Reform UK has landed a record £36 million donation from British cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo, making him by far the largest political donor in the United Kingdom and providing Nigel Farage’s party with a major financial boost ahead of the next general election.
Delo, who has returned to the UK from Hong Kong, has previously donated £8 million to Reform UK since the beginning of the year. His latest contribution significantly surpasses the £15 million given to the party by Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne, who had previously emerged as one of Reform’s most prominent financial backers.
The new donation had been the subject of speculation because of rules governing political donations from individuals who are not sufficiently connected to the UK.
Under the overseas funding restrictions, donors are generally required to have been resident in the UK for at least 12 months before making political contributions exceeding £100,000.
Reform UK, however, has previously insisted that it was confident Delo would not be required to return any money because of the restrictions.
The businessman’s political rise is particularly notable given his previous legal troubles in the United States. Delo was convicted in 2022 after failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls at BitMEX, the cryptocurrency trading platform he co-founded. The business had processed transactions worth about $1 trillion.
He was subsequently pardoned by US President Donald Trump.
Delo has since become increasingly politically active in Britain, positioning himself as an advocate for free speech and a critic of what he describes as the entrenched political establishment.
His decision to commit such a substantial sum to Reform UK represents a significant escalation in the role of private wealth in the party’s political strategy and could intensify calls for restrictions on the size of political donations.
The issue has already attracted growing attention within the Labour government, with ministers examining possible measures to prevent a small number of wealthy individuals from exercising excessive influence over British politics.
Record Donation Intensifies Concerns Over Political Influence
Delo’s £36 million contribution has placed Reform UK’s fundraising operation under renewed scrutiny while highlighting the growing financial disparity between the party and its political rivals.
Labour MP Stella Creasy, who has been campaigning for a cap on political donations, argued that the size of the contribution demonstrated the need for urgent action.
“The government has admitted UK mega-donors are a problem – donations like this show why we must act and the good news is it’s not too late to do something about them. We can still stop these people from distorting the next election by confirming what the cap should be on UK donations in the representation of the people bill in the Lords.”
Stella Creasy
The development also comes as the government considers how existing political finance rules should respond to the growing influence of mega-donors.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously been reluctant to support a universal cap on political donations, while Labour figure Andy Burnham has also recently moved away from backing such a restriction.
More recently, however, the government has acknowledged concerns about mega-donations and said it was examining ways to prevent a small number of individuals from exerting excessive influence over politics.
The issue is therefore moving beyond Reform UK’s fundraising and into a wider debate about the integrity of Britain’s political financing system.
According to Nigel Farage, the donation represents a major opportunity to strengthen Reform UK’s organisational and electoral capabilities ahead of the next election.
“I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo has shown such confidence in Reform. Ben knows that we are the only party that can turn the country around and reverse Britain’s decline.”
Nigel Farage
Meanwhile, Delo has publicly explained his decision to support Reform UK, arguing that he believes Britain’s political establishment has become an obstacle to national recovery.
“The biggest obstacle to national recovery is the entrenched self-deception of our elites. Their regime of nonsense now poses such a grave threat to the UK that, for the first time in my life, I’ve become politically active.”
Ben Delo
Delo also linked his political activism to his views on free speech and government policy, indicating that, as a person on the autism spectrum, he objected to what he described as a political culture that “forces everyone to be chronically dishonest.”
His comments have contributed to the explanation of why he has been investing more and more of his fortune in British politics.
However, Delo’s involvement in politics goes beyond Reform UK. From a political base close to Westminster Abbey, he provides support to over fifty organisations in public and political life, including individuals and non-affiliated groups.
However, the size of his most recent contribution to Reform UK is probably going to keep political influence concerns at the forefront of British politics.
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