Reform UK’s economic spokesperson talks to Sky News and BBC after record donations Christopher Harborne matches £36 m Reform donation of Ben Delo Analysis: Donations of £72 m make Reform’s prospects both rosier and riskier Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s politics live blog in what is a fairly tumultuous period in electoral financing.
To recap: In the past 48 hours, Reform UK has received a staggering sum of £72 m from two crypto billionaires, the largest single donations in British political history. Christopher Harborne’s £36 m donation, which he announced in the Telegraph newspaper yesterday, matches that given by another cryptocurrency investor Ben Delo on Friday.
The huge injection into Reform’s coffers obviously help fund the anti-immigration party’s operations leading into the next general election, to be held by 2029. But it has also further muddied the reputation around the party’s finances and who it says it serves.
Reform has pledged more crypto-friendly policies i. e. greater adoption of the unregulated currency across the UK if the party were to come into power. Continue reading...