Key facts
- Two crypto billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, donated £72 million to Reform UK.
- Ben Delo, co-founder of BitMEX, gave £36 million, the largest single donation in British political history.
- Tether investor Christopher Harborne matched Delo's £36 million donation.
- The total donation of £72 million exceeds the roughly £69 million all UK parties raised last year.
- Britain banned crypto political donations in March.
- TUC leader Paul Nowak called for stricter rules on foreign funding and donations from non-residents.
Two crypto billionaires have given Nigel Farage's Reform UK party £72 million ($97 million) in two days, a sum that exceeds the total donations received by all British political parties last year. The record-breaking contributions have intensified debate within the UK's trade union movement over capping domestic political donations.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has called for action against "super-rich" individuals "corrupting our politics," framing the large donations as a "crisis for our democracy." He argued that donations from individuals who do not live and pay taxes in Britain should not be permitted and called for stricter rules on foreign funding for political advertisements. Nowak distinguished between small contributions from union members and the substantial sums given by billionaires, suggesting that Reform UK and Nigel Farage were "for sale."
However, union leaders are divided on the issue. While Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, has publicly supported donation limits, many others, including the GMB, fear that such caps could be used by a future right-wing government to restrict union donations. A statement on political donations is expected from Labour-affiliated unions to be presented to the TUC general council.
Reform UK's deputy leader, Richard Tice, stated that the party was confident in its compliance with all donation laws but could not specify when the donors, Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, had returned to the UK. Harborne is registered to vote in the UK but lives in Thailand, while Delo has returned from Hong Kong. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticized the proposed retrospective nature of donation caps as "pathetic."