalling nearly £10m, while the Conservatives made three £1m donations.

Labour said Reform and Farage still had “serious questions” about their finances. Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Reform were “drowning” in “sleaze and scandal” and urged Farage and the party to “come clean” and fully co-operate with police inquiries.

The Green Party’s Rachel Millward said it wanted a cap on individual donations of £500,000, adding that the sums to Reform were “absolutely staggering”.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart called for emergency legislation to cap donations, saying the amounts were a threat to democracy. Labour MP Stella Creasy and other backbenchers proposed an amendment to stop donors giving parties more than £100,000 a year, but it was not debated in the Commons after the government said it would set up a task force. The Representation of the People Bill is due to be debated in the House of Lords on Monday.

Duncan Hames, Director of Policy and Programmes at Transparency International UK, said two billionaires had pledged £72m to one party in less than 48 hours, and argued the scale made a case for an annual cap.

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13 September 2026