Nigel Farage says he will move to ban trade union donations to political parties if the Labour government tries to retroactively block the £36 million ($48m) in donations Reform UK recently received from two cryptocurrency billionaires.
The Reform UK leader’s warning follows comments from Housing Secretary Angela Rayner suggesting the government could impose a cap on political donations and apply it retroactively, potentially making the contributions from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne illegal after the fact.
The two donations, made last week, are currently legal under British law, which sets no statutory maximum on political contributions. Farage and his allies argue the gifts simply bring Reform closer to the financial footing of Labour and the Conservatives, both of which have historically raised far more money and used it to build local campaign infrastructure.
Rayner, who resigned as Housing Secretary last year after admitting she underpaid tax on one of her properties before being reinstated last month by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, also said the government would examine rules affecting Britons based overseas, including those who have recently returned to the UK. That description applies to both Delo, who previously lived in Hong Kong, and Harborne, who lives in Thailand.
Farage’s counter-threat
Farage said that if Labour uses what he called “old communist state” tactics to retroactively criminalise the Reform donations, a future Reform government could respond by banning donations from trade unions, a move that would hit Labour’s fundraising hard.
The Unite union alone is estimated to have given Labour more than £53 million ($72m) since 2010, despite withholding donations during the 2024 general election amid a dispute with then-Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Farage argued that support has been repaid through measures such as the Employment Rights Act, which expanded workers’ ability to strike, and through wage increases in unionised sectors including train drivers.
“If anybody is giving money to do political bidding, it’s the trade unions,” Farage said.
Farage also cited research from the Autonomy Institute, which found that eight companies that donated more than £580,000 ($782,000) to Labour received government contracts worth almost £138 million ($186m) within two years of their donations. The think tank additionally found that since 2001, 25 firms with Labour ties had been awarded £796.43 million ($1.1bn) in government contracts.
No peerages for donors, Farage says
Farage said Reform would not offer seats in the House of Lords to major donors, including Delo and Harborne, whom he said gave money because “they want real political change in Britain and they know that we’re the only party with the absolute determination to do what is necessary to turn this country around from the terrible downward cycle of decline and despair that we’re currently in.”
“Neither Ben Delo nor Christopher Harbaugh will be getting membership of the House of Lords. It isn’t happening. We’re not for sale,” Farage said.
He added that a Reform government would seek to regulate the cryptocurrency market rather than continue what he described as a “Wild West” approach that would benefit the two billionaire donors.
Reform’s Shadow Chancellor, Robert Jenrick, also criticised the idea of retroactive donation caps, saying: “Labour will do literally anything they can to rig the system against Reform. Cancelling elections. Changing the law to stop Brits donating. They’ve stopped trying to fix the country and are now desperately trying to save themselves.”
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