Reform UK and £72 Million: A Simple Guide to What's Happened
Reform UK is set to get £72 million from two very rich British men, in donations made public within less than 48 hours.
The two men are Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. The BBC reported on 14 September that each man is giving £36 million BBC. Sky News described the £72 million total on 13 September as record-breaking, while Reuters reported on 12 September that the second £36 million came within 48 hours of the first Sky News.
Both men made their money from cryptocurrency. Mr Delo lived in Hong Kong until recently. Mr Harborne lived in Thailand until recently. Both have now moved back to the UK.
At present there is no limit on how much a person can give to a British party, at home or abroad, as long as they are on the electoral roll. That roll is the official list of people allowed to vote. Nigel Farage said the gifts from Mr Delo and Mr Harborne are "100% compliant with the law as it stands".
The government plans to change the rules for Britons living abroad. Ministers said gifts from that group would be limited to £100,000 per person per year, backdated to 25 March. On 25 March, then-Cabinet minister Steve Reed told the House of Commons — MPs at Westminster — that the £100,000 cap would apply from that date.
That date is when Philip Rycroft's review was published. The review said its first recommendation was a yearly cap on donations from British voters living abroad.
Reform UK opposes a cap on donations from abroad. Sky News reported polling which suggests most Britons favour a cap Sky News.
The party presented the money as long-term funding. Reform UK published an announcement titled "These £72m donations are in investment in democratic renewal" on its website on 14 September Reform UK. The party's leader said he was delighted and humbled by Mr Harborne's extraordinary £36 million gift.
The sums are much larger than before. The Electoral Commission — the independent watchdog for party funding — said Reform UK accepted £5,552,360 in the second quarter of 2026, in figures published on 3 September Electoral Commission. The party received £22.8 million in 2025. In 2020, Reform had four donors who made a reportable donation, meaning a gift large enough to be declared, according to Commission analysis published on 3 July.
Other recent records include a £50,000 cash gift to Reform UK's central party from BMJ Waste Ltd, accepted on 29 June 2026. The party's website states it has 270k+ active members, 8 MPs elected to Parliament, more than 2,400 councillors across Britain, and took control of 14 councils in May 2026.
Reform UK stated the Conservatives accepted roughly £150 million in reportable donations while Labour accepted around £128 million Reform UK.
The broader context here is a clash between what is allowed now and what ministers want to do next. The test at present is whether a donor is on the voter list, not where they live or how much they give. The plan would set a fixed yearly ceiling for overseas donors. The difficult part is how a backdated cap — like changing the rules after play has started — would treat money promised or accepted before any new law is passed.
In my view, the politics are as tricky as the legal detail. Ministers said the £100,000 limit would run from 25 March. Mr Farage said the current gifts meet the law as it stands. Both statements can be correct at once. That leaves Parliament to decide if a retrospective limit is workable, enforceable and fair, and leaves all parties to think about the use of very large gifts when voters favour restraint.
