Panicked Labour bosses issued an emergency appeal to their members after Nigel Farage’s party was handed a record windfall.
Panicked Labour bosses issued an emergency appeal to their members after Nigel Farage’s party was handed a record windfall (Image: Getty)
Labour has sent an “urgent request” to its members begging for donations after Nigel Farage’s Reform UK secured a staggering £72million financial mega-boost in less than 24 hours. In an urgent email to party members, Labour headquarters called on its grassroots base to chip in small-scale donations to counter the massive influx of capital into Reform UK’s bank accounts.
The record-breaking £72million fundraising total – stemming from two back-to-back £36million donations from tech entrepreneurs Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne – represents the largest 24-hour financial haul in British political history. In its message sent directly to members’ inboxes, Labour laid bare its alarm over the scale of Reform’s new bank balance. The party wrote: “This has never happened before in British politics […] This is a record-breaking financial backing – but for us it has to be a call to action.
“Think about what £72 million can mean in an election. More ads. More reach. More opportunities to put Farage’s divisive message in front of millions of people, again and again and again.
“We cannot let less than a handful of extraordinarily wealthy crypto-billionaires simply drown Labour’s messages out in elections to come,” the party added. “Reform dominating what voters see and hear, Labour fighting to be heard.
“That’s why we urgently need you with us today. Please donate £3, £5, or whatever you can afford to help Labour fight back.”
Labour raised roughly £10million to £18million per year in registered major donations (Image: Getty)
The begging letter sparked an immediate, fiery backlash across social media, with angry voters laying into Labour over the contrast between Government spending and their demands for public support.
One user wrote: “I’m no Reform fan, but this is just pure class. Labour [gives] the migrants everything at the taxpayer’s expense and then beg for donations from the British public. All the money they tax us and they want people to give them more!”
Another fumed over the perks enjoyed by sitting politicians: “Don’t forget [people], they get expenses, second homes, fuel and heating allowance, freebies, and that’s what we know about.”
A third said: “Labour is begging members for £3. They know they cannot catch up. The panic in that email says so.”
Farage said he was ‘honoured and humbled’ by the historic support (Image: Getty)
Before this week, the UK’s top political donation record was a £10million Tory bequest in 2022. By contrast, Labour’s record single donation is just £4 million – given by hedge fund foundation Quadrature Capital before the 2024 election. Long-time backer Lord David Sainsbury has also given Labour over £11.5million across his lifetime, including £2.5million for their 2024 campaign.
According to Electoral Commission records, Labour raised roughly £10million to £18million per year in registered major donations. To put Reform UK’s record total into perspective, that single windfall is nearly four times what Labour raised in major donations across an entire year.
The £72million was reached after investor Christopher Harborne matched an identical £36million pledge by BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Harborne described the contribution as a “philanthropic gift”, expecting no peerage or policy changes in return, while Mr Delo said the cash would free the party to focus on policy and ground operations.
A jubilant Nigel Farage declared he was “honoured and humbled” by the historic support.
The Express contacted the Labour Party for comment, who highlighted party chair Bridget Phillipson’s response to Mr Harborne’s donation: “Farage can’t buy his way out of the sleaze and scandal he and Reform UK are drowning in – or the multiple police investigations that are ongoing into Reform’s dodgy finances.
“The serious questions Farage and Reform need to answer aren’t going away – in fact they’re just piling up.
“It’s time Farage and Reform came clean with the public, fully co-operated with the ongoing police investigations and prove they’re not just in it for themselves.”
Nigel Farage’s enemies thought they’d destroyed him – now he’s laughing at them
Reform UK leader is bouncing back and there’s nothing his opponents can do, writes Jonathan Walker
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage looks set to have the last laugh (Image: Getty)
They thought it was all over. But Nigel Farage is having the last laugh, because events over the past few days have shown he is still very much a contender for No 10.
It’s true that in recent months, the Reform UK leader has been rocked by a series of funding-related allegations. There was the £5million gift from Thai-based crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne. The gift itself was entirely legal and in no way against any parliamentary rules, but Mr Farage’s enemies claim he should have registered it, meaning details would appear on the House of Commons website.
Then there was the undercover sting by Channel 4, in which senior Reform figures – who have since been suspended – were filmed apparently discussing ways to accept a £500,000 donation from a wealthy American, even though it would have been against the law. The donation was never made. But it all provided ammunition for Mr Farage’s enemies.
And there is some evidence that the mud constantly thrown at Mr Farage has dented Reform UK’s popularity, although this should not be exaggerated. Opinion polls suggest about 25% of voters still back Reform.
But now, Mr Farage is fighting back. Reform is receiving two massive donations, giving it a war chest to ensure British politics really does become a fair fight.
Because while all the focus has been on Reform, the other parties have been receiving huge sums of money from donors for decades.
Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne are giving Reform £36million each, making a total of £72million.
Mr Farage said the money would be used “for one purpose only: to make certain we are ready to form a government at the next election”.
He said Reform would fund “the best research and policy department British politics has ever seen” and recruit “the best minds in every area”.
And deputy leader Richard Tice said: “What these two donations are trying to do is to actually level the playing field.
“We’re relatively new, we haven’t had the vast donations over the last five to 10 years that Labour and the Tories have had, so we need to employ campaign managers up and down the country, we need to employ brilliant policy people, the best minds, in order to ensure that we have the best policies.”
In 2024, for example, the Conservatives received £15million from a body called The Phoenix Partnership, owned by businessman Frank Hester.
A hedge fund called Quadrature Capital handed £4million to Labour in the same year.
Ecotricity, owned by energy entrepreneur Dale Vince, gave Labour £3.6million.
And union UNISON gave Labour £2.7million while USDAW gave £2.2million, the GMB gave £1.9million, and Unite gave £1.8million.
All of that is just in one year. And those are only some of the biggest donations – there are many more.
This has traditionally been considered perfectly normal. And there’s nothing wrong with it. The only real alternative would be for parties to get more money from taxpayers.
As Mr Tice says, political parties need buildings and staff. They need to carry out research and develop policies. And they need representatives across the country to organise campaigns and print leaflets.
The traditional parties have this infrastructure. They need it, and they have to pay for it somehow.
But Reform is in exactly the same boat. It needs infrastructure, too, if British voters are to have the option of choosing a Reform government on polling day.
These two donations, mammoth though they appear, will give Mr Farage and his party a fighting chance at the next election – on something close to equal terms with the other parties.