Reform UK raising millions more than other parties, donation figures show

Farage’s party brings in £9m largely from crypto billionaires in three months, more than twice that of Labour and Tories

Reform UK is raising millions more than the other political parties from private donations, bringing in £9m largely from cryptocurrency billionaires in the first three months of the year.

Nigel Farage’s party took a £3m donation from the cryptocurrency and aviation investor, Christopher Harborne, who is a British-Thai dual citizen, and £4m from the cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ben Delo, who is relocating to the UK from Hong Kong.

Between them, the pair’s donations account for a third of all private money flowing into politics in the first quarter.

Reform’s fundraising far outstripped Labour and the Conservatives , which each raised about £4m from private donations.

The party’s donation from the Thailand-based Harborne brings his total donations to £15m in the last year, while Delo is a first-time donor to the party. Reform also secured £1m in donations from David Grainger, an investor in health and longevity.

Another new donor is Navroz Udwadia, the co-founder of an investment firm called New Wave Global, while a company owned by Reform’s leader on South Tyneside council, Paul Mackings, donated £111,000.

The Conservatives’ coffers were boosted by £1.1m from a donor called Mary V Doran, while Labour’s biggest contributors were its regular donors David Sainsbury and Gary Lubner, as well as the major trade unions.