Reform UK lands record 36 million pound donation

A single donation of £36 million has made cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ben Delo the biggest political donor in the UK, according to the Guardian and the Independent. The money goes to Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, as the party faces a police investigation into allegations of illegal foreign funding. Reform says Delo has moved back to the UK from Hong Kong, a detail that has drawn attention because UK rules restrict large donations from people who have not been resident for a set period.

The size of the cheque matters because it changes how a party can operate between elections. The Independent reports the donation almost matches the total £38 million Reform has received since it launched in 2021, instantly turning a young party into one that can hire staff, commission research, and run sustained campaigning rather than relying on volunteer energy and bursts of publicity. Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice said the money would help the party employ “the best people” and build a professional campaign and policy platform, while Farage described himself as “honoured and humbled”.

It also deepens a pattern already visible in Reform’s funding. The Guardian notes that Delo’s gift surpasses an earlier £15 million donation from Christopher Harborne, a donor based in Thailand, and comes as Farage faces a standards inquiry over an undeclared personal gift from Harborne. In parallel, the Independent says scrutiny has intensified after a Channel 4 undercover investigation appeared to show senior Reform figures discussing ways to disguise donations from foreign sources—an allegation now tied to a Metropolitan Police criminal investigation.

Delo’s own background adds another layer of political vulnerability. Both outlets report he was convicted in the US in 2022 over failures to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls at his crypto business BitMEX, and later received a pardon from Donald Trump. That history is not a footnote for a party campaigning on law, order and state competence: it is the donor’s biography being stapled to the party’s balance sheet.

The reaction from Labour has focused on the scale of influence that a single individual can buy under current rules. Labour MP Stella Creasy argued that Delo’s one-day donation exceeded Labour’s total spending at the last general election, and urged ministers to use legislation in the House of Lords to cap donations. But the Guardian reports that Keir Starmer has avoided endorsing a blanket cap, and Andy Burnham has recently backed away from supporting one—leaving ministers describing the issue as a concern while the money continues to arrive.

Delo told the Telegraph he intends to fund Reform at a rate of £1 million a month until the next expected general election, and the Independent reports he front-loaded that plan into a single payment to avoid the risk of future rule changes. The party’s funding is now partly insulated from Parliament’s timetable.

Reform UK entered this week under investigation for how it raises money. It ends it with enough money to make that investigation a secondary problem for its campaign operation.