Reform UK would have retained a mere 15% of the donations it received in the past year had a proposed £100,000 cap on political donations been in effect, according to an analysis shared with The Guardian. The findings, derived from Electoral Commission data by the campaign group Friends of the Earth, highlight the party's substantial dependence on a limited number of wealthy benefactors, ahead of a critical parliamentary debate on political funding reform.
The analysis, covering donations registered between April 2025 and March 2026, assumed that trade union affiliation payments would be exempt from the cap, aligning with recommendations from the Phillips review into party funding. Under such a cap, Reform UK would have raised approximately £4.1 million, a significant reduction from the £26.7 million it actually secured during that period. In contrast, Labour would have retained around three-quarters of its donations, raising £8.1 million instead of £10.8 million, while the Conservatives would have kept just over half, taking £8.3 million instead of £15.5 million. The Liberal Democrats would have held onto about 90% of their funding, and the Green Party would have been unaffected.
Reform UK's average registered donation last year stood at £137,496, which is almost six times greater than Labour's average of £23,406 or the Conservatives' £23,173. This figure also dwarfs the Liberal Democrats' average donation of £4,496 by nearly 30 times. The analysis suggests that under a donation cap, Reform UK would no longer be Britain's best-funded political party, with Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats all projected to have raised more over the same timeframe.
The figures emerge ahead of the report stage of the Representation of the People Bill, scheduled for Tuesday, 15 July 2026. During this session, Labour MP Stella Creasy, representing Walthamstow, is expected to propose an amendment to introduce a £100,000 cap on political donations from permitted donors. This proposal is set against a backdrop of ongoing discussions and concerns regarding the influence of affluent donors in British politics.
Further details from the analysis revealed that Reform UK received £20.4 million from donors who each contributed at least £1 million during the period, compared to £3.1 million for the Conservatives and £2.6 million for Labour. Friends of the Earth highlighted that two billionaire donors, Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, were responsible for 71% of Reform UK's registered donation income over the last year. Harborne, a British billionaire based in Thailand, has donated £15 million to the party and has previously indicated he would challenge any donation cap in court.
A spokesperson for Reform UK stated that the party fully complies with UK electoral law, dismissing the notion that legitimate donations from successful individuals are less valid than union funding. They argued that a £100,000 cap would not enhance democracy but would instead restrict political participation and entrench established parties that benefit from long-standing institutional funding networks. Interestingly, one of Britain's largest trade unions, the GMB, has advised its affiliated Labour MPs not to vote for the cap, with Labour whips reportedly urging MPs to heed this warning, leading some to withdraw their support for the measure.