Christopher Harborne has cemented Reform’s status as a money-making machine

This article first appeared as part of the Daily Sensemaker newsletter – one story a day to make sense of the world. To receive it in your inbox, featuring content exclusive to the newsletter, sign up for free here.

New Electoral Commission figures confirm that Reform is the most successful money-raising machine in British politics.

So what? This is largely down to one man. Christopher Harborne gave £3m to Nigel Farage’s party in November to add to the £9m he donated in August. Little is known about the entrepreneur and crypto investor, but his ongoing generosity

• •

  puts Reform in an enviable financial position ahead of the May elections;

• •

  raises questions about whether new political donation rules will be fit for purpose; and

• •

  deepens the mystery about who Harborne is and why he is investing so much in a party.

The man. In a libel action filed in the US in 2024, Harborne’s lawyers told the court that their client was “an intensely private person. He does not proselytize his views, he does not give speeches or media interviews, and he does not maintain active social media accounts.”

The wealth. What is known is that Harborne has lived in Thailand for roughly 25 years. From there he launched a number of successful companies which sell planes or aircraft fuel. But it is his early investments in cryptocurrencies, particularly the Tether stablecoin, which catapulted him into the super-rich category. His total wealth is difficult to calculate because the value of the company behind Tether is opaque, but it could easily run into tens of billions of pounds.

In perspective. This may make his political contributions sound like small-fry, but they are not in the world of Westminster. In the second half of 2025 the total amount donated to all political parties in the UK was just over £31m. Harborne’s £12m accounted for nearly 40% of that.

Cash on cash. There is a saying in fundraising that “no one gives you money because you need it”. In other words, success in fundraising breeds further success. Reform UK’s donations bear out that theory. The amount of money that it drew in from donors other than Christopher Harborne doubled between the third and fourth quarters of 2025. Even without Harborne, Reform easily outperformed Labour. Among those who put their hands in their pockets were

• •

  E.I.R.P. Ltd which gave £250k (its owner Gary Dutton is a Reform supporter); JC Bamford Excavators (better known as JCB) which gave £200k to Reform and the same amount to the Conservatives; and London AC Ltd, an air conditioning and plumbing company, which donated £200k.

• •

  Individual donors included the biotech entrepreneur David John Grainger who gave £250k, Ashley Mark Levett (£200k), listed on Companies House as a resident of Monaco, and John Verbeeten (£250k) about whom information is scarce.

Why now? Farage has said that Harborne has asked for nothing in return for his funding but its timing, and the momentum it has built, could hardly be better for a party with ambitions to reshape politics. The elections in May offer just that opportunity, locally and nationally.

Laser-focused. Reform is targeting thousands of local council seats in England and hoping to make inroads in areas beyond its heartland, such as in outer London. It is competing strongly in parliamentary elections in Scotland and in Wales, where a political earthquake is on the cards which could see Labour out of power for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.

A final blow. Cumulatively, the results are anticipated as an almost impossibly difficult moment for Keir Starmer; one that his rivals do not expect him to survive as prime minister.

Work to do. As she announced the latest donation figures, Jackie Killeen from the Electoral Commission said the organisation knew there were parts of the system that need improving. She said the government’s proposed reforms could “strengthen donation controls and help ensure voters can have confidence in the political finance system”.

Long overdue. These reforms are part of the Representation of the People Bill, which has just begun its journey through parliament. Among its many measures, it will oblige political parties to carry out “know your donor” checks to verify that a donation comes from a permitted source.

However, anyone who believes that a donor who gives on the scale of Christopher Harborne is a problem or that expat donors should not be allowed will be disappointed. Nothing in the bill as it stands would stop Harborne giving as much as he likes while living half a world away.

Photograph by George Cracknell Wright/LNP