How Reform UK Became Britain's Top-Funded Party in 2024

In the third quarter of 2024, Reform UK pulled in £10.3 million in donations—more than Labour and the Conservative Party combined. Labour, which actually runs the government, only raised £2.2 million. The Conservatives got £4.7 million. This was a shock. For decades, the big established parties have always been the richest. Not this time.

According to Bloomberg, Reform UK—the populist party led by Nigel Farage—achieved this by landing two enormous individual donations. Most of the money came from just two people: £9 million from Christopher Harborne and £4 million from Ben Delo.

What's Happening With These Big Donations?

Christopher Harborne made his wealth in property and aviation. He has given Reform UK huge sums before, backing the Brexit campaign and Farage's earlier movements.

Ben Delo's £4 million is more unusual. Delo co-founded BitMEX, a cryptocurrency trading platform. In the United States, he pleaded guilty to breaking banking rules—specifically, his platform did not properly check who its customers were and let American traders use it illegally. Donald Trump pardoned him in early 2025. According to the Financial Times, Delo is now moving from Hong Kong to Britain.

His donation is one of the largest sums ever given to a British political party by someone from the cryptocurrency industry. It signals that crypto wealth is beginning to flow into UK politics, much as it did in American politics during the 2024 election.

Why This Matters

Here is the key difference: Reform UK got nearly all its money from two donors. Labour and the Conservatives typically raise money from many sources—unions, companies, party members, smaller individual gifts. When you depend on just a few very rich people, it creates a different kind of political party. It can be faster to raise large sums, but it also means fewer people have influence over decisions.

Labour's low fundraising total is partly expected. Parties that run the government often see donors pause their giving. The Conservatives' £4.7 million is also lower than it used to be. The party is still recovering from its election loss and is choosing new leadership—a time when donors tend to wait and see.

The bigger picture here is that Reform UK, which was once just a party focused on Brexit, is now proving it can raise serious money and stay powerful even when not in government. That is new for British politics.

A New Rule Could Change Everything

Labour has proposed capping individual political donations at £100,000 per year. This would reshape how Reform UK funds itself. Under that rule, to raise what it got in Q3 2024, Reform UK would need about 103 donors instead of relying on two mega-donors.

Similar proposals are being debated across Europe. The concern is simple: when a few very rich people can pour millions into a political party, their voice becomes louder than everyone else's. That troubles people who care about democracy.

Where This Came From

This shift in how populist parties get funded started during the Brexit referendum. Back then, wealthy donors who had never given to politics before suddenly funded campaigns outside the traditional party system. Reform UK has learned from that model and scaled it up.

The pattern also mirrors what has happened in the United States, where billionaires and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs have become major political donors. Delo's gift to Reform UK is part of that same global trend—very rich people in tech and crypto are now directly bankrolling political movements they believe in.

What Happens Next?

The data shows Reform UK has reached a milestone. It no longer needs to win an election to survive—it can raise enough money from wealthy supporters to keep operating and competing. That changes the British political landscape.

For the Conservative Party, this is a warning. Donors who backed Brexit but grew frustrated with Conservative policies are now giving to Reform UK instead. That's a real financial threat as the Conservatives try to rebuild.

Whether Labour's donation cap becomes law will matter enormously. If it passes, every party will have to rethink how they raise money. If it doesn't, we may see even more political power flow toward whoever can attract the wealthiest donors.