Two Sheffield billionaires donate millions to Reform - which local branch say will "put a spring in our step"
“This will put a spring in our step as we are out and about knocking on doors”
Sheffield has found itself in the centre of a national political debate after Reform UK has received the two biggest political donations in British history from two locally-born billionaires.
Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have recently been thrust into the spotlight after they each donated £36 million to the Nigel Farage-led party.
The pair were born in Sheffield and went on to make their fortune in cryptocurrency - a form of digital money that does not require a central bank.
Their latest combined donation of £72 million has drawn mixed responses from across the political spectrum, with questions on laws surrounding how political donations are made.
However, the news has been celebrated by Reform’s local branch.
Responding to the news on Facebook, Reform UK Sheffield Authorised Page said: “This will put a spring in our step as we are out and about knocking on doors.”
They went on to share a statement from the national Reform UK party, claiming “our donors want nothing and will never be given a peerage, knighthood or a government contract” as they called out Conservative party donors who ended up with places in the House of Lords.
Ben Delo
According to the Ben Delo Foundation website, the 42-year-old was raised by his mother and father - a school teacher and civil engineer respectively - in Sheffield.
He was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome aged 11 and went on to study computer science at the University of Oxford, where he graduated in 2005.
In 2014 he founded BitMex after experimenting with Bitcoin while working in Hong Kong and after making his fortune has focused on philanthropy, donating to causes that aid access to maths education and understanding neurodiversity.
He faced convictions in the US in 2022 for failing implement anti-money laundering measures in his crypto business, but was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Announcing his record-breaking donation, Delo said in a column for the Telegraph that he wanted to “level the democratic playing field” as both Labour and the Tory have built support over decades that makes them difficult to challenge.
He said he was inspired by a “love of country,” adding: “I believe it is the duty of people with broad shoulders and deep pockets to step up and help Reform to win and govern, rather than allow the British people to be trapped in the political monoculture that is driving this country off a cliff.”
Throughout the column he refers to Reform UK as a “start-up” or “brand,” playing off his own experience in the relatively new cryptocurrency industry.
In a similar column in April, he admitted that Reform were “not yet the finished article” however said that he struggled to continue support “lying politicians” in both major parties.
He also dedicated a number of paragraphs discussing transgender people to explain how the Government “forces everyone to be chronically dishonest.”
Christopher Harborne
Harborne, aged 63, has already come under scrutiny after it was revealed that he had gifted £5 million to Nigel Farage that was not publicly declared.
The scandal has seen Clacton-on-Sea MP Farage face an ongoing Parliamentary Standards investigation, and was the influencing factor in his decision to call a by-election in his constituency this summer.
Harborne was born in Mosborough and went on to study engineering at Cambridge, before moving to Thailand in the 1990s where he still resides.
It is understood his wealth has come from cryptocurrency, as well as in the aviation field, defence and investment.
His £36 million donation came within 24 hours of Delo’s and writing once again for the Telegraph, he similarly described Reform UK as a “start-up” he was hoping to support.
He went on to say: “What do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing, personally. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government.
"I have already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life. I am now committed to putting that to work for Britain and humanity as a whole."
The Current Laws
The Representation of the People Bill, passed through the House of Commons earlier this month, would prohibit British voters in foreign countries from donating more than £100,000 to political parties.
The bill will be debated in the Lords on Monday (September 14).
While it is understood that Delo now lives in the UK, Harborne’s donations have faced criticism as he continues to donate from abroad despite being a British voter.
However there are new calls for caps on large donations to political parties in fears that they may be buying out Government.
Reform leaders themselves have been facing renewed scrutiny, with a Metropolitan Police investigation launched into the party’s finances after Channel 4 aired an investigation from journalists at Verbatim which seemed to show Nigel Farage meeting with a fake American businessman wishing to support the party.
The party have denied any wrongdoing, and said in response to the latest donations that donors do not expect anything in return for supporting the party.
“There are many more people, I suspect, who will support Reform in the months to come,” Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick said on Sunday with Lauran Kuenssberg.
“Because they see Reform as change, the only chance to fix this country and get it standing tall again in the world.”