Nigel Farage has warned that trade union funding of Labour could be targeted by a future Reform UK or Conservative government if ministers use retrospective rules to prevent Reform keeping £72 million in donations from two cryptocurrency billionaires.
The Reform UK leader made the warning as the row intensified over twin £36 million donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, which Reform says comply with the law as it currently stands.
The Government is tightening rules covering political donations from British citizens based overseas and people who have recently returned to the UK, with proposed restrictions intended to apply retrospectively from 25 March 2026.
Farage warns of 'response the other way'
Speaking to the BBC, Farage insisted the Delo and Harborne donations were compliant with existing law but declined to disclose details of whether the two men met the residency conditions that could become important under the new legislation.
Asked about the prospect of the donations being caught retrospectively, Farage said that if a government were allowed to do that there would be “a response the other way”. He suggested Reform or the Conservatives could then tell trade unions they could no longer give money, warning that this could collapse the existing political funding system.
The comments escalate a rapidly developing dispute over how Britain's political parties should be financed and whether new rules should be capable of affecting donations already received.
Lee Anderson goes further
Reform UK chief whip Lee Anderson subsequently made an even more explicit threat, saying a Reform government could introduce legislation to stop unions funding Labour if the £72 million was blocked.
Anderson told GB News that if Labour wanted to “play silly games”, Reform could respond with legislation targeting union funding and warned Labour needed to “think very carefully”.
The proposal is not currently law or Government policy. It is a political warning about what Reform could seek to do if it wins a future general election.
Why Reform's £72m is under scrutiny
Delo and Harborne each donated £36 million to Reform UK, giving the party a combined £72 million injection.
Reform has repeatedly said the donations comply with Electoral Commission rules and UK law as they stand today. The dispute concerns legislation currently progressing through Parliament rather than an allegation that the two donations were unlawful when they were made.
The Government has proposed an annual £100,000 limit on donations from British citizens living overseas, with restrictions also applying for a period after an overseas elector returns to Britain.
Government considers tougher residency test
During the Representation of the People Bill's second reading in the House of Lords, Labour minister Baroness Taylor said ministers were considering how to strengthen residency requirements, including aligning the amount of time donors must spend in Britain with wider Government policy.
The Government intends the overseas-donor provisions to operate retrospectively from 25 March 2026, creating uncertainty over whether all or part of Reform's £72 million could ultimately be affected.
However, the precise effect on the Delo and Harborne donations cannot yet be stated with certainty. Their circumstances would have to be assessed against the final legislation, which is still passing through Parliament and could be amended.
Rayner defends union funding
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has rejected comparisons between Reform's billionaire donors and Labour's trade union funding.
Speaking at the TUC Congress, Rayner described union donations as highly regulated political funding derived from members' contributions and said the Government would not undermine the ability of working people to organise collectively and democratically.
Political funding battle widens
The controversy has therefore moved beyond the immediate question of whether Reform will ultimately be allowed to retain the full £72 million.
It is developing into a wider confrontation over the funding models of Britain's political parties: Reform's exceptionally large individual donations on one side and Labour's longstanding financial relationship with trade unions on the other.
Any future restriction on union donations would require legislation. Equally, the final residency provisions affecting Reform's donations have not yet completed the parliamentary process.
For now, Reform maintains the £72 million donations comply with the rules currently in force, while the political battle over whether future legislation can retrospectively restrict them continues.