Farage’s Reform UK gets record £9m donation from British billionaire Christopher Harborne who helped bankroll Brexit
Nigel Farage’s bid to get into Downing Street has received a major boost after it was revealed that a billionaire entrepreneur has donated a record £9 million to Reform UK.
Christopher Harborne, who previously donated to the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson, made what is thought to be the largest donation made by a living person to a party.
The British-born businessman, who now lives in Thailand, made his money as an aviation entrepreneur and crypto investor.
He had previously donated heavily to the Brexit Party, Reform UK’s predecessor, in 2019 and 2020, but had not donated to politics for five years before giving money to Reform in August.
Reform UK’s total donation of £10.5 million was the largest of any party during this period, followed by the Conservative Party, which received just under £7 million.
Labor received £2.5 million, while the Liberal Democrats received just over £2 million.
Mr Harborne is another former ally of Mr Johnson who supports Farage and Reform UK. While Prime Minister, he traveled to Ukraine with Mr Johnson and made a well-publicised £1m donation to him.
Although he has lived in Thailand for over 20 years, holds a Thai passport and sometimes uses his Thai name, Harborne has donated significant amounts to British politics.
coming late More in Common polls show Reform well ahead with a 30 per cent lead, while the Conservative Party and Labor have a combined 21 per cent of the vote.
The reform was also helped by a £500,000 donation from high-profile property developer Nick Candy, who quit the Conservative Party last year.
A further £100,000 was given from William Alan McIntosh, founder of Emerald Investment Partners, an investment company. Reform also received a £50,000 donation from Viscountess Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail and its parent company DMGT.
The £9 million given to Reform UK is believed to be the largest political donation on record from a living person, second only to Lord Sainsbury, who left £10 million to the Conservatives in his will after his death in 2023.
The lack of major donations was previously one of the biggest questions about whether Mr Farage and Reform UK could successfully translate support in the polls into a general election.
It gives them money to develop their policies and invest in their campaign machinery both on the ground and through national advertising.
In the previous round of donations, Reform had struggled to come in third behind the Conservatives and Labor.
The donations come amid controversy over Labor delaying new mayoral elections by two years to 2028; because Labor was worried that Reformation would sweep away all elections next May.
