Nigel Farage secures record £36million donation in boost to Reform UK's election war chest

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Ben Delo is a cryptocurrency billionaire and ardent supporter of Reform UK

Nigel Farage has secured a record-breaking £36million donation in a major boost to Reform UK ahead of the next general election.

Ben Delo, a 42-year-old cryptocurrency billionaire, described the donation as the chance to give Reform UK "a fair fight" in 2029.

The donation now means Reform UK has raised five times as much as the Conservatives this year and more than six times as much as Labour.

Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Delo said: “Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of ‘our democracy’ while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field.

“My conclusion from Reform’s recent troubles is that they should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government.”

The previous record was set when £10million was left to the Conservatives as a bequest by Lord John Sainsbury following his death in 2022.

Reform UK already registered a major donation boost after Christopher Harborne, who faced scrutiny over a £5million gift to Mr Farage, handed over £9million to the party's coffers.

In the first two quarters of 2026, Reform raised £14.9million, significantly more than the £10.2million given to the Tories and £7.7million pocketed by Labour.

However, Reform UK faced an uphill battle after rebranding from the Brexit Party in January 2021.

Reform had only raised £38million before Mr Delo's donation was confirmed this evening.

Meanwhile, the Tories have raised £150million and Labour £128million.

Mr Delo made the donation while Labour mulls over imposing an £100,000 cap on donations from expatriate donors.

Mr Farage said: “I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo has shown such confidence in Reform.

“Ben knows that we are the only party that can turn the country around and reverse Britain’s decline.”

“Ben has done this as a vote of confidence in Nigel and a sign of his support in Nigel’s leadership and his belief in him as the next Prime Minister," a party source also told The Telegraph.

"The people of Clacton have shown their support for Nigel by backing him in the by-election, and Ben’s message is ‘now go and win the election’.”

Reform UK is expected to use Mr Delo's fortune to hire campaign managers in every target seat at the next general election and bolster staffing ranks inside the party's Westminster headquarters.

Mr Delo, who co-founded cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX, made his first billion pounds back in 2014.

However, the 42-year-old pleaded guilty to failing to implement an anti-money laundering programme in the US in 2022.

US President Donald Trump pardoned Mr Delo last year, before he gave £8million to Reform UK.

Mr Delo's donation also came after a turbulent few weeks for Reform UK on the issue of donations.

The Metropolitan Police is investigating the source of £1.5million in donations and allegations that Reform broke laws on foreign funding following an undercover Channel 4 investigation.

Reform UK aides Dan Jukes and James Orr quit pending an internal investigation.

Parliamentary authorities are also continuing to investigate Mr Harborne's £5million gift to Mr Farage.

Mr Farage, who held his Clacton seat after triggering a by-election over the revelations, is expected to be informed of the probe's findings later this year.

Reform UK insists no laws have been broken and denies any wrongdoing in relation to the parliamentary investigation.

Responding to the donation, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart said: "Nigel Farage wants to bring Trump's America to our shores by buying his way into power. He's trying to get into No10 as if it's a stop on a monopoly board.

"It can't go on like this. Andy Burnham needs to introduce a cap on political donations. Our democracy depends on it."

A Labour Party spokesman added: “Nigel Farage is still up to his neck in scandal over his secret £5million 'gift' from his other crypto-billionaire backer and the criminal investigation into potentially illegal donations. The questions he faces aren’t going away – in fact they’re piling up.

“Reform UK can’t buy their way out of questions about sleaze, criminal mates and dodgy finances.

“It’s time Farage and Reform finally came clean with the public, co-operated fully with the police, and proved they’re not just in it for themselves.”