“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.

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!”

A third said: “Labour is begging members for £3. They know they cannot catch up. The panic in that email says so.”

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.

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.

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.”

Panic at Labour HQ as party begs members for cash after Reform UK bags £72m in 24 hours

Labour has turned to its own members for financial support after Reform UK secured £72 million in donations from two cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in the space of just 24 hours, highlighting the growing importance of money in Britain’s political competition.

The Labour Party sent an “urgent request” to members following Reform UK’s extraordinary fundraising haul, asking supporters to make smaller donations. The appeal came as the scale of Reform’s financial boost prompted a wider debate in Westminster about political funding and the influence of wealthy donors.

The £72 million came from two separate £36 million donations by crypto entrepreneurs Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. The donations were made within roughly 48 hours and represented an unprecedented injection of money into Reform UK. Reuters reported that the combined figure exceeded the campaign spending of both Labour and the Conservatives at the previous general election.

For Labour, the development has created an immediate fundraising challenge — although describing the situation as “panic” is a political characterisation rather than an established fact.

The party continues to have substantial sources of income, including membership contributions, individual donations and trade-union support. But the Reform donations have forced questions about how established parties can compete financially with a political movement backed by exceptionally wealthy individuals.

Reform’s extraordinary cash injection

The two donations were made by British cryptocurrency figures Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.

Each gave Reform UK £36 million, taking the party’s total haul to £72 million in a matter of days.

Reform has said the money will help it prepare for the next general election, develop policies, expand its organisation and build the infrastructure needed to compete nationally.

Harborne said he expected nothing in return for his donation and described his contribution as support for a party that he believed should be properly prepared to govern. Reform has repeatedly maintained that the donations comply with electoral law.

The size of the contributions nevertheless immediately attracted political scrutiny.

A £36 million donation is vastly larger than the sums normally associated with individual political contributions in Britain. Receiving two such donations in quick succession therefore transformed Reform’s financial position almost overnight.

Labour’s appeal to members

Labour’s response was notably different.

Rather than attempting to match Reform’s donations through a small number of wealthy individuals, the party appealed directly to its membership base.

The urgent fundraising message asked members to contribute what they could, presenting grassroots donations as a way for ordinary supporters to help Labour respond to Reform’s financial advantage.

The appeal illustrates two contrasting models of political fundraising.

One depends heavily on very large contributions from wealthy individuals. The other relies on a much larger number of smaller payments from members and supporters.

Neither approach is unique to Britain, but the sudden arrival of £72 million has made the contrast especially visible.

Labour’s fundraising effort also needs to be considered alongside the party’s existing financial resources rather than as evidence that the party is simply unable to fund itself.

Labour still has major financial backing

The political funding debate is not simply a story of Reform having money and Labour having none.

Labour has traditionally benefited from significant trade-union support as well as individual donations and membership income.

The Guardian reported that Labour had received nearly £43 million from trade unions since 2020. The party also hosted a Downing Street reception for major donors on 16 September as internal debate over political donations continued.

At the same time, the party has sought to increase grassroots fundraising.

The juxtaposition is politically significant. Labour is simultaneously able to attract major donors and substantial institutional backing while encouraging individual members to make smaller contributions.

The party’s fundraising position is therefore more complicated than the headline “begging members for cash” suggests.

Why £72 million has caused such a reaction

The significance of Reform’s donations goes beyond the immediate financial advantage.

The money has reignited a long-running argument about whether wealthy individuals should be able to provide extremely large sums to political parties.

Critics argue that donations of this size can create an imbalance in political influence, even when there is no evidence that a donor has received anything in return.

Supporters of large political donations point to the principle that individuals who are legally entitled to donate should be able to support the political party of their choice.

The issue has therefore become part of a broader debate about the relationship between money and democracy.

Angela Rayner and the donations debate

The Reform donations have also prompted ministers to consider changes to Britain’s political funding rules.

Angela Rayner has indicated that the government could consider a cap on political donations. Ministers are also examining tougher residency requirements for certain donors, with proposals that could affect donations connected to people living overseas.

The question is particularly sensitive because Delo and Harborne have had substantial connections outside Britain.

Government proposals could require donors to demonstrate a stronger or continuing UK presence. Reports have also suggested that some proposed changes could have implications for donations already made.

