STORY
Reform UK is set to receive a second £36 million donation within 48 hours after cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne said he would match the sum announced by Ben Delo. The two pledges give the party £72 million in new funding, an unprecedented concentration of private political donations in Britain, although the latest gifts have not yet appeared in the Electoral Commission’s published register.
Harborne is a British businessman who lives in Thailand and has previously donated to Reform and the Conservative Party. He told The Telegraph that the money would help Reform build its campaigning operation before the next general election. Delo, a British co founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, announced his separate £36 million gift on 11 September. Reform leader Nigel Farage has welcomed both contributions.
Political donations must come from permissible sources and parties are required to carry out checks before accepting them and reporting them to the Electoral Commission. The announcements have prompted renewed calls from opponents of Reform and campaign groups for a cap on individual donations, but the United Kingdom currently has no general limit on how much a permissible donor may give. The donations are announced commitments until the relevant checks, transfers and statutory reporting have been completed.