Two crypto billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, have each handed Reform UK £36 million within two days, a sum that sets a new record and reopens an old question in British public life: whether money can be allowed to purchase a seat at the table of democracy. Tom Tugendhat, a senior Conservative, has cautioned that Britain should not drift toward the American model of politics as a contest of fortunes, where the richest voice grows loudest. Yet he also insists the public cannot be bought, and that the honest test is not the size of a gift but what it is meant to secure, and whether
Tugendhat warns of 'cash race' in UK politics as Reform receives record £72m in crypto-billionaire donations
Two crypto billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, have each handed Reform UK £36 million within two days, a sum that sets a new record and reopens an old question in British public life: whether money can be allowed to purchase a seat at the table of democracy. Tom Tugendhat, a senior Conservative, has cautioned that Britain should not drift toward the American model of politics as a contest of fortunes, where the richest voice grows loudest. Yet he also insists the public cannot be bought, and that the honest test is not the size of a gift but what it is meant to secure, and whether those who give it have been looked at closely enough. The answer, like the inquiries now under way, has yet to arrive.
Two cryptocurrency billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, have each given Reform UK £36 million within 48 hours. The total, £72 million, is a record, and it has revived the argument about whether Britain should cap political donations.
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservatives' Shadow Foreign Secretary, told LBC he has not taken a position on a cap. He said people should be free to support politics if they are permissible donors, but warned that American-style money is creeping into the UK and that Britain should not enter a cash race. He said he starts from the view that the British people can't be bought, but the question is what the donors want in return. He noted that the donors' links to crypto schemes abroad should be checked, and said he trusted Reform had done its homework.
Delo, co-founder of the crypto platform BitMEX, was convicted in the US of a Bank Secrecy Act violation and later pardoned by President Trump. Harborne called his gift philanthropic and said it was not in return for favours. Farage told The Telegraph the money would build the best policy department British politics has seen and ensure Reform is ready to govern. Richard Tice said it levels the field with Labour and the Conservatives.
The gifts come under a cloud. Farage is being examined by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over a £5 million gift from Harborne, and the Metropolitan Police are investigating a Channel 4 sting. Critics including Transparency International UK and the Greens are pressing for a cap, and the pressure is likely to grow while the inquiries remain open.
Two cryptocurrency billionaires each gave Reform UK £36 million within 48 hours, and a senior Conservative has now said Britain should be careful about what that kind of money does to its politics. The total, £72 million, is a record. It has revived the argument over whether political donations in the UK should be capped.
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservatives' Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, gave his view to LBC. He said he had not taken a position on a cap, because people who want to support politics should be able to, provided they are permissible donors. But he warned that much of American politics is being imported into the UK, and said Britain does not want an arms race, or rather a cash race. He said he likes the lower budgets of British politics, which leave candidates free to go out and talk to people. Of Reform, he added that he presumed it would now be paying its volunteers, but that people should see what happens.
Tugendhat said he starts from the view that the British people can't be bought. The open question, he said, is what the donors are paying for. He did not claim to know, but said that if they want to support democracy, that is fine. Still, he argued, it is worth looking at what they are negotiating for, what they are asking for, and why they chose to do it this way. Asked whether his own party has also benefited from major donations, he called the Reform gifts completely novel.
He also raised crypto's record in other countries. He said he was sure Reform's treasurer and others had checked that the donors have no link to the crypto schemes that saw Romania's election bought, or to Russian money laundering in other countries, or to Iran's purchase of weapons from Venezuela by crypto, something he said he fought as Security Minister. He added that he was sure they would have done their homework.
The donors are Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. Delo is the co-founder of the crypto trading platform BitMEX. He was convicted in the US of a Bank Secrecy Act violation, and his probation was cut short when President Donald Trump pardoned him. He lives in Hong Kong but is moving back to the UK so that the donation complies with British electoral law. Harborne called his gift philanthropic and said it was not in return for personal favours.
Nigel Farage, Reform's leader, told The Telegraph the money would serve one purpose: making sure the party is ready to form a government at the next election. He said it would fund the best research and policy department British politics has ever seen, to make sure policies are properly costed and workable, and would pay for experts in every field needed. Reform says it has raised more than £86 million in donations this year, and the new money will boost recruitment at headquarters and campaign teams in target seats. Deputy leader Richard Tice told LBC it puts Reform on a level playing field with Labour and the Conservatives, and would pay for campaign managers in almost every constituency. He said he was enormously humbled by Delo's vote of confidence, and that a gift this size gives other potential donors confidence too.
The gifts come under a cloud. Farage is being examined by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over a £5 million personal gift from Harborne, received before he stood as an MP. Separately, the Metropolitan Police are investigating after Farage and other leaders appeared to discuss a foreign donation scheme in a Channel 4 sting. Tice said opponents will do everything to stop Reform, calling that the brutal nature of politics. He did not directly answer whether any of the £36 million would go on legal fees. Asked whether voters might be put off, he said you have good days and bad days.
Critics moved quickly. Labour urged members to donate to help it fight back, warning against funding Farage's divisive messaging. Duncan Hames of Transparency International UK said the gifts were an irrefutable case for a cap, warning that at this rate two people could end up buying democracy before the next election. Green deputy leader Rachel Millward also backed a cap and called Reform a vessel for the super wealthy. The pressure for a cap is likely to grow, and the standards and police inquiries remain to be resolved.
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