That has led Reform to argue that it could face a new system being applied to money that was lawful under the rules in place when the donations were made.

The government, meanwhile, has said the purpose of stronger rules is to protect the integrity of the political system.

Reform rejects suggestions that the money is unlawful

Reform UK has strongly defended the £72 million.

The party has said it is “very confident” that both donations were legal and has rejected suggestions that it should be forced to return the money.

This distinction matters because political controversy over a donation does not itself establish that the donation was unlawful.

The legal position could change if Parliament introduces new legislation and if that legislation is ultimately applied to donations already made. Until then, the existing legal framework remains central to determining whether the contributions were permissible.

The issue is now being debated alongside broader proposed changes to electoral law.

A difficult question for Labour

Any attempt to impose a broad cap on donations would affect Labour as well as Reform.

That is one reason the issue is politically complicated.

Labour benefits from trade-union funding, individual donations and other sources of political finance. Reform’s huge individual donations have generated pressure for limits, but a universal system would inevitably have consequences for the fundraising strategies of multiple parties.

There is also a question about whether a cap should apply only to individual donors or whether political parties should face wider restrictions on the total amount they can raise.

Another question concerns trade unions.

If individual donations were capped but large organisational donations remained possible, critics could argue that the system had simply shifted the source of political influence rather than reducing it.

The details would therefore matter as much as the headline proposal.

The Downing Street donor reception

The debate became even more striking on 16 September when Labour hosted major donors at a Downing Street drinks reception.

According to the Guardian, the event was part of Labour’s Rose Network fundraising activity and included business leaders and philanthropists. It took place as MPs and trade unions were discussing the political implications of Reform’s £72 million windfall.

This illustrates the difficulty of Labour’s position.

The party can argue that Britain’s political system should not be dominated by enormous individual donations while continuing to cultivate major donors of its own.

That does not necessarily make the positions contradictory: a party can accept donations under existing rules while supporting changes to those rules in the future.

But it does ensure that any proposed cap will be examined closely for consistency and fairness.

Reform’s new financial position

For Reform UK, the immediate consequence is a dramatic increase in the resources available to the party.

The party has said the money will allow it to invest in policy development, personnel, research, campaigning and preparations for the next election.

It also gives Reform considerably more freedom to build an organisation between elections.

Political parties require money not only for advertising during election campaigns but also for staff, offices, research, communications, polling, digital operations and constituency organisation.

The £72 million therefore has the potential to affect Reform’s capacity well before the next general election.

Whether financial resources translate into political support is a separate question, however, and cannot be established simply from the size of a donation.

The wider political funding battle

The dispute has now moved beyond a confrontation between Labour and Reform.

Other parties have also entered the debate.

The Liberal Democrats have called for restrictions on large political donations, while Greens and some Labour figures have pressed for wider reform of the system. At the same time, trade unions have raised concerns about excessive corporate influence while defending the role of organised labour in British politics.

The result is an increasingly complicated discussion about how British democracy should be financed.

Should there be a maximum amount an individual can donate?

Should donors have to demonstrate a continuous connection to Britain?

Should donations from people living overseas be subject to additional restrictions?

Should trade-union and organisational donations be treated differently from individual contributions?

And should any new rules apply to money already donated?

These are policy questions that Parliament and the relevant electoral authorities will ultimately have to address.

What happens next?

The £72 million donations have placed political finance firmly back at the centre of Westminster politics.

Labour’s appeal to members demonstrates one immediate response: mobilising thousands of ordinary supporters rather than attempting to match Reform donor-for-donor.

At the same time, the government is examining whether the rules themselves should change.

For Reform, the priority is defending the legality of the donations and using the money to strengthen the party’s organisation.

For Labour and other parties, the challenge is determining how to respond to a new financial reality without creating a system that is inconsistent or unfair.

The argument over political donations is therefore unlikely to end with one fundraising email or one record-breaking contribution.

The £72 million has exposed a fundamental question about British politics: how much influence should very wealthy individuals be able to exert through political donations, and what rules should apply to everyone?

As Parliament considers possible changes, the answer will affect not only Reform UK and Labour, but the way political parties across Britain finance themselves for years to come.

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