Farage hails £72m donation from crypto-billionaires as critics call for political funding cap
Nigel Farage has said that the money, brought in by two matching £36 million donations by cryptocurrency billionaires, would be used to build Reform UK's policy and campaign operation.
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.
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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.
Read more: Labour appeals for donations after Reform receives £72m in 24 hours
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”.
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.
Speaking with LBC, 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.”