Crypto billionaires hand Reform greater than 10 occasions what Labour will get from unions
Donations from crypto billionaires to Reform UK amount to more than 10 times the funding Labour has received from unions, analysis of official data shows
More than half of all political donations since the last election have been made to Reform UK(Image: Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
Donations from crypto billionaires to Reform UK amount to more than 10 times the funding Labour has received from unions, analysis of official data shows.
More than half of all political donations since the last election have been made to Reform UK. The party made headlines this weekend when it was revealed that they had received two record-breaking donations from their biggest donors.
Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo have each given the party £36million, making them the joint single largest donations in British political history. They eclipsed the previous record of £10million made by Lord John Sainsbury to the Conservative Party in September 2023.
But the latest donations may fall foul of incoming changes to the law that would restrict donations from expats to £100,000. Mr Delo and Mr Harborne’s gifts are likely to be affected by the new rules, as they came into effect on March 25, when they were announced.
You can see the donations received by each party since the last general election by using our interactive chart:
If Reform has to hand back the cash, Nigel Farage has threatened to cut off Labour’s union funding if his right-wing outfit ever wins power. In an article for The Telegraph, he said: “I would just warn the Labour Party here and now: if you try and ban our donors, we in government would certainly ban funding from the trade unions. I don’t want to go down that route. But it is something we would be prepared to do.”
Labour’s largest donations since the election have tended to be from the unions. A total of £9million has been received by the party from a variety of different unions.
Reform has received more than 10-times that amount from crypto billionaires, with the latest donations pushing the total to £95million from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo.
Unite the Union has given £2.7million since July 2024. GMB, meanwhile, has donated £1.8million, Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) has given £1.8million, UNISON has given £1.6million, while Gary Lubner has given just under £1.4million.
Since the last general election, Reform UK has now received almost £107million. That’s more than half (55%) of all money given to parties in that time, including public funds.
Data from the Electoral Commission shows every donation received by political parties up to the end of June this year.
Reform UK had received almost a third (28%) of all donations up to that point. The newly announced £72million dwarfs the amount received by their rivals and is far more than The Conservatives (£37million), Labour (£21million), Lib Dems (£17million), SNP (£2million) and Green (£2million) combined.
The Conservative Party have received their largest contribution from public funds.
The House of Commons has given the party almost £9.1million in central funding since the last election. Games software magnate, Jeremy Elliott San, has given the party £3.0million. The National Conservative Draws Society £1.4million, the House of Lords £1.3 million, the House of Commons Fees Office £1.3million, and Mary V Doran £1.1million.
Broaden the timeframe, however, and we see the traditional parties receiving more money. In the whole of 2024, Labour received £42million. The bulk of that (£32million) was in the months leading up to the general election.
The Conservatives received £32million that year, and £48million in 2023.
Reform UK have now received almost £110million since the start of 2021. The Conservatives have received £150million in that time, Labour have received £129million, the Lib Dems £45million, and the Greens £5million.
