Farage’s £72m Crypto War Chest Could Be Hamstrung By Spending Rules - Reform Watch

The regulator will examine whether existing spending limits remain “fit for purpose” after ministers requested a review of the campaign finance system. Its work will cover the interaction between party and candidate expenditure, reporting requirements and the substantial sums now spent outside formal election periods. That final point matters enormously for Reform. A party contesting every constituency may spend no more than £34 million during the regulated year before a general election. Reform has received £72 million from cryptocurrency billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, more than twice that allowance, leaving the party with enough money to build campaign infrastructure and target voters years before polling day. Any recommendations will require careful consideration and, depending on their form, government action before becoming law. The review nevertheless places Reform’s financial advantage at the centre of a wider examination of whether Britain’s electoral framework can withstand modern permanent campaigning. Existing limits lose much of their force when vast sums can be deployed before the regulated period begins. A separate problem concerns whether Reform will retain the full £72 million. Planned restrictions on overseas donors are expected to be backdated to 25 March and may apply to donations made during the first year after somebody returns to Britain. Delo has been based in Hong Kong and announced his return in April, while Harborne is based in Thailand. Robert Jenrick insists that the donations comply with current law and the rules expected in future. Reform says the money will finance its preparations for office and that its donors expect nothing in return. The Electoral Commission’s intervention reflects the democratic problem those assurances cannot resolve. Two individuals have given one political party a sum equivalent to three-quarters of everything spent by every party at the last general election. British democracy cannot depend upon private promises of benevolence from billionaires. The rules must prevent concentrated wealth from purchasing an overwhelming political advantage, including during the years when parties are campaigning beyond the reach of election-period spending limits.