2 private donations of £36m each to one political party - is this the future of democracy in a world at the mercy of tech bros?

[IwantToRetire]

Not particularly interested in discussing Reform. As anyone who wants to do that could set up a thread just like there is one about the Greens.

Of course the money could just be frittered away, but do these donations create an imbalance in terms of other parties having a voice, not just now, but when there is the next General Election.

For info (and there may be others) short bios about each man who has donated. Although, if as stated, they don't expect to decide party policy, maybe their personal history doesn't matter.

https://news.sky.com/story/ben-delo-and-christopher-harborne-who-are-reform-uks-two-mega-donors-13584792

Edited to add: I would ask this question if such donations had been made to any other Party, whether Labour, Tory, Greens etc..

The gradual erosion of what counts as acceptable is the threat to democracy, not the source of the funds. It could have been a hedge fund donor with the same outcome.

Kier Starmer faced criticism for accepting Arsenal director box tickets even though he paid for his own season ticket. Yet Farage gets to pocket £5m for “security” and it bounces off him. There’s no doubt the newspapers drive this dichotomy.

But it’s not just politics- even shoplifting and middle class theft like wearing clothes with the tags inside before returning are on the rise. We are just becoming more individualistic.

Politics is being bought by big money and it certainly applies to Reform/Labour/Conservatives.

Its very bad news for democracy

Why is this in 'sex and gender'?

I'm starting to think we never had a democracy in the first place, it all seems to be about 'the parties' who are brought and paid for by anyone who has enough power or influence to lobby the political classes into whatever direction they want.
The Tories are paid for by big business, Labour are paid for by the Unions, I don't think the people come into the equation at all.

If Dale Vince the mega rich eco guy wants to give The Greens £36m, why shouldn't he?

Makes me laugh, these billionaires moan about tax yet 32 million is like pocket change. Rather than do some good with it they make political donations.

As far as they're concerned they are doing something good with it.

For them maybe. Maybe they should donate 32 million into cancer research rather than funding pet projects.

The thing that gets me is that the debate how we fund political parties has been going on since I was old enough to vote. We can't agree on this and it remains a unsolved to this day. How do we get a political system that represents the needs of the voters rather than those with deep pockets. How do we stop these donations influencing policy.

We can't, that's pie in the sky wishful thinking. There are things we could do to limit the influence, bring in tough laws around lobbing, make it necessary for all MPs to produce an account for any interaction, meetings/events, they have with people seeking favours. Stop giving out Peerages as political favours. Give more power to organisations like Tax Payer Alliance, who campaign for government transparency and an end to government waste of tax payers money. We could put an end to all the government funded quangos, whose sole job seems to be to lobby the government paid for by public money and to promote the politics of the government who fund them.
We could introduce civic responsibilities classes in school, and give children a grounding in the responsibilities the people who live in a democracy have to the democratic system.

Because in the end the people get the government they deserve.

Why is this seen as such a terrible thing because it's Reform? Surely the other parties have been given much more than this in the decades since they were formed, usually in return for favours, contracts, honours. Hardly news. Doesn't make it right but as with most things the rules should apply equally to all.

I wouldn't agree if it was Labour, it's not the donation that bothers me it's the influence it buys. I don't particularly want the party system funded by the tax payer either

What bothers me is very influential people are undermining the value of a vote. If people can buy influence why bother voting at all because politicians don't seem to keep promises.

It's like drilling for Oil in the North Sea, I'll support it if it gives us an income to pay for decarbonisation of our railways and bus services....but I don't want to be shackled to the oil industry. For me it makes sense if it brings in income it doesn't make sense not having an alternative..like hydrogen or electric

The donors were planning £1million/month up until 2029. Labour tried to stop this by putting a cap on overseas donations and a stop on all donations in c. These wouldnt affect Labour's donations, mainly Reform's. The attempt to cap domestic donations (which would affect Labour) was stopped by the trade unions.

Because of this the donors gave the money in a lump sum rather than staggered as they were fearful Labour would try and queer the pitch even more.

£2 million per month given by Reform donors. Versus £3.93 million/ month spent by Labour in 2025, a non election year.

The Conservatives have raised £150million since 2021, Labour £128 million and Reform £38million before these donations.

Not a Reform voter (Conservative) but important to look at things in a fair way. IMO

Democracy is an illusion. Labour and conservatives are 2 sides of one coin thats being flipped by the same person.

They do not want a 'rogue' government that won't tow the line.

I’d laugh if Farage took it all and legged it.

How did Burnham get a Great North Run number, they are like gold dust.

He has just popped up on the BBC coverage, running for some charity or other. "Doing good up North".

Then the charity would have been given an allocation of numbers.

At least he has now been to the true North.

Donations to the Labour party should also be stopped then.

Presumably he had protection officers running around with him?

Maybe someone who was allocated one, stood down for him so he could have another grandstanding moment. 😂

There's a huge difference between raising funds from a number of sources, and these one off sizeable donations.

And for the PP nobody is saying the problem is because it is reform. In the OP I said I think it would be a problem whatever Party.

The issue is whether given the size of the amounts these 2 individuals now influence policy. For all I know members of Reform dont like them and hope they keep their nose out.

And for those who dont remember Rupert Murdoch came under similar scrutiny, not just because of the sums he donated, but his news paper influence, as nowadays there is SM influence. Although he had always been clear that his agenda was to make unions powerless.

Can you imagine the uproar if JKR donated such large sums to a political party? (Or course she chooses to use the money she has earned for good causes supporting women.)

But maybe this is just another symptom of the fact our political system is still hopelessly out of date, and unable to respond to change.

You really think that if Labour themselves were the recipients of these donations they would have rejected them and be talking about making these changes??