Britain · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne Donate £72 Million to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK
Ben Delo donated £36 million to Reform UK, largest single UK political donation. Christopher Harborne matched £36 million, total donations hit £72 million in 48 hours.
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6 of 8 outlets skipped it: ben Delo made £1m and £3m donations in April.
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£97m for Reform
Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, received 72 million pounds ($97 million) from two cryptocurrency billionaires this weekend, after news broke that Ben Delo, a co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency platform, had given 36 million pounds ($48 million) to the party and crypto investor Christopher Harborne announced he was matching the donation.
“Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, received 72 million pounds ($97 million) from two cryptocurrency billionaires”
Harborne said he was backing Reform UK because he believes its policies will attract the investment Britain needs to bolster the economy and generate the revenue needed to fund healthcare, education and other public services.
The BBC reported that Reform received a £36m donation from a British cryptocurrency billionaire as a record for a UK political party, and that Delo wrote in the Daily Telegraph that he wanted a "fair fight and a level playing field."
The BBC also said Delo told the Telegraph he was donating £1m a month between now and the latest date Labour could call a general election in 2029, but would give all the money up front in case the government tried to limit mega-donations in future.
Scrutiny and rival attacks
The donations triggered renewed scrutiny as London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed earlier this week the launch of a criminal investigation into whether Reform accepted illegal foreign donations, and the BBC said police announced an investigation on Thursday over allegations it broke foreign funding laws following a broadcast by Channel 4 News.
Reform leader Nigel Farage celebrated the contributions in a post on X, saying, "You know what Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne want? Nothing," and adding, "Just a government that will fix Britain."
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticized Reform, accusing Farage and his colleagues of lacking integrity in a post on X that said, "You can buy staff and advertising, but you can’t buy judgement or integrity."
The BBC reported that Robert Jenrick said Reform UK believed the £72m in donations it has received were "entirely in line with the law" and that he did not expect the party will have to return any of the money from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.
Cap proposals and political stakes
The government is seeking to change the law on donations to UK political parties from British expats, including a £100,000 cap backdated to 25 March, and the BBC said the bill still needs to be scrutinised in the House of Lords.
“"in part so that he can comply with the changes to the law"”
BBC reporting also said the government proposed limiting how much those who move back to the UK can give to £100,000 in the remainder of the calendar year and the following calendar year after they return, while Jenrick told the BBC that Delo returned to the UK "in part so that he can comply with the changes to the law."
In a separate BBC account, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart said Farage wanted to "bring Trump's America to our shores by buying his way into power" and added, "He's trying to get into Number 10 as if it's a stop on a Monopoly board," as she argued that "Andy Burnham needs to introduce a cap on political donations."
The BBC also said Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice denied accusations the donations were bad for democracy, telling BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, "It's the opposite actually, we're delighted and very humbled by the confidence expressed by two very successful entrepreneurs".