Report: 80% of Reform UK donations came from overseas in 2025, 26
politicsOct 27, 202622154
The Independent’s analysis of Electoral Commission data found that 79.41 percent of Reform UK’s donations in 2025-26 came from donors or companies recently based overseas. By contrast Labour received 0.15 percent and the Conservatives 3.57 percent of their donations from donors based abroad over the same period. The figure for Reform includes £8 million from Ben Delo and £15 million from Christopher Harborne, and counts donations where companies’ controlling directors were located overseas. Other named overseas-based donors in the reporting period include Timothy Mallott, whose Companies House entry lists Hong Kong and whose LinkedIn lists Dubai, and Lucas Bitencourt, listed in Portugal, plus a UK-registered holding company with a British director resident in Italy. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said the scale of Reform’s reliance on wealthy overseas backers ‘‘raises further questions about the party’s financial affairs.’’ The government is considering tougher residency rules, including a proposed £100,000 cap on donations by British citizens based overseas backdated to March, a change that could affect whether Reform can keep two separate £36 million donations made after the reporting period.
