Reform UK Receives Record £72 Million Crypto Donations Before UK Election
Record-Breaking Crypto Donations and Their Impact on Reform UK
By Sam Tabahriti and William James
Major Contributions from Crypto Billionaires
LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne said on Saturday he had donated £36 million ($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 and Delo: The Key Donors
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 UK’s Crypto Policy Proposals
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.
Funding Allegations and Party Response
ALLEGATIONS OVERSHADOW PARTY
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 U.S. 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.
Investigations and Official Responses
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.
Background of the Donors and Party Reactions
On Friday, Delo, the British co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX who was convicted of a U.S. Bank Secrecy Act violation and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, said he would donate £36 million to Reform.
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.
Farage’s Statement on Donations
"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."
Additional Information
($1 = 0.7398 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, William James and Elizabeth Piper. writing by Sam Tabahriti; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
