The vast sums given to Nigel Farage’s party in recent days must lead to action on political funding The staggering sums gifted to Reform UK over the weekend have transformed the context for the representation of the people bill making its way through parliament. The announcement of two £36m donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, both crypto billionaires who have lived abroad, makes Andy Burnham’s decision not to impose a limit on political donations – a move he supported before becoming prime minister – look even more misguided. Fortunately the House of Lords still has the chance to amend the bill. It should take it by imposing meaningful limits on both political donations and party spending. It is unclear whether either man meets the criteria set out in the Rycroft review into foreign influence in politics. It set a maximum of £100,000 per annum for people who have not been in the UK for at least a year. Mr Delo previously lived in Hong Kong while Mr Harborne is based partly in Thailand; Nigel Farage said on Monday that he does not know the details of their movements. While ministers will view the prospect of a legal fight over eligibility with trepidation, they must do what it takes to ensure rules are met. Continue reading...

It’s not just that Nigel Farage claimed his movement abhorred the super-rich. It’s also the obscenity of individuals seeking so much sway over who runs the country As £72m in donations makes its way to Reform UK’s bank accounts, consider what Nigel Farage said on the eve of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union a decade ago. “This referendum is the people versus the establishment,” he declared. “It is the vested interest, it’s the rich, it’s the big business.” Just two years ago, Farage assailed “an unholy alliance of big business, big banks and big government”. He is also the same man who, when he debated with the then Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, in 2014, claimed to “represent the mercantile, trading, entrepreneurial end of society”, while his opponent “represents big banks, big government and big business”. Continue reading...

You can’t buy Dicky’s level of stupidity though it could be argued that Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo just have Never in the field of British politics has so much been given to so many by so few. You’d have thought Nigel Farage would have wanted to explain Reform’s sudden windfall from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo himself. To bask in the glory of the donations from two down-to-earth, anti-establishment crypto billionaires. Men who know what it’s like to graft, who know the meaning of an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. There again, Nige is keen not to appear as a one-man band these days and he could do with some downtime to enjoy his own £5m handout. And besides, he’s got a police investigation into Reform party funding to worry about. Even so, it wasn’t the best of looks to send Richard Tice out on to the morning media round. Dicky may have his talents, but he keeps them well concealed. His main talent is the unfortunate ability to make Honest Bob Jenrick sound trustworthy. But he does always leave you guessing. Is he being wilfully stupid or is he naturally that half witted? Continue reading...

In an interview about the donations, he said they are compliant with the law ‘today’ Andy Burnham has cancelled engagements today and tomorrow following the death of his father Roy, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, the Press Association reports. Burnham has spoken about his father’s illness which meant that he did not know his son had become prime minister. [We] will continue bringing forward further reforms to strengthen confidence in our democracy. Following on from the previous minister for democracy’s letter to you of 10 July 2026, we wanted to reiterate the government’s concerns, shared by many members of the public and parliamentarians, about the rise in the volume and concentration of money in UK politics. We have to limit the way financial power can end up dominating political power, to get to a politics that works for all people in all places. We believe spending limits on parties and candidates are too high, and ought to be reduced. Continue reading...

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There’s been a huge backlash against Reform UK after the party received £72m from two crypto billionaires over the weekend. Paul Nowak, the TUC leader, said the money showed democracy was ‘in crisis’. Labour is pushing for tighter restrictions on political donations which could be retrospective, but Reform is confident this will not affect its new war chest. How much does this money change the political landscape? And with Labour receiving millions from unions, will its new rules backfire? Please keep sending your comments and questions to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com . Please follow and subscribe to the Politics Weekly YouTube channel here Continue reading...

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Party can boost its campaign power with funds from billionaire backers, but it can also lose support from ordinary Britons All things being equal, pretty much any political strategist would welcome a £72m war chest; a sum higher than the combined spending of every major party at the 2024 general election. But all things are not equal, and with such a huge amount comes risk. Reform UK has been vocal in its arguments that two sudden £36m windfalls from billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne merely “levels the playing field” with the bigger parties when it comes to funding. Continue reading...

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