Will the £72m of donations to Reform UK be allowed?

Party fundingExplainerWill the £72m of donations to Reform UK be allowed?

Key questions surrounding the huge sums donated by crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo

Kiran Stacey and Henry DyerMon 14 Sep 2026 14.41 EDTLast modified on Tue 15 Sep 2026 04.28 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on Google

Reform UK announced over the weekend the two biggest single political donations in British history: £36m from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and a further £36m from another crypto billionaire, Ben Delo.

However, by Monday experts were questioning whether the donations would be legal, especially under the elections bill that the government is bringing through parliament and which will apply retrospectively.

Are the donations allowable? Here are the key questions which must be answered.

Explore more on these topics

• Party funding
• Reform UK
• Nigel Farage
• Christopher Harborne
• explainers

ShareReuse this content