Harborne Donates £3M to Reform UK, Boosting Funds

0:00On March 5, Christopher Harborn has given another 3 million pounds to Reform UK, adding to the 9 million pounds he donated last summer. This boosts the party's funds as it leads the polls heading into the May elections for council seats across England and Wales. Reform UK pulled in 5.5 million pounds in the final quarter of 2025, including 200,000 pounds from JC Bamford. Excavators, a company that usually supports the Conservatives and gave them the same amount that period. Other parties lag behind, with the Conservatives raising 4 million pounds, the Liberal Democrats more than 2 million pounds and Labour nearly 2 million pounds. The Greens managed just 290,000 pounds, despite a recent by-election win, while Jeremy Corbyn's your party got 670,000 pounds. Harborn, an investor in aviation and cryptocurrency based in Thailand, has a history of big political gifts, like 10 million pounds to the Brexit, party in 2019 and 1 million pounds to Boris Johnson's office.

1:03His latest move alongside other large sums, like Frank Hester's 20 million pounds to the Tories, has sparked fresh demands from MPs and campaigners for caps on donations and a ban on cryptocurrency contributions. Overall, political parties accepted nearly 65 million pounds and donations throughout 2025. The Electoral Commission praises the transparency, but pushes for stronger rules through upcoming government reforms to build voter trust.