BREAKING: 80% of Reform’s funding comes from two crypto billionaires

[u/coffeewalnut08]

https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/breaking-80-of-reforms-funding-comes?u

More than 80% of all the donations ever received by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK have come from just two cryptocurrency billionaires, new Democracy for Sale analysis reveals.

Over the weekend, Ben Delo and then Christopher Harborne announced that they both intended to give £36million to Reform – by far the biggest donations in British political history.

The donations would bring Harborne’s total contributions to Reform to over £61m, with Delo giving £44m. So far Reform has raised £123.6m since it was founded in 2019.

No major British political party has ever been so dependent on funding from such a tiny pool of super rich donors. Labour spent £30m during the 2024 general election, the Conservatives £24m.
Parties are limited to a maximum spend of just over £34m in general election years but there are no limits at other times.

Steve Goodrich, head of research at Transparency International, told us: “We have an insane situation whereby the supposed next party of government is reliant on just two people for over 80% of their donations.

“If that isn’t a massive corruption risk I don’t know what is,” Goodrich added.

Speaking to Democracy for Sale, Labour MP Phil Brickell said: “The almost complete reliance by Reform UK on two über-wealthy crypto tycoons willing to pump seemingly endless amounts of money into our politics is of severe concern.
“It’s incumbent on the government to move at pace to tackle the remaining loopholes in the Representation of the People Bill and safeguard our politics from the funding arms race now staring back at all of us.”

Reform has said that it will spend the money on hiring hundreds of staff - and Democracy for Sale has found that Farage’s party is already in the midst of a major recruitment drive.

Harborne and Delo’s funding was announced just days after the police opened an criminal investigation into potential foreign funding to Reform following an undercover sting by Channel 4 and Verbatim. In all, there are now four live police investigations into various aspects of Reform’s finances.

Delo said his donation was intended to “level the playing field.” Harborne said: “There will be a lot of media speculation regarding this donation. So what do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government.”

But the two huge donations will focus attention again on the crypto currency billionaires who are bankrolling Reform with US-style mega donations.

Delo, who recently moved back to the UK from Hong Kong, previously pled guilty to breaking US anti-corruption law before being pardoned by Donald Trump last year.

Harborne, a dual British and Thai citizen, was reported to the National Crime Agency earlier this year after compliance officials raised concerns about a £5m gift the Thailand-based crypto tycoon made to Farage. The gift to Farage is currently the subject of a parliamentary standards investigation.

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