Crypto investor donates record £9m to Reform UK

Reform UK has received a record £9m donation from cryptocurrency investor and aviation entrepreneur Christopher Harborne, new figures from the Electoral Commission show.

It is the largest ever single donation by a living person to a British political party.

Mr Harborne, who is British but lives in Thailand, has previously given large sums to the Conservatives under Boris Johnson's leadership, as well as Reform's predecessor the Brexit Party in 2019 and 2020.

While the next general election is not due until 2029, the donation comes ahead of local elections next May.

Reform UK has been consistently leading in national opinion polls since the spring.

Mr Harborne's donation breaks the previous record for a living person, which was £8m from supermarket tycoon Lord David Sainsbury to the Liberal Democrats in 2019.

His cousin Lord John Sainsbury left £10m to the Conservatives in his will in 2022.

Two of Mr Harborne's businesses - AML Global and Sherriff Group - are linked to private aircraft and aviation.

Reform leader Nigel Farage has been a supporter of cryptocurrency, announcing in May that his party would be the first in the UK to accept donations in Bitcoin.

Mr Harborne's donation, which was made on 1 August, was not in cryptocurrency.

According to the Electoral Commission's latest figures, Reform UK received donations totalling more than £10.2m between July and September.

This was more than the Conservatives, who received £4.6m in donations, followed by Labour on £2.1m and the Liberal Democrats on £1m.

Aside from Mr Harborne's donation, the next biggest during the three-month period was £1m given by games programmer and tech entrepreneur Jeremy Elliott San to the Conservatives.

Labour's biggest donor was the Unite union with £362,625, while the Liberal Democrats received its largest sum - £50,000 - from Neale Powell-Cook, who owns a food supply company.

It is the first quarter since last year's general election that Reform has received more in donations than the Conservatives.

A Reform spokesman said the figures "show the incredible progress" the party is making.

"This is further evidence that we have all the momentum in British politics," he added.

However, overall the Tories have still received more donations since July 2024 - around £14.4m compared with £13.5m for Reform.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the Tories had been "out-raising" other parties throughout this year, while Mr Harborne's donation to Reform was a "one-off".

"If you look at the breadth and depth of our donors, and the trend, I'm really, really pleased with the announcement today that shows that we've had our best performing quarter since I became leader," she told broadcasters.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lisa Smart said the latest figures showed "some eye-watering donations".

"Our elections are not being fought on an even footing if they can be bought by a small handful of individuals," she added.

Political parties are required to report all donations above £11,180 to the Electoral Commission.

Opposition parties also receive public funds to support their parliamentary duties, with allocations based on their performance at the previous election.

Between July and September, Reform received £227,835 in public funds - far less than the £2.3m received by the Conservatives and the £1m for the Liberal Democrats.

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