UK government pushes back on £72 million Reform UK donations as ministers weigh overseas cap

The donations and who gave them

Nigel Farage's Reform party just banked two extraordinary contributions worth £72 million combined, one from Christopher Harborne, a crypto billionaire based in Thailand, and the other from Ben Delo, who co-founded the BitMEX crypto exchange. According to filings on the register from earlier this year, Delo is now normally resident in the UK, following at least a decade based in Asia. The money is intended to bolster the insurgent party's push at the next general election and to counter critics along the way.

What ministers say they will change

On Sky television, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner put it bluntly: "If you don't pay taxes, if you don't live here, you can't buy your way into our democracy because you're a billionaire." Ministers are presently considering a bill to cap contributions by British citizens who live abroad at £100,000 per year, with further limits for recent returnees to the UK. Speaking separately to the BBC, Rayner stated the rules would be backdated, giving donors 60 days to refund amounts that breach them. Rayner also said she and minister Louise Haigh had sent a letter to the Electoral Commission asking "what further measures we need to protect our democracy."

Reform's response and what it could mean for your wallet

Reform's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick told the BBC the Harborne and Delo money "are entirely in line with the law as it is and as far as we know the law as it's going to be in the future." He also said neither donor asked for anything: "Neither of these two individuals nor anyone who donates to our party, is going to be on some honours list in the years ahead, if we're lucky enough to be in government."

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