\n<\/p>\n
Harborne has already donated millions to Reform and Farage, who is currently under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a \u00a35m cash gift from Harborne ahead of the 2024 election.<\/p>\n
Farage has argued that he was under no obligation to register the “purely private” gift, as it was unrelated to his parliamentary or political activities.<\/p>\n
The party is also facing scrutiny after a broadcast by Channel 4 News last week showed two senior Reform aides apparently suggesting a way around electoral law to secure foreign party donations. <\/p>\n
The Metropolitan Police has said it is investigating, while the party denies any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
The force is also looking into donations given to the party by Fiona Cottrell, mother of longstanding Farage ally George Cottrell, as well as a company controlled by Tice.<\/p>\n
Harborne wrote on Saturday that he had “already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life”, while Reform was a “start-up party” that lacked “the benefit of hundreds of years of patronage”.<\/p>\n
“A start-up party needs more money than can be provided by membership fees alone, to build and sustain itself and be ready for government,” he said.<\/p>\n
Harborne and Delo’s donations mark the largest sums received by a UK political party since they had to begin declaring them in 2001.<\/p>\n
Delo, who also announced his donation in a Telegraph op-ed, said he was giving the money away because he wanted a “fair fight and a level playing field”. He said in April he was moving back to Britain from Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Addressing the recent scrutiny of Reform’s finances, he said: “My conclusion from Reform’s recent troubles is that they should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government.”<\/p>\n
Last year, he was given an unconditional pardon by US President Donald Trump over a breach of anti-money laundering laws at his crypto trading platform, BitMEX, to which he had pleaded guilty in 2022.<\/p>\n
There are currently no restrictions on the amount of money UK-based donors can give to political parties.<\/p>\n
However, the Labour government has introduced a \u00a3100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living overseas, and plans to introduce a similar one for those who have recently returned to the UK.<\/p>\n
There were nine donations of \u00a31m or more to political parties in 2025. The largest was \u00a39m given to Reform UK by Harborne.<\/p>\n
Labour had five donations of \u00a31m or more – totalling nearly \u00a310m – and the Conservatives had three of \u00a31m each.<\/p>\n
Labour said Reform and Farage still had “serious questions” to answer about their finances.<\/p>\n
Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Reform were “drowning” in “sleaze and scandal”.<\/p>\n
She added: “It’s time Farage and Reform came clean with the public, fully co-operated with the ongoing police investigations and prove they’re not just in it for themselves.”<\/p>\n
Rachel Millward, deputy leader of the Green Party, told BBC News it wanted a cap on donations from individuals of \u00a3500,000.<\/p>\n
She said the donations to Reform were “absolutely staggering amounts”, adding: “What I am very frustrated about is the influence of extreme wealth and the super rich. What I want to see is people in politics representing the needs of their communities and ordinary people.”<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart called for the government to introduce emergency legislation to cap donations.<\/p>\n
She said: “These are eye-watering amounts of money. This is real emergency for our democracy. It presents a very clear and present threat.”<\/p>\n
Labour MP Stella Creasy and other backbenchers had proposed an amendment to the Government’s Representation of the People Bill that would stop donors giving parties over \u00a3100,000 a year.<\/p>\n
But the amendment was never debated in the Commons after the government said it would set up a task force to investigate the issue. The bill will be debated in the House of Lords on Monday.<\/p>\n
Duncan Hames, Director of Policy and Programmes at campaigning charity Transparency International UK, said: “This is a watershed moment, with two billionaires pledging \u00a372m to one political party in less than 48 hours.<\/p>\n
“This situation is now completely out of control, and makes an irrefutable case for government to bring forward an annual cap on political donations, and fast.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n