Reform UK Receives Record £36m Donation as Crypto Billionaire Backs Farage’s Push for Power

By Ben Kerrigan-

Reform UK has received a record-breaking £36 million donation from British cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo, handing Nigel Farage’s party the largest single political donation ever made to a UK political party.

Delo, a Sheffield-born entrepreneur who has already donated £4 million to Reform UK, said he was making the extraordinary contribution because he wanted what he described as “a fair fight and a level playing field” in British politics.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Delo said he had intended to donate £1 million a month to Reform between now and the latest possible date for a general election in 2029. However, he decided to transfer the entire amount immediately amid concerns that future governments could introduce restrictions on large political donations.

There is currently no overall legal limit on the amount that UK-based donors can contribute to political parties. However, Labour has previously proposed a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British citizens living overseas, a move that has triggered fierce opposition from Reform and some of its major financial supporters.

Delo has previously indicated that he intends to return to Britain from Hong Kong in order to continue supporting Reform. His latest donation dramatically strengthens the party’s already substantial fundraising position and gives it a potentially formidable financial war chest ahead of the next general election.

Farage described the donation as a moment of historic significance, saying he was “honoured and humbled” by Delo’s decision to provide the party with such a substantial financial contribution.

Delo, however, made clear that his motivation went beyond simply providing Reform with more money. He argued that the party should now concentrate on preparing for the possibility of governing rather than continually having to raise funds to compete with its political opponents.

“Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of ‘our democracy’ while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field,” Delo wrote.

“My conclusion from Reform’s recent troubles is that they should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government.”

The extraordinary donation comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Reform UK, whose finances and fundraising practices have come under increasing scrutiny. Police have announced an investigation into allegations that the party breached laws governing political funding following claims broadcast by Channel 4 News. Reform has denied wrongdoing and said it will co-operate with the investigation.

Farage is also facing scrutiny from the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5 million cash gift from Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne. The payment was made ahead of the 2024 general election and became a matter of controversy after Farage was elected as an MP.

Farage has maintained that he was not required to register the gift because he regarded it as a “purely private” payment unrelated to his parliamentary or political activities.

The Metropolitan Police is separately investigating whether payments made to Reform in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election complied with political donation laws. The investigation includes donations made directly to the party by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of Farage ally George Cottrell.

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

The controversy over political donations has become increasingly intertwined with the wider political battle over who should be allowed to fund British parties and how much they should be permitted to contribute.

Reform and its major donors have reacted angrily to proposed restrictions on donations from British citizens living overseas, accusing the Labour government of attempting to restrict the party’s ability to build momentum.

The government has also sought to prevent overseas voters who return to Britain from donating more than £100,000 during their first year back in the country. The proposed measure forms part of the Representation of the People Bill, which is due to receive its second reading in the House of Lords.

Delo’s £36 million contribution eclipses the previous records for individual political donations in Britain. Last year, Harborne gave Reform £9 million in a single donation, making it at the time the largest contribution from a living individual to a UK political party.

The Conservatives had previously received a £10 million legacy, but Delo’s new contribution has now overtaken both sums by a substantial margin.

The scale of the donation has prompted an immediate political backlash, with Labour accusing Farage and Reform of attempting to use money to deflect attention from questions surrounding the party’s finances and conduct.

A Labour spokesperson said Farage was “still up to his neck in scandal” and argued that the questions surrounding Reform’s finances were becoming more serious rather than disappearing.

“Reform UK can’t buy their way out of questions about sleaze, criminal mates and dodgy finances,” the spokesperson said, calling on Farage and the party to co-operate fully with police investigations and provide greater transparency to the public.

The Liberal Democrats also attacked the donation, accusing Farage of attempting to import the style of American politics into Britain through enormous private political contributions.

Lisa Smart, the Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson, said Farage wanted to “bring Trump’s America to our shores by buying his way into power.”

The dispute highlights an increasingly important question for British politics: how much influence should wealthy individuals be able to exercise through political donations?

For Reform UK, the £36 million windfall represents an enormous financial advantage and could transform the party’s ability to campaign, advertise, organise and prepare for a future general election. For its opponents, however, the donation is evidence of why Britain needs tougher controls on political funding.

The political battle over Reform’s finances is therefore unlikely to end with the announcement of Delo’s donation. If anything, the unprecedented sum is likely to intensify scrutiny of the party, its donors and the rules governing political money in Britain.

With the next general election potentially still years away, Reform UK now has access to a financial resource on a scale previously unseen in British electoral politics. The question is whether that money will help propel Farage towards Downing Street—or fuel an even bigger debate over the role of billionaire wealth in Britain’s democracy.