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Taking back control
Donations from abroad
Reform UK relies heavily on donations, about two-thirds of which come from wealthy individuals.
At the heart of this set-up sits Harborne, a British-Thai billionaire businessman who is currently the largest single donor to a UK political party in history, having contributed more than 22 million pounds ($30m) to Reform.
In 2025 alone, he donated 12 million pounds ($16.3m).
His relationship with Farage has also been shrouded in controversy. The Guardian recently revealed Reform UK’s leader had received a 5 million-pound ($6.8m) gift from Harborne that was not initially declared in early 2024, weeks before Farage announced his bid to become an MP and run in Clacton.
Under House of Commons rules, new MPs must register all “registrable benefits” received in the 12 months before their election. The Conservative Party referred Farage to the parliamentary standards commissioner for investigation, questioning why such a large sum was hidden from the public.
Farage said the money was gifted to him “so that I would be safe and secure for the rest of my life”.
Harborne has made much of his fortune from his 12 percent stake in Tether, a cryptocurrency that Farage now regularly promotes on media appearances.
Farage’s trips to Abu Dhabi, Maldives
In December, the UAE paid approximately 1,000 pounds ($1,360) for Farage to visit Abu Dhabi and forked out $9,000 for Paddock passes at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as shown in the UK Parliament Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
The Financial Times, quoting people familiar with the matter, reported Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy had arranged the trip as the UAE’s leadership “was keen to speak with Reform owing to a shared opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood”.
Harborne is also estimated to have spent an estimated 25,000 pounds ($33,900) flying Farage out to the Maldives for a three-day trip that the Reform UK leader listed as a “humanitarian aid mission”.
At the time of publishing, Reform had not responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Paid speaking events abroad
Farage is also flown around the world to speak at various events.
In November, Bassim Haidar, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire entrepreneur and prominent donor to Reform UK, spent about 55,000 pounds ($74,528) to fly out Farage and two of his aides to the United States for a “speaking engagement and charity event”, according to the register.
Haidar uses Dubai as his primary business headquarters, while his main European residential base is in Greece.
In February 2025, GB News, a media outlet which has produced biased coverage about Muslims according to a recent study, paid Farage 7,924 pounds ($10,737) to cover the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual gathering of conservatives in the US, organised by the American Conservative Union, at which he also held a speech. CPAC covered the cost of his accommodation.
www.theguardian.com
