LONDON, Sep 12 (Alliance News): Cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne has donated £36 million ($49 million) to Britain’s anti-immigration Reform UK, matching a record contribution made to the party a day earlier as it prepares for the next general election.
The latest donation gives the party led by veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage a combined £72 million from two donors in less than 48 hours, despite allegations surrounding its funding that Reform denies.
The amount exceeds what both the governing Labour Party and opposition Conservatives spent during last year’s general election campaign, according to Electoral Commission figures.
The funds are expected to help Reform UK strengthen its campaign ahead of the next election, which is due to take place by 2029. The party’s lead in opinion polls has slipped amid allegations over its funding.
Harborne, already Reform UK’s biggest donor, announced the donation in an article published by The Telegraph, saying fellow cryptocurrency investor Ben Delo’s pledge a day earlier had prompted him to match the amount.
“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.
Delo’s £36 million donation on Friday had already surpassed the previous record of £10 million donated to the Conservatives by British businessman John Sainsbury, who died in 2022, according to the Electoral Commission’s online database.
Reform UK has said that, if it comes to power, it would propose legislation aimed at boosting cryptocurrency adoption, including cutting capital gains tax on digital assets and establishing a bitcoin reserve fund at the Bank of England.
Allegations overshadow party
The latest donation comes little more than a week after Reform UK faced allegations that two senior aides to Farage helped arrange for a foreign donor to fund political polling.
The party has denied the allegations.
Earlier in September, Reform said its head of policy James Orr and Farage adviser Dan Jukes had stepped down pending an internal investigation. The move followed an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 alleging that the party had breached electoral law by arranging for a US company to pay for polling commissioned by Reform.
Reform has denied any wrongdoing, saying it was targeted in a hoax by climate activists. Farage has said the party had “broken no laws” and had not accepted any improper donations.
Labour has called for 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.
Delo, the British co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX, announced his £36 million donation on Friday. He was previously convicted of violating the US Bank Secrecy Act and was later pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Delo said he wanted Reform UK to spend less time fundraising and more time preparing for government, arguing that the party needed resources to compete with Britain’s two established parties, Labour and the Conservatives.
Farage welcomed the backing from both donors on Saturday, saying he was honoured and humbled by their confidence in Reform.
He said the donations would allow the party to compete more effectively in the next general election and claimed Reform was the only party capable of winning the election and changing the country’s direction.
