Reform UK's £72m crypto windfall reignites donation cap debate
September 14, 2026 at 11:30 AM · Updated 32d ago
Coverage
12 reports · over 16 hours
Amendment to bill in Lords could test legality of £72m Reform donations
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Will the £72m of donations to Reform UK be allowed?
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The Guardian view on Reform UK: crypto billionaires must be stopped from undermining democracy | Editorial
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As Reform celebrates £72m in donations, tell me this: are you ready to see two rich men buy our democracy? | Owen Jones
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‘Party for sale’? Reform’s £72m donation causes backlash – podcast
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Nigel Farage says £72m donation are compliant 'with the law today'
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Farage: Donations to Reform '100% compliant with the law today'
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UK unions split over party donations cap as TUC chief says ‘super-rich’ corrupting politics
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What you need to know about the huge donations to Reform UK
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Reform declines to say whether £72m donors returned to UK in time to meet 12-month limit
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Monday briefing: What do Reform’s record-setting donations mean for the party – and our politics?
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Peers to debate donations law changes after Reform's £72m windfall
(opens the publisher’s site)Reform UK has received a record £72m in donations from two cryptocurrency billionaires as the House of Lords prepares to debate new caps on political donations.
- Reform UK received £72m in donations from cryptocurrency tycoons Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, in single gifts of £36m each, the largest in British political history.
- The House of Lords on Monday will debate bill changes proposing a £100,000 cap on donations from British voters living abroad, backdated to 25 March.
- Labour peer Lord Wills said he would amend the bill to extend the cap to donations from within the UK, while Unite general secretary Sharon Graham backed limits on individual donations.
- Reform said Labour aimed to "rig the system," while economic spokesman Robert Jenrick said the donations were "entirely in line with the law."
- Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice declined to confirm when the two crypto billionaires returned to the UK, amid scrutiny over the 12-month residency requirement.
- TUC general secretary Paul Nowak called on the government to stop the super-rich corrupting our politics at the union's Brighton conference.
- Union leaders met on Monday to weigh a cap on domestic donations, with sources reporting significant differences, including GMB fears it would curb union donations.
- Nigel Farage said the donations to Reform UK are '100% compliant with the law today', defending their legality amid the residency scrutiny.
- Farage criticised the government for attempting to retrospectively declare the donations illegal and threatened to limit trade union donations if elected prime minister.
- Channel 4 News and experts questioned the gifts' legality under the £100,000 cap for overseas voters, warning they could be repaid and attract criminal liability if ruled unlawful.
- The government plans to table amendments to the bill in the Lords within weeks requiring donors to prove ongoing physical presence in the UK.
- The government has established a cross-government task force to consider threats to UK democracy, including political finance and illegitimate influence.