£72m to Reform UK arrives before the £100,000 donor cap becomes law

Two cryptocurrency billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, have each given Reform UK £36million. That makes £72m in total, and it has arrived before the government's planned cap of £100,000 a year on donations from Brits abroad becomes law. The Daily Mirror reports that these are the two largest single donations to a British political party on record. Before this, the biggest was a £10 million gift to the Conservatives from Lord John Sainsbury in 2022.

The timing matters because the proposed cap would be backdated to 25 March. The BBC says both men lived abroad until recently, Mr Delo in Hong Kong and Mr Harborne in Thailand, and Reform has not said when they moved to the UK. Party leader Nigel Farage told the BBC that both gifts were "100% compliant with the law today".

How the backdated £100,000 cap would work

The BBC explains that at the moment there is no limit on what anyone can give a British party, wherever they live, as long as they are registered to vote in the UK. The Representation of the People Bill would limit donations from British voters living abroad to £100,000 each per year. GB News and the Mirror report that MPs backed the cap last week, along with a suspension of donations made in cryptocurrency. The bill still has to pass the House of Lords before it becomes law.

The 25 March date comes from a review by the retired civil servant Philip Rycroft, published that day. Its first recommendation was an annual cap on donations from voters living abroad. The BBC reported that Steve Reed, then a cabinet minister, told the Commons the same day that the cap would "apply retrospectively". Farage argued that "you cannot confiscate money that has been given legally", and the BBC said this was a political argument rather than a legal one.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Harborne said he expected "No peerage, no policy change" in return and that his "competitive spirit" made him match Mr Delo. Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Farage "can't buy his way out of the sleaze and scandal". Reform says the new rules are an attempt to choke off its funding.

Who the overseas cap would catch

The cap is aimed at British citizens who live abroad but are registered to vote in the UK. Donors who live in the UK face no limit under the bill as it stands. The big unanswered question is when someone who has moved back stops counting as an overseas donor.

The BBC says the government has not decided this yet. The test could be based on being on the electoral roll at a UK address, or on being resident for tax purposes. Communities Minister Baroness Taylor told the Lords that returning Brits "must demonstrate a genuine and ongoing connection to the United Kingdom". Philip Rycroft told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he understood donors would need to have lived in the UK "for at least a full calendar year", and that Reform could have to return the money if the men came back only within the past year.

The Mirror reported that Mr Delo moved back from Hong Kong to avoid the proposed cap. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice could not say when the two men moved to the UK. Reform's economic spokesperson Robert Jenrick said the gifts were within the law now and, "as far as we know", would be under future rules too.

Key numbers

• £72m: the total that Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne are giving Reform UK.
• £100,000: the proposed yearly limit on what each British donor living abroad could give a party.
• £94.5 million: the total cash all parties spent at the last general election, according to the Mirror.
• £86million: GB News says Reform has raised more than this in donations so far this year.
• £1million a month: roughly what Mr Harborne says he had already been giving Reform.
• £9 million: Mr Harborne's 2025 gift to Reform, which the Mirror says was previously the second largest single donation.

What happens next in the Lords

Peers are now debating the bill, and the Mirror reported that Labour peer Lord Wills was expected to call for a cap on donations from all Brits. Until the bill passes and becomes law, nothing changes, and voters abroad who are registered in the UK can still give without limit. Separately, the Metropolitan Police is investigating claims from an undercover Channel 4 News report that senior Reform figures discussed how to disguise foreign donations, and Farage faces a parliamentary investigation over a £5million gift from Mr Harborne. Reform denies any wrongdoing.

The BBC reported that the general secretary of the Unite union has suggested a cap on UK donors of between £500,000 and £1m a year. Farage has threatened that a Reform government would cut off party funding from trade unions. Labour received £5m from affiliated unions last year and £12m in 2024.

What you can do now

If you are a British voter living abroad and you give money to a party, bear in mind that the £100,000 yearly cap would be backdated to 25 March if it becomes law. That means gifts made since then could be affected. The residency rules for people moving back to the UK have not been published yet, so wait for the final wording before assuming you count as a UK donor.

If you have a view on whether anyone should be able to give this much, you can write to your MP and follow the bill as it goes through the House of Lords. Union members may also want to keep an eye on Farage's threat to cut off union funding for parties.

Your questions answered

Is the £72m legal?

Under the current law there is no limit for a donor who is registered to vote in the UK, and Farage told the BBC that both gifts comply with it. Whether they would be allowed under the proposed rules is unclear. The residency test has not been decided, and Reform has not said when the two men moved to the UK.

Could Reform have to give the money back?

It is possible. The Mirror reported that the bill could force the money to be handed back, and Philip Rycroft said this could happen if the donors came back to the UK only within the past year. Nothing can happen until the bill becomes law.

Is there a limit on what people living in the UK can give?

No. The Mirror reported that there are no restrictions on how much UK-based donors can give, and said the Prime Minister previously backed a cap before rowing back after a backlash from trade unions. Campaign groups including Fair Vote UK and Best for Britain want the rules reviewed.