Reform UK has reportedly received £72 million from two billionaire donors in the space of 48 hours after Christopher Harborne matched a record £36 million gift from fellow cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ben Delo.
Delo’s donation emerged on Friday. Harborne then decided to give the same amount, telling The Telegraph that his “competitive spirit inspired me to match it”.
The two payments give Nigel Farage’s party an extraordinary financial boost as it prepares for the next general election. According to The Telegraph’s figures, Reform has now raised more than £86 million in donations this year. Those year-to-date totals include the newly reported gifts and should not be confused with the Electoral Commission’s latest published quarterly returns.
Both donors say the money will help Reform compete with Labour and the Conservatives. Their critics argue that the scale of the gifts shows why Britain needs a cap on political donations.
Harborne matches Delo’s record gift
Delo, a co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency trading platform, announced that he was giving Reform £36 million to create what he called a “fair fight” with the established parties.
He described the sum as equivalent to £1 million a month over three years, while making the full payment upfront. It was reported as the largest single donation to a British political party. The Guardian reported that Delo had already given Reform £8 million since the start of 2026.
Harborne has now matched the £36 million figure. A longtime Reform backer based in Thailand, he argued in his Telegraph article that a newer party needs substantial funding to build the organisation enjoyed by older rivals.
He said he expected “nothing personally” in return – neither a peerage nor a policy change – and wanted Reform to be ready for government.
Farage welcomed both donations, saying they would allow his party to fight the next election on a more level financial footing.
What could Reform do with the money?
The immediate benefit is the ability to plan beyond the next fundraising round.
The Telegraph reports that Reform could use its new resources to hire more headquarters staff, expand its policy team and place campaign managers in constituencies it hopes to win. Those are plans the party can pursue; the donations do not, by themselves, establish how the money will ultimately be spent.
Harborne and Delo argue that Reform is still catching up with organisations that have spent decades building membership networks and local campaigning operations. The Telegraph says Reform has raised £110 million since January 2021, compared with £150 million for the Conservatives and £128 million for Labour over the same period.
That longer comparison helps explain the donors’ argument. It does not lessen the significance of Reform receiving £72 million from just two people in two days, or remove the questions about how dependent any party should become on a handful of wealthy supporters.
Money can pay for staff and campaigning. Whether it changes voters’ minds is a separate matter.
Who are the two donors?
Delo made his fortune through BitMEX. In 2022, he pleaded guilty in the United States over the company’s failure to establish an adequate anti-money-laundering programme. Donald Trump pardoned him and other BitMEX figures in 2025.
Trump did not make either of the donations to Reform. Delo’s pardon is part of the donor’s background, not evidence that the US president was involved in the party’s fundraising.
Harborne has backed Reform for years. He says his concerns include nuclear war, artificial intelligence and climate change, and argues that a stronger British economy would provide the resources to address them.
Harborne also gave Farage a separate £5 million personal gift. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is examining whether Farage should have declared it after becoming an MP. Farage says the gift was private and unrelated to his parliamentary work. That inquiry is distinct from Harborne’s newly reported £36 million donation to Reform.
Donation rules face a fresh test
There is no general limit on how much an eligible UK-based individual can donate to a political party. Parties must check that donors are permissible and report donations under the applicable rules.
The Government’s Representation of the People Bill proposes a £100,000 annual cap for overseas electors and a minimum-residency rule for people moving to Britain. Those proposals should not be described as a cap already in force. Some MPs want the Government to go further and limit donations from UK-based individuals too.
Labour MP Stella Creasy renewed her call for a wider cap after Delo’s gift became public. She argued that donations on this scale risk giving a small number of people excessive influence over elections. The Liberal Democrats have also called for limits.
Harborne and Delo reject the suggestion that their support is an attempt to secure personal favours. For them, the donations are a way to give their preferred party the resources to compete. For opponents of mega-donations, the fact that two people can provide £72 million is precisely the problem.
Separate scrutiny of Reform’s finances
The donations arrive while other aspects of Reform’s funding are under investigation. Police are examining allegations concerning potential foreign funding after an undercover Channel 4 News investigation. Reform denies wrongdoing and says it is cooperating.
There is no suggestion that either of the newly reported £36 million gifts forms part of that investigation. Harborne’s separate personal gift to Farage is the subject of a parliamentary standards inquiry, not a finding that his party donation was improper.
Those distinctions matter. The argument prompted by the £72 million is chiefly about the scale of lawful political funding: how Reform intends to use it, and whether the rules should allow any party to receive so much from two individuals.
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