Why has Nigel Farage taken £5m from a crypto billionaire?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
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Summary
In the last weeks, the funding of the Reform party has attracted more and more attention. This is a party which tells us they are heading to Downing street, a party tipped to the top the poll in next week’s English local elections.
We now know that Nigel Farage’s party has been given over £12m from a single donor, a Thai based British businessman, crypto billionaire, Christopher Harborne. And we also now know that just before Nigel Farage was elected an MP in 2024, Mr Harborne gave Farage a gift of £5m, never before declared.
How could it be that Reform, a party we are told which is preparing to be government, is so dependent on a Thai based crypto billionaire? What does it say about the way we fund politics? And politics to come?
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK commercial banking, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.5 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:13.0 | Reform has depended on one man. |
| 0:15.5 | What is unusual is the extraordinary size of Harbourn's donations to reform in such a short space of time. Harbourne gave the single biggest donation in British political history to reform. Where is reform getting its money? Do you like them? Very expensive. But guess what? I bought them myself. How about that? |
| 0:59.5 | You may remember not so long ago that British politics was convulsed by so-called Freebie Gate. |
| 1:05.8 | Kirstama and Labour ministers being lacerated for accepting corporate hospitality, clothes, gifts from party donors, |
| 1:12.9 | it was an early part of Keir Stama's problems. But by comparison to party funding, you can really |
| 1:19.6 | argue that all of that was small, almost non-existent beer. And in the last weeks, the funding of one |
| 1:26.5 | party, in particular, has attracted more and more |
| 1:29.5 | attention a party which tells us they're heading for downing street a party tipped to top the |
| 1:35.7 | poll in next week's english local elections reform we now know that nigel farage's party has been |
| 1:42.9 | given over 12 million pounds from a single donor, |
| 1:46.8 | a Thai-based British businessman, crypto-billionaire, Christopher Harbourn. And we also now know, |
| 1:54.5 | courtesy of The Guardian, that it isn't just enormous sums flowing into party coffers. It has been revealed this week that just before |
| 2:03.4 | Nigel Farage was elected an MP in 2024, Mr Harbourn gave Mr Farage a present, a gift of five |
| 2:12.4 | million pounds, never before disclosed. This is a total financial commitment from one man to reform and |
| 2:21.3 | Farage personally of at least 17 million pounds over barely two years. On today's show then, |
| 2:29.6 | how could it be that reform, a party we are told that is preparing for government, could become |
| 2:35.2 | so dependent on a Thai-based crypto billionaire? What does it say about the way that we fund politics, |
| 2:43.0 | about politics to come? And what, if anything, does Mr Harbourn want for all that money? |
| 2:50.4 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 2:56.6 | The Newsagents. |
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