Crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne ‘no longer’ interested in Reform-Tory election pact | Politics
Ultra-rich political donor Christopher Harborne, who donated £12 million to Reform England, told the Guardian he was “no longer” interested in a Reform-Conservative deal before the next general election.
Sources familiar with the conversations said a possible collaboration between Reform UK and the Conservative party was a key aspect of discussions about donations between Harborne and senior figures including Nigel Farage.
The same sources added that the Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor had previously asked Farage to keep an open mind about a deal between the two parties.
However, this position has changed. “This was probably the case in the past, but this is no longer the case,” Harborne said in an emailed statement.
He also said he believes “cryptocurrency should be regulated in the UK.”
Farage has been vocal in advocating for wider adoption of cryptocurrency in Britain, including during a meeting with Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey last year. He said the central bank was “moving a little too slowly” on this issue.
He promised reform Transforming the UK into a “first hub” Reducing capital gains for cryptocurrency from the base rate of 18% or higher to 10% from 24%.
Harborne told the Guardian Farage was “right” when he said he did not want anything in return for his donations.
Harborne, a Thailand-based aviation and cryptocurrency investor, previously gave £10 million to the Brexit party to fund its 2019 election campaign.
A significant portion of Harborne’s wealth comes from investments in cryptocurrency. One of these bets was on Tether, in which he had a 12% stake. It is now one of the world’s most popular stablecoins; A type of digital asset pegged to the US dollar. It also has shares in Bitfinex, Tether’s sister exchange.
Harborne founded AML Global, an aviation fuel company, and is also a shareholder in QinetiQ, a British defense company. He was born in the United Kingdom, also known as Chakrit Sakunkrit in Thai, and has naturalized citizenship in the country.
It is known that Harborne is friends with George Cottrell, one of Farage’s close aides, whose family also donated to the party. Harborne denied playing a role in Cottrell’s decision to donate and said any suggestion of this was “complete nonsense”.
Harborne’s latest donation to Reform UK (£3 million in November) was announced on Thursday. It had previously given £9 million in August, according to Electoral Commission data.
The donations put Reform’s fundraising efforts well ahead of other major parties. In the last three months of last year, the party received £5.5 million, compared to £1.9 million from Labour, £2.4 million from the Conservatives and £1.3 million from the Liberal Democrats.
Reformation tops UK political polls, but its popularity has waned slightly; It has fallen to 23% this month from a high of 29% in the autumn of last year, according to voting intention data from polling firm YouGov.
Harborne has also previously given money to the Conservative Party and £1 million to Boris Johnson’s private office after the former prime minister left government.
The size of Harborne’s donations to Reform has renewed questions about whether there should be a cap on donations from individuals or companies. Senior Labor MPs have called for an immediate ban on political donations in cryptocurrencies after the Electoral Commission agreed to allow donations this way.
According to Farage, Reform became the first party to accept donations in digital currency in the autumn.
