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Reform UK would be allowed to keep the interest earned on the £72 million in donations received from two billionaire donors over the weekend – even if they’re forced to return the gifts.
Crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo gave the largest ever donations to a UK political party, £36 million each, to Nigel Farage’s party.
Both were reported as living – until very recently – overseas. Delo was based in Hong Kong and Harborne in Thailand. The Labour Government’s current Representation of the People Bill going through Parliament places a cap of £100,000 a year on donors living overseas, which will be retrospective.
Under the new bill, an individual is not a permissible donor if when the party receives the donation, they are an “overseas contributor” and their donations for that whole calendar year exceed £100,000. Assuming the bill passes as it is, this largely kicks in from when the changes were announced, 25 March 2026. There is therefore mounting speculation that the donations will have to be returned by Nigel Farage’s party once the bill passes.
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Under the legislation, the party would have 60 days to return the donations if they are ruled impermissible.
However, Byline Times has learned that even if the donations are ruled illegal, Reform UK will be able to keep any interest earned on the enormous gifts.
The interest could amount to nearly £500,000 if the donations are returned at the end of the 60-day legal deadline.
The current highest-earning, easy access business account Byline Times found pays 4.15% AER variable, which would amount to £491,000 interest. Other providers offer 3.91% AER variable interest (£462,800 interest) or have introductory offers of 4.00% (£473,000 interest over 60 days).
There is no sanction for a party if they return impermissible donations within the legal timeframe.
This arguably creates an incentive for parties to accept illegal donations, hold on to them for 59 days, return the donations and pocket the interest.
| Annual rate | Approx interest over 60 days |
|---|---|
| 3% (low estimate) | £355,000 |
| 3.75% (Bank Rate) | £444,000 |
| 3.91% (available rate) | £462,800 |
| 4% (available rate) | £473,000 |
| 4.15% (available rate) | £491,000 |
| 4.5% (e.g. if rates rise) | £533,000 |
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‘Glaring Loophole’
Labour MP Phil Brickell, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption, told Byline Times the weekend’s mega donations mean democracy has entered “uncharted waters.”
“They’ve exposed a glaring loophole which the government must urgently plug via the Representation of the People Bill currently making its way through Parliament.
“There’s only one inescapable conclusion – that we need to pave the way now for a cap on the amount any individual can donate and which is fair, proportionate and workable.”
Brickell said: “If the donations are forced to be returned, but with substantial interest being kept by Reform UK, then Nigel Farage should respect the spirit of the law and donate the inadvertent proceeds to a worthy cause, such as the RNLI.”
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission told this outlet: “When interest has been gained on an impermissible donation before it is returned…the interest accrued until that point may be kept by the party.
“The interest is not treated as a donation and does therefore not need to be included in the total reported to the Commission. The value of the impermissible donation returned must still be reported to the Commission.”
The spokesperson insisted: “We have not seen evidence of parties or other regulated entities having received and returned impermissible donations for the purposes of accruing interest.”
The Electoral Commission says parties must take “all reasonable steps” to satisfy themselves that the source of a donation is permissible, even if they have made permissibility checks for past donations from the same source. They must also keep a record of their permissibility checks to show that they have followed the rules.
Impermissible donations kept after the legal time limit party make them potentially liable for civil sanctions (such as fines), while the party and the treasurer may also have committed criminal offences. Any potential breach is dealt with in line with the EC’s Enforcement Policy.
On X, accountant and Reform-watcher Chris Spencer wrote: “Even if Reform have to return the donations, they can keep any interest earned on the amount. If they manage to hang onto the money for a short while, that could be a nice way to give them a few £100k “off the books” as [ousted policy chief] James Orr might say.”
Why Reform UK Could Be Forced to Hand Back Their £72m Donations From Crypto Billionaires
Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo gave a record £36 million each over the weekend to Nigel Farage’s party, but a new law means they may have to take it all back
Unease Over Cap
Pressure is growing for the Government to introduce an overall donations cap – not just for overseas donors. However, measures proposed last week by Labour backbenchers – including Stella Creasy – to introduce such a cap have met with resistance from trade unions, as well as from anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate. Those organisations now appear to be shifting towards a cap but there remains unease that it would hit their campaigning abilities.
A spokesperson for Hope Not Hate told Byline Times a “crucial part of our mission is stopping far-right forces at the ballot box.”
“As registered third party campaigners we have made essential contributions including most recently our vital campaigning and research in Makerfield to prevent misogynist Rob Kenyon from being elected.
“We of course, believe that a cap on donations is sensible. However, any donation cap must protect against unintended consequences for campaigners like us and should not threaten our democratic right to campaign.”
They pointed to hypothetical examples of a third-party campaigner being offered a potential grant of £600,000 by a British philanthropic foundation to be used for public-facing advocacy supporting Net Zero commitments. “Under a donation cap of £100,000 or £500,000 such a grant would not be permissible, as the cap applies to third-party campaigners,” the Hope Not Hate spokesperson said.
“If a donor with an interest in immigration was deciding whether to give a grant of £300,000 over a three-year period to a migrant rights charity for comms and advocacy – this cap would come into their calculation,” they added, as the donor might decide to give to a party instead (the cap targets the donor, not the organisation itself).
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The group also pointed to the hike in election spending limits passed under the Conservatives as added impetus to spend more on campaigning. However, the Government has committed to reducing these limits, with the Electoral Commission currently undertaking a review.
And they pointed to proposals in the Rycroft review on foreign interference to mean that instead of a single regulated election period, there is an ‘always on’ regulated period where political spending is limited and monitored constantly. The Government appears to have rejected this proposal and it is not in the current Representation of the People Bill.
“A combination of these changes would prevent HOPE not hate from campaigning against Reform UK which is surely not the intention of these amendments.”
Much of HNH’s work would be unaffected by a cap. The group has only registered one donor for its election-related work (as per the Electoral Commission’s database) over the value of £100,000 in the course of a decade: £200,000 from Lord Sainsbury in 2019.
About 90% of HNH’s work is charitable. In 2024, Hope Not Hate Ltd – the campaign entity – received a £787,858 charity grant but registered only £158,624 of regulated spending.
The Government has established a ‘task and finish group’ on electoral reform issues, which is likely to discuss these sticking points with affected organisations in the coming months.
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