‘British people can’t be bought’: Top Tory warns of 'cash race' in UK politics amid record £72m Reform donation
Tom Tugendhat told LBC that he does not want to see American politics imported into the UK
A leading member of the Conservative Party has told LBC the UK needs to be careful about creating a cash race in British politics, after two cryptocurrency billionaires gave millions to the Reform party within 48 hours.
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Tom Tugendhat, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, spoke to LBC about whether there should be caps on political donations after the Reform party was given a total of £72 million within 48 hours.
“I haven't expressed any views on a cap because I think that if people want to support politics, then they should be able to do so, so long as they're a permissible donor,” said Tugendhat.
“What we need to be careful of, of course, is so much of American politics is being imported into the UK. We don't want to have an arms race, or rather a cash race, in UK politics.”
Read more: Labour appeals for donations after Reform receives £72m in 24 hours
The Conservative said that what he enjoys about UK politics is having a lower budget but getting to “go out there and talk to people.” Before adding: “I presume Reform will now be paying their volunteers, but let's see, let's see what happens.”
Tugendhat also spoke to the motivations behind such seismic donations, telling LBC: “I come at this from a very simple starting point, which is I know that the British people can't be bought.
“The second question is then, so what are these people paying for? I don't know, but if they want to support democracy in our country, fantastic.
“However, you know, you've got to look at what it is that they're negotiating for, what it is that they're asking for, and why it is that they've chosen to do it like this. That's up to them.”
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice has told LBC the party’s recent £36 million donation will put it “on a level playing field” with Labour and the Conservatives.
In response to the idea that the Conservative Party has also benefited from major donations, Tugendhat said: “This is completely novel.”
Tugendhat also touched on crypto usage in other elections, saying: “I'm sure that the Treasurer and people in Reform will have checked to make sure that they're not in any way connected to the kind of crypto schemes that saw Romania's election being bought, or indeed Russian money laundering going into various other countries.
“Or indeed connected to the Iranian purchase of weapons from Venezuela, which of course was another crypto purchase which I was fighting when I was the Security Minister.
“But, you know, I'm sure they'll have done their homework.”
Nigel Farage has hailed Reform UK’s £72 million donations, which he says will help make the party “ready to form a government” at the next election.
The leader of Reform UK said that the money, brought in by two matching £36 million donations by cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, would be used to build the party’s policy and campaign operation.
Mr Farage said Reform would fund a major research and policy department to ensure its plans were “properly costed and workable”, while bringing in expertise across key areas.
The party says it has raised over £86 million in donations this year, and the latest cash injection will bolster recruitment at its headquarters and campaign teams in target seats.
"The money will be used for one purpose only: to make certain we are ready to form a government at the next election," he told The Telegraph.
“Reform UK will fund the best research and policy department British politics has ever seen. They will ensure our policies are properly costed and workable. And they will allow us to hire the best minds in every area in which expertise is required," he said.
Mr Harborne said his donation was not in return for personal favours, instead calling it a “philanthropic gift” intended to help build a party capable of running the country.
The donations come as Mr Farage faces a parliamentary inquiry into a previous £5 million personal gift from Mr Harborne, as well as a separate police inquiry into party funding.
The news of the record-breaking donations has been met with backlash from critics, including Labour, who warned of the dangers of funding Farage’s “divisive messaging” and urged members to consider donating to “help Labour fight back”.
Duncan Hames, of Transparency International UK, said the donations represented “an irrefutable case” for a cap, arguing: “At this rate just two people could end up buying our democracy before the next election.”
Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward also pushed for a cap, and accused Reform of acting as “a vessel for the super wealthy”.
Speaking with LBC on Saturday, Tice said that he is “enormously humbled at the vote of confidence” from donor Ben Delo, the billionaire co-founder of crypto trading platform BitMEX who was recently pardoned by President Donald Trump.
When asked what the party will do with the millions, Tice said: “It'll allow us to employ campaign managers, as I say, in almost every constituency across the country.
“It will allow us to employ the best, highest quality researchers, policy people, and to retain the best... And having that confidence, it actually gives other potential donors additional confidence as well.”
Delo currently resides in Hong Kong, but will be moving back to the UK to make this large donation compliant with British electoral law.
He was previously convicted of a Bank Secrecy Act violation in the US. His probationary period was cut short due to a pardon from President Trump.
Tice was asked by LBC about Reform’s other ongoing donation scandals, specifically about how Nigel Farage is currently being looked into by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for taking a £5 million personal gift from another crypto magnate prior to running as an MP.
Tice said in response: “Of course, our enemies are going to do everything they can and have been to try and stop us. That's the brutal nature of politics in the United Kingdom today.”
The MP for Boston and Skegness added: “What we're deeply grateful for is people who, who love this country, huge patriots that know it's, it's broken, nothing works, we're in terrible financial trouble, we're being invaded by illegal migrants, and we've got to change course urgently.
"Otherwise, it's literally game over for this country.”
Tice did not directly answer whether any of the £36 million will go towards paying legal fees faced by the party.
Reform is currently also being investigated by the Metropolitan Police after leaders, including Nigel Farage, appeared to discuss a foreign donation scheme in a Channel 4 sting.
In response to whether he is concerned that voters will be turned off by the numerous donation scandals, Tice said: “You have good days, you have bad days. That's the nature of life.
“We push on, and we've got to make sure that we have the best people doing the best job. And if we achieve that, then hopefully we'll convince more and more people to vote for us.”