Will record donations to Reform go down as a moment of political change?

When news of Reform UK's two record-breaking £36m donations emerged this weekend, it felt as if Nigel Farage's inner circle was attempting a fightback.

The last few months have proved difficult for the party, with a dip in the polls, a spike in infighting and a series of questions about money that simply won't go away.

In contrast, the mood within the ranks of Labour and the Conservatives has been fairly chipper.

Most Labour MPs feel Andy Burnham has got off to an impressive start as prime minister, while many Conservatives are feeling confident about Kemi Badenoch's recent reshuffle of her top team.

But Reform has been quietly - and as of this weekend rather loudly - building a formidable war chest.

Even before these two mega donations, Reform had raised £30.5m since the start of the year, more than double their nearest rivals.

This extra £72m takes them into uncharted financial territory, which the party says will be used to hire the brightest policy minds, as well as up to 400 campaign managers in every target seat around the country.

In a world of fractured politics, when seats can be won on increasingly smaller percentages of the vote, having a ground campaign that is effective at getting out the core voter base could become increasingly important.