London, December 4th, 2025 – Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has received a historic £9 million donation from British businessman Christopher Harborne, marking the largest single contribution ever made by a living person to a UK political party, according to figures released by the Electoral Commission.
Harborne, a Cambridge-educated aviation entrepreneur and cryptocurrency investor who has resided in Thailand for over two decades, transferred the funds on August 1st, 2025. Now chairing the Sherriff Global Group in Bangkok and holding dual British-Thai citizenship (under the name Chakrit Sakunkrit), Harborne previously supported the Conservatives with nearly £2 million between 2001 and 2022, including a £1 million gift to Boris Johnson’s office in 2022. He also donated over £6 million to Reform’s predecessor, the Brexit Party, in 2019.
The donation propelled Reform UK to the top of third-quarter fundraising, with total receipts of £10.5 million—outpacing the Conservatives (£7 million), Labour (£2.5 million), and Liberal Democrats (£2.1 million). Combined with public funds, UK parties reported £24.2 million in donations and support from July to September.
This surpasses the prior record for a living donor, an £8 million gift from Lord David Sainsbury to the Liberal Democrats in 2019. (The absolute largest was a posthumous £10.2 million bequest to the Conservatives in 2023.) Reform UK, polling strongly amid economic and immigration debates, has increasingly relied on high-profile backers like Harborne, a former Johnson ally who joined Farage’s circle post-Brexit.
Electoral Commission data shows the party’s funding concentration, with over 80% of its £17 million in registered donations since 2019 from just five individuals. As Reform eyes the next general election, Harborne’s gift signals growing momentum for Farage’s anti-establishment platform.
For the original version of this article, please visit The Pattaya News.
