This massive donation has raised concerns about the influence of wealthy donors on politics, with Transparency International UK calling for an annual cap on individual political donations.

Written by: James Woolcock, Lucy White, Bloomberg

Translated by: Saoirse, Foresight News

Key Points:

• The Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, received £10.3 million in donations from July to September, the highest among all UK parties during the same period.

• A record £9 million donation from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne has funded the party, bringing Harborne's total donations to over £22 million since the establishment of Reform UK.

• This substantial donation has raised concerns about the influence of wealthy donors on politics, prompting Transparency International UK to call for an annual cap on individual political donations.

The Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, received more donations in the third quarter than all other UK parties, thanks to a record £9 million donation from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne—an indication that businesses and the wealthy are taking the party's lead in polls seriously.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg from the Electoral Commission, this populist party received a total of £10.3 million in donations from July to September; the ruling Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, received £2.2 million, while the main opposition Conservative Party received £4.7 million, not including public funding provided to opposition parties.

Nigel Farage speaks in London on December 4, photographer: Dan Kitwood (Getty Images)

Christopher Harborne is not only a significant donor to Reform UK but has also regularly donated to the Conservative Party over the past 25 years. His donation is the second-largest single political donation since the Electoral Commission established its online database in 2001—John Sainsbury left £10 million to the Conservative Party upon his death in 2022, making it the largest single donation in the database.

Surge in Donations to Reform UK

The £9 million donation has energized the party led by Nigel Farage:

Source: Electoral Commission

Despite fluctuations in quarterly political donation data, the fundraising total for Reform UK surpasses that of all other major UK parties, indicating its rising status in the UK political landscape. Although the party holds only 5 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, it has consistently topped national polls since April and achieved significant victories in the local elections in May.

Data from the Electoral Commission shows that the vast majority of the new funding for Reform UK comes from Christopher Harborne—since the party's inception, he has donated over £22 million to Nigel Farage and Reform UK. In legal documents from last year, Harborne revealed that he holds a 12% stake in the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, which shares a parent company with the world's largest stablecoin issuer, Tether.

Rose Zussman, Senior Policy Manager at Transparency International UK, stated, "This record-breaking donation indicates that UK political parties' reliance on a small number of super-rich individuals has reached astonishing levels." She called for an annual cap on individual political donations, noting, "When a single donation reaches such a massive scale, it only reinforces the public's belief that money speaks the loudest in the corridors of power."

In the cryptocurrency sector, Oscar Townsley, founder and CEO of the Bitcoin derivatives trading company A1X, made his first donation of £30,000 to Reform UK; other significant donors include:

• Claudia Harmsworth (wife of Daily Mail owner Jonathan Harmsworth), who donated £50,000;

• Bassim Haidar (Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire who has made multiple large donations to Reform UK), who donated £130,000 this time;

• Nick Candy (real estate developer and current financial officer of Reform UK), who donated £490,000, bringing his total donations to the party to £990,000; he recently publicly stated that he has fulfilled a £1 million donation pledge.

Nigel Farage with Nick Candy, photographer: Betty Laura Zapata (Bloomberg)

Additionally, Heathrow Airport Holdings, which manages the UK's largest airport, is a sponsor of Reform UK's annual conference, with a sponsorship donation valued at £36,000; Reform UK also received a £100,000 donation from the real estate division of Sotheby's UK, owned by former banker George Azar.

Political activities require funding to advance national campaigns, and the core issue facing Reform UK is whether it can convert its high polling support into actual electoral success before the next general election in mid-2029. Last May, the party won hundreds of local council seats, two mayoral positions, and control of 10 local governments, and is now focused on achieving further success in the new round of local elections next May (including the Welsh Parliament and Scottish Parliament elections).

The current two-party political system in the UK is breaking down, and the "interim period" after the general election has turned into a "fundraising urgency period" for parties competing for local seats to prove their legitimacy. Polls show that all five major national parties in the UK have double-digit support, and the winner of the next election will likely need to form a coalition to govern.

Nigel Farage has stated that the goal is to make the Conservative Party "no longer a national party," but despite extensive lobbying efforts, he has yet to attract the majority of financial supporters from the Conservative Party; although Farage has performed well in polls, the financial officer Nick Candy's previously promised goal of "raising tens of millions for the party" has not yet been realized—despite securing some support from Conservative donors earlier this year and making a personal donation of £500,000 this quarter.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk expressed interest in donating to Reform UK, but after publicly supporting the extremist Tommy Robinson on social media platform X and having a public dispute with the party's leadership, the collaboration ultimately did not materialize.

This article was completed with assistance from Emily Nicolle and Anna Irrera.

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