Another crypto tycoon gives £36m to Reform UK
Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor, has donated $48.7 million to Reform UK, matching a similar gift from Ben Delo. The combined donations total $97 million since Friday. The party faces a police investigation into possible illegal foreign donations.
Harborne, 63, announced his £36m contribution in the Saturday edition of the Daily Telegraph, framing it as a philanthropic gesture to the nation and saying he felt compelled to match the pledge made by BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo, 42, just 24 hours earlier. The two gifts bring Reform UK's incoming funds to roughly $97m within a single week.
The donations arrive as London's Metropolitan Police examine whether the party accepted foreign money illegally. Reform leader Nigel Farage defended the contributions on social media, insisting the donors seek nothing in return. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch countered that money cannot purchase judgment or integrity. Polling suggests Reform has shed some support since Andy Burnham succeeded Keir Starmer as prime minister.
These mega-donations could reshape perceptions of political funding in the UK, particularly while a police investigation into foreign donations is active. Voters may grow more skeptical of Reform's anti-establishment positioning if its financial backing increasingly comes from offshore-based billionaires. The scale of the gifts could also pressure other parties to reconsider donation limits, and may influence how the public weighs integrity claims against financial firepower in the run-up to future elections.