Reform UK tops political fundraising as crypto-backed donations lift first-quarter totals

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Ciaran Ryan

8 hours ago

Reform UK tops political fundraising as crypto-backed donations lift first-quarter totals — Reform UK’s crypto boost

Britain's political funding landscape is drawing closer attention as Reform UK extends its fundraising lead over its main rivals for a third straight quarter. The party collects £9.3 million in the first three months of the year, helped by multimillion-pound donations from two cryptocurrency investors.

Highlights

Reform UK raises over £7 million in first-quarter donations, surpassing Labour's £4 million and Conservatives' £4.2 million, driven by crypto-backed gifts.
Christopher Harborne donates just over £3 million and Ben Delo £4 million to Reform UK, ahead of upcoming UK government restrictions on crypto and overseas donations.
Reform UK's leading fundraising comes amid strong local election results and increased scrutiny of its finances, including a £5 million Harborne donation to Nigel Farage under investigation.

First-quarter donations and funding sources

As reported by the Electoral Commission, Reform UK outpaces both Labour and the Conservatives in fundraising during the first quarter of the year, with support boosted by major donations from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo.

Harborne, a crypto investor born in Britain and now living in Thailand, gives the party just over £3 million. Delo, the Hong Kong-based co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMex, gives £4 million. Labour, which is in government, raises £4 million over the same period, while the main opposition Conservative Party records £4.2 million in donations.

The large contributions arrive before the Labour government announces in March plans to ban donations in cryptocurrencies and to cap political donations from British citizens living abroad at £100,000.

Political scrutiny and wider implications

Reform's fundraising strength follows a period of growing electoral momentum. The party performs better than any other party in local elections across Britain last month and has led national opinion polls since early last year, increasing attention on its finances and donor base.

That scrutiny also extends to Nigel Farage personally. He is being investigated by parliament's standards watchdog over whether he should have declared a £5 million donation from Harborne that he received before entering parliament.

Under parliamentary rules, members of parliament must declare donations received in the year before an election within one month of taking office. Reform says Farage does not need to declare the money because parliamentary rules contain an exclusion for purely personal gifts.

Our earlier coverage of the Confederation of British Industry’s warning to the Labour government highlighted growing tensions over rising business costs, including higher employers’ social security contributions and tougher rhetoric on alleged price-gouging. We noted the CBI’s argument that treating companies as a “cash cow” risks undermining business confidence and, in turn, economic growth amid broader political uncertainty.

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