Nigel Farage receives second £36m donation in two days

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Subscribe now Log in Login icon Follow us on: More from The Telegraph Gordon Rayner Associate Editor Show biography !Gordon Rayner Gordon is a veteran investigative journalist who was key in breaking the MPs' expenses scandal. His recent work includes his exposé on BBC bias. Find him on X: @gordonrayner Published 12 September 2026 12:31pm BST Save This feature is available for registered users. Please register or log in to continue RegisterLog in Comment speech bubble icon 3223 Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link

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!Farage The two donations will turbocharge Nigel Farage’s attempts to compete with Conservatives and Labour Credit: Paul Grover for The Telegraph Gordon Rayner Associate Editor Show biography !Gordon Rayner Gordon is a veteran investigative journalist who was key in breaking the MPs' expenses scandal. His recent work includes his exposé on BBC bias. Find him on X: @gordonrayner Published 12 September 2026 12:31pm BST Reform UK has received its second £36m donation in the space of 48 hours in a show of force by the party’s billionaire backers. Christopher Harborne, the party’s biggest donor, matched the record donation given on Friday by Ben Delo, a fellow cryptocurrency billionaire, giving Reform a total of £72m in two days. The money will turbocharge Nigel Farage’s attempts to build a party machine to rival the Conservatives and Labour as it prepares for the next general election. Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Harborne said that as a start-up party, Reform “needs more money than can be provided by membership fees alone” to create the sort of infrastructure older parties have built over more than a century. It means that Reform has raised more than £86m in donations this year, dwarfing the £10.2m raised by the Conservatives and £7.7m by Labour. Mr Harborne and Mr Delo have pointed out that in the past five years the Tories and Labour have still raised more than Reform. Mr Delo told The Telegraph on Friday that he was simply trying to level the playing field for the next election. Mr Harborne, whose net worth is estimated at £18bn, is the man whose £5m personal gift to Mr Farage to pay for his security is the subject of a parliamentary investigation. Opponents of Reform have suggested Mr Farage was given the money as a quid pro quo for reentering politics and championing Mr Harborne’s favourite causes, something which both men reject. !Christopher Harborne pictured with Nigel Farage Christopher Harborne, pictured with Nigel Farage, said he wanted to put his wealth to work ‘for Britain and humanity as a whole’ Credit: John Nguyen/JNVisuals Mr Harborne writes: “What do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing, personally. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government. “I have already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life. I am now committed to putting that to work for Britain and humanity as a whole.” Mr Farage said: “I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have shown such confidence in Reform. “Both men know that we are the only party that can turn the country around and win the next general election - thanks to their generosity, we are now able to fight that election on a level playing field.” !Poster Climate Resistance, a protest group, has criticised Mr Harborne’s £5m personal gift to Mr Farage, which is the subject of a parliamentary investigation Credit: Isabel Infantes/Reuters Mr Harborne said his main concerns were the three “existential threats” facing humanity: nuclear war, artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change, and he believes Reform is the only party that has the policies to tackle them by restoring the economy and creating the wealth needed to pay for defence, AI policies and clean nuclear energy. Since January 2021, Reform has raised £110m including the two latest gifts, while the Tories have raised £150m and Labour £128m. Before Friday, the biggest single donation to a political party was a £10m bequest left to the Tories, while the biggest donation from a living person was £9m given by Mr Harborne to Reform last year. As well as membership fees and donations, the Conservatives receive £5.5m in so-called Short money, which is allocated by Parliament to opposition parties based on how many MPs they have. With eight MPs, Reform receives just more than £400,000 in Short money, meaning it is almost entirely dependent on donations, while Labour receives between £5m and £10m each year from the trade unions. Earlier this year Labour imposed a cap of £100,000 on donations to political parties from expatriate donors in what was widely seen as an attempt to choke Reform’s funding. The Government is proposing further restrictions on donations in its Representation of the People Bill, and some Labour MPs want Andy Burnham to go further by imposing caps on UK-based individual donors to match the cap on foreign donors. Mr Delo has accused the Government of wanting to “rig” the next election and the donations from him, and Mr Harborne has come before Labour has a chance to make major changes to donation rules. ‘My competitive spirit inspired me to match it’ Mr Harborne admitted that when he heard Mr Delo was giving £36m – which equates to £1m per month between now and the latest date Mr Burnham can call the next election – “my competitive spirit inspired me to match it”. He writes: “I want us to be able to afford to fund healthcare, education and other public services like social care which are incredibly important to me and the whole of our country. “But these vital services can only be delivered if our country is strong. And a strong country is one that is funded by a vigorous economy which is creating jobs.” He believes that Reform is the party with the best chance of delivering that. The money is a significant boost to Mr Farage after a summer in which he has become the subject of not only a parliamentary investigation but also a police investigation into party funding, partly as a result of a Channel 4 undercover sting. Reform’s poll lead has been faltering since Mr Burnham became Prime Minister, and the Tories have been enjoying increased public support under the leadership of Kemi Badenoch. The extra £72m will enable Reform to recruit more staff at its headquarters, particularly in its policy team, and employ campaign managers in target constituencies to prepare for battles on the ground. Mr Harborne has been based in Thailand for decades but is registered as a UK resident for voting and donating purposes. 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