Nigel Farage has refused to say whether Reform UK's record £72 million in donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne will comply with new retrospective political funding rules currently passing through Parliament.
Delo and Harborne have each given £36 million to Reform UK, creating an unprecedented £72 million funding windfall for the party.
The donations are legal under the law currently in force. However, the Representation of the People Bill contains new restrictions on donations from overseas electors and people who have recently returned to the UK, with key provisions designed to apply retrospectively.
Asked whether both donations would comply with the law once those measures take effect, Farage repeatedly stressed that the payments were compliant with the law “today” and declined to provide details about the donors' residency status.
Farage challenged over 25 March cut-off
In an interview with the BBC, Farage was asked whether he was confident the donations complied both with existing law and with the rules expected to come into force under the Representation of the People Bill.
He replied that both donations were “100% compliant with the law today”.
When pressed on whether Delo and Harborne were resident in the UK on 25 March 2026 — the date from which the Government intends parts of the new regime to apply retrospectively — Farage declined to discuss their individual circumstances.
He said only that, under the law as it currently stands, both donations were compliant.
Government announced retrospective £100,000 cap
The Government announced on 25 March that overseas electors would be subject to an annual £100,000 cap on political donations and regulated transactions.
Ministers explicitly said the restriction would apply retrospectively from the date of the announcement once the legislation came into force.
The Government subsequently confirmed that the new regime would also include a minimum residency period for people returning to the UK from overseas.
An overseas elector returning to Britain on or after 25 March would remain subject to the £100,000 annual limit until they had been resident in the UK for a full calendar year.
The Government says donations made during the retrospective period which exceed the eventual legal limit would have to be returned after the relevant provisions come into force.
Residency details remain crucial
The central unanswered question is therefore whether Delo and Harborne fall within the categories covered by those retrospective provisions.
That cannot currently be established conclusively from the publicly confirmed information available.
Reports have said Delo recently returned to Britain after living in Hong Kong, while Harborne has also spent substantial periods overseas. However, the precise dates and legal residency circumstances required to determine how the final legislation would apply have not been publicly established.
It would therefore be premature to state that Reform UK will be required to return either donation.
What can be said is that the new legislation creates a potential legal issue for any donation made by an individual who falls within the retrospective overseas-elector or minimum-residency provisions.
Reform attacks retrospective legislation
Farage strongly criticised the Government's decision to make the measures retrospective, arguing that donations which were lawful when accepted should not subsequently be rendered impermissible.
He warned that changing the rules after money had been donated could trigger retaliatory attempts by future governments to restrict other established sources of political funding, including trade union donations to Labour.
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice has also defended the donations, telling ITV News that they comply with existing law and arguing that the Government's approach amounts to an attempt to target his party's funding.
The Government says the retrospective element is necessary to prevent donors from moving money into the political system before the tighter restrictions formally commence.
Bill reaches House of Lords
The Representation of the People Bill is being debated at second reading in the House of Lords on 14 September.
The legislation contains wide-ranging changes to electoral law, including measures covering voter registration, voter identification, political finance and Electoral Commission enforcement.
The Government's political finance reforms include the £100,000 overseas-elector cap, restrictions on people recently returning to Britain, a moratorium on cryptocurrency donations and tougher donor checks.
The Bill has not yet completed its passage through Parliament and could still be amended before becoming law.
£72m changes Reform's financial position
The two £36 million contributions are the largest individual political donations recorded in Britain and give Reform UK resources on a scale unprecedented for the party.
Reform says the money will be used to expand its organisation and prepare for the next general election.
The controversy now centres not on whether the donations are lawful under today's rules — Reform insists that they are — but on whether the donors fall within retrospective restrictions that Parliament is in the process of enacting.
Until the donors' relevant residency status is established and the legislation completes Parliament, claims that Reform will definitely have to return the money would go beyond the evidence currently available.