Ben Delo Donates £4 Million to Reform UK, Reuters Says It Was 75% of Q2 Donations

Britain’s Reform UK received £4 million from crypto investor Ben Delo, a donation that Reuters said accounted for 75% of the party’s donations last quarter.R

“accounting for 75% of the party's donations last quarter”

Reuters

Reuters reported that Reform raised £5.3 million in the April-June quarter, while the party led by Nigel Farage received the big donation from Delo, who announced he was returning to the UK from Hong Kong and said he was getting involved in politics "to save Britain before decline becomes irreversible".R

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The Electoral Commission figures cited by Reuters showed Reform disclosed no donations in the quarter from its biggest donor, Christopher Harborne, who is British-born and based in Thailand.R

The Guardian said Reform UK had been given a further £4m from Delo, and that the party said it was confident he would not be caught by the overseas donor cap.

The Guardian also said Harborne did not give any money in the second quarter, and that the donor cap applied since March required donors to be on the UK domestic electoral register for at least 12 months to avoid a £100,000-a-year annual cap.

Reform’s funding has drawn scrutiny because Delo’s donation comes as Nigel Farage faces an investigation over whether he declared a £5 million personal gift from Harborne, which Reuters said Farage did not declare.R

Reuters reported that Farage stepped down from parliament and won re-election last month, but could be removed and have to stand again if found to have broken rules.R

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The BBC said Reform is facing scrutiny over its finances as the government seeks to limit the amount that can be donated to UK political parties from British expats, while also noting that Farage is under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5m cash gift.

In response to the donation, Reuters quoted Reform saying, "We are delighted to be supported by successful British entrepreneurs as we continue to build for the next general election," while the BBC reported Farage was "honoured and humbled" by the gift.R

The BBC also reported that a Labour Party spokesperson said Farage was "still up to his neck in scandal" and that "the questions he faces aren't going away - in fact they're piling up."

The Guardian said the overseas donor cap applied since March could potentially catch Harborne and Sasan Ghandehari, and it described the cap as requiring donors to be on the UK domestic electoral register for at least 12 months to avoid a £100,000-a-year annual cap.

“promising to "tackle the issue of UK based mega-donors"”

The Guardian

The Guardian reported that Andy Burnham’s government was considering whether to bring an annual cap on donations from UK donors as well as overseas ones, after launching a new taskforce and promising to "tackle the issue of UK based mega-donors".

Reuters said Reform disclosed no donations in the quarter from Christopher Harborne, while also reporting that Labour received £3.6 million and the Conservatives raised £2.8 million in the April-June quarter.R

The BBC reported that Delo said he was donating £1m a month between now and the latest date Labour could call a general election in 2029, but that he would give all the money up front in case the government tried to limit mega-donations in future.

The BBC added that police announced an investigation over allegations it broke foreign funding laws, and it said the Metropolitan Police was investigating whether payments to Reform in the weeks before the last election complied with donation laws.