More than two-thirds of the British public (68 per cent) are concerned that the £5m Nigel Farage personally received from Reform UK donor Christopher Harborne will give the billionaire “inappropriate influence” over Farage’s political decisions and priorities, according to a new poll by Survation for 38 Degrees, a progressive campaign group.
This includes 50 per cent of those who voted Reform in the 2024 general election, and 49 per cent of those who currently intend to vote Reform. Only 13 per cent of respondents say they are not concerned.
The poll was based on recent reports that Reform leader Nigel Farage was given £5m by Harborne in early 2024, before he was an MP. The money was intended to pay for his security – a detail Farage revealed in a recent Telegraph interview about his personal safety. The gift was made before Farage had announced his return to British politics. He said he would stand as MP for Clacton in June 2024, having previously ruled it out, explaining that he had changed his mind.
Two-thirds of the public (67 per cent) believe the £5m gift influenced Nigel Farage’s decision to stand as an MP. This includes 55 per cent of those who voted Reform in 2024, and 54 per cent of those who currently intend to vote Reform. Only 13 per cent believe it had no influence on his decision to stand.
Labour and other opposition parties have accused Farage of breaking parliamentary rules by failing to declare the monetary gift, and he has been referred by the Conservatives to the parliamentary standards commissioner. Farage said he had “no obligation” to include the payment in the MPs’ register of interests, because it was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all”. Harborne said he was not “expecting anything in return” other than Farage’s safety.
The £5m payment was made to Farage personally, rather than to Reform as a party, though Harborne, a cryptocurrency investor and aviation entrepreneur, has donated more than £12m to Reform. His £9m donation in 2025 is the largest single donation from a living person in UK political history. At the time, Farage insisted: “I’ve not promised him a single thing in return for his donation… Does he want anything from me? No. Absolutely nothing in return at all.” When this was put to participants in the Survation poll, 42 per cent said they did not believe it, while 38 per cent said they did.
“This polling shows not only are the vast majority of people in the UK concerned about this, they also don’t buy the idea this money had no influence,” says Matthew McGregor, CEO at 38 Degrees.
Reform has pledged to make Britain a “crypto hub” and to establish the country as a “global leader in cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation” through tax breaks and regulatory easements. It also presented itself as the first political party to accept donations in cryptocurrency – a practice the government has since banned.
[Further reading: Reform UK doesn’t like you]
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