Reform UK would have retained only 15% of its donations last year if a proposed £100,000 cap on political donations had been in place, according to an analysis by Friends of the Earth shared with the Guardian. The analysis, based on Electoral Commission data, examined donations registered between April 2025 and March 2026 and assumed union affiliation payments would be exempt from the cap, as recommended by the Phillips review into party funding.
Impact of the cap on Reform UK
The findings suggest Reform UK would have raised just £4.1 million instead of the £26.7 million it actually received. The party's average registered donation was £137,496, nearly six times higher than Labour's £23,406 or the Conservatives' £23,173, and 30 times higher than the Liberal Democrats' average of £4,496. Under the cap, Reform would no longer be Britain's best-funded party; Labour, the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems would all have raised more over the same period.
Labour would have retained about three-quarters of its registered donations, raising £8.1 million instead of £10.8 million. The Tories would have kept just over half, taking £8.3 million instead of £15.5 million. The Lib Dems would have held on to about 90%, raising £5.2 million instead of £5.8 million, while the Greens would have been unaffected with their £468,000 in donations.
Wealthy donors and the reform push
The analysis also found that Reform received £20.4 million from donors who each contributed at least £1 million during the period, compared with £3.1 million for the Conservatives and £2.6 million for Labour. Friends of the Earth highlighted that two billionaire donors – Christopher Harborne, Britain's sixth richest person, and Ben Delo – accounted for 71% of Reform's registered donation income over the last year. Harborne, a British billionaire based in Thailand, has donated £15 million to the party and told the Telegraph in April he believed he could challenge any donation cap in court.
The figures come ahead of Tuesday's report stage of the representation of the people bill, when Labour MP Stella Creasy is expected to table an amendment introducing a £100,000 cap on political donations from permitted donors. The proposal has sparked debate over the influence of wealthy donors in British politics.
Reactions and political fallout
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Reform UK complies fully with UK electoral law and the suggestion that legitimate donations from successful individuals are somehow less valid than funding from trade unions, for example, is absurd. Meanwhile, a £100,000 cap on donations would do nothing to improve democracy. It would simply restrict political participation while entrenching the established parties, which benefit from longstanding institutional funding networks.”
One of Britain's largest unions, the GMB, told its affiliated Labour MPs not to vote for the cap. Party whips are understood to have been calling MPs urging them to follow the union's warning, causing some to drop their support for the cap.
Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said: “Democracy shouldn’t be for sale. When political parties rely on money from fossil fuel interests and other major polluters, it undermines trust that decisions are being made in the public interest. The stakes couldn’t be higher when those same parties are calling to scrap climate action, expand oil and gas drilling, and weaken environmental protections. A meaningful cap on political donations would help level the playing field, making parties more accountable to the people they represent, not the biggest chequebooks. Building a fairer, greener future depends on people having confidence that our democracy works for everyone, not just the super-rich.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We are already taking robust action to tackle foreign interference in our democracy through our landmark representation of the people bill, including capping donations from overseas electors and banning donations made via crypto currency.”
