Reform lands second £72m donation in two days Burnham under pressure to cap external donations

Andy Burnham is facing renewed pressure to explain why he backed away from plans to cap political donations after Reform UK landed a staggering £72 million from two cryptocurrency billionaires in just two days.

The extraordinary cash injection came in two identical £36 million donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, giving Nigel Farage's party a huge financial war chest ahead of the next general election.

And it has reignited the argument over whether Britain's political parties should be allowed to accept donations of almost unlimited size.

THE BURNHAM QUESTION

Labour MP Stella Creasy said the two donations were worth more than Labour had received from trade unions over the past five years.

She said they demonstrated why a donations cap “cannot come too soon” and accused big-money donors of gaining the ability to distort British democracy.

Creasy had proposed an amendment that would have prevented anyone giving a political party more than £100,000 in a single year.

But the amendment never reached a Commons debate after the Government promised instead to establish a task force to examine the problem of “mega-donors”.

Now the issue is heading for the House of Lords — and Burnham is back in the firing line.

“YOU PROMISED”

Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward went straight for the Labour politician.

“Labour could have stopped this years ago by capping donations. Burnham promised to do it then backtracked,” she said.

“Will he now admit this was a mistake?”

It is an awkward question.

Because whatever the rights and wrongs of Reform's funding, £72 million arriving in 48 hours makes the argument for a donations cap considerably harder for Labour to ignore.

FARAGE: LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

Nigel Farage, naturally, sees it very differently.

He thanked Harborne and Delo for their “generosity”, saying the money would allow Reform to fight — and win — the next election on a “level playing field”.

Harborne, who is based in Thailand, described his £36 million contribution as a “philanthropic gift to our country” designed to help Reform prepare for government.

He revealed that he had already been giving Reform around £1 million a month.

When Delo told him he was planning a record £36 million donation, Harborne said his “competitive spirit” inspired him to match it.

And just like that, Reform had another £36 million.

Be afraid Mr Burnam be very afraid

The timing is particularly interesting.

Delo reportedly intended to continue giving Reform £1 million a month until the next election, but decided to hand over the money in one enormous lump because of fears the Government could introduce a cap on political donations.

MPs have already backed measures including a £100,000 limit on overseas donations and a suspension of political funding through cryptocurrency.

But the legislation still needs approval from the Lords.

REFORM UNDER PRESSURE

The £72 million arrives after a difficult summer for Farage's party, which has faced intense scrutiny over its finances and a criminal investigation into allegations that it breached political donation rules.

Reform denies wrongdoing and says it will fully cooperate with the investigation.

Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson accused Farage of being unable to “buy his way out” of the sleaze allegations surrounding the party.

But the reality is that Reform now has something its opponents cannot ignore:

A gigantic election war chest.

THE £72 MILLION QUESTION

The argument over political money is therefore unlikely to disappear.

If anything, it has just become considerably louder.

Two men have put £72 million into one political party in two days.

And the question now hanging over Westminster is brutally simple:

How much money should one person be allowed to put behind a political party before it becomes too much?

Burnham once had an answer.

Now he is being asked why he changed his mind.

SOURCE

This will have a hugely negative impact with voters who do not want to see tax avoiding billionaires, who live abroad, trying to buy UK democracy.

Its only OK for Lord Alli to lash his cash on tickets, suits, and glasses expect Labour defectors sniffing out truffles imminently .

Burnham / Labour response

Labour, not really keen on financial level playing fields

Once a party becomes a certain size, then all those parties that meet that requirement should get funding from the Treasury (say 10 million pounds) each to fight a GE and you could then ban private donations.

Also, you could claim a fair playing field for all and no outside interference from figures who'll want a favour or two down the road or have a political axe to grind. It would also curtail silly fringe nonsense parties from turning the election ballot into some circus clown lineup.

However, chance of this happening is pretty much zero.

28 minutes ago, The Cyclist said:

Burnham / Labour response

Labour, not really keen on financial level playing fields

More ads, more reach........I was thinking more Ferraris

Not a fan of Farage but you have to admit there is rarely a dull moment !

The party of the working class

Bought and owned by billionaires and multimillionaires.

There’s two reasons why anyone might make such huge donations.

1. They for some reason want Reform to win the next General Rlection.

2. They for some reason need Reform to win the next General Election.

With two such donors they might not share the same reason.

I'm proud to see Burnham staying true to his principles.

30 minutes ago, temuFarang said:

I'm proud to see Burnham staying true to his principles.

It is very easy for him to stick to his principles as he does not have any!

Bit different from running

Manchester Andy ?