Farage threatens to ban trade union donations if Labour blocks Reform backers

Nigel Farage has threatened to ban trade union donations to political parties if the Labour government goes ahead with a retrospective ban on the £72 million donation received by Reform UK from two billionaire donors.

Writing in The Telegraph, Farage said that neither Ben Delo nor Christopher Harborne, the cryptocurrency billionaires who each pledged £36 million, had asked for or would receive anything in return. He argued that if anyone is giving money for political bidding, it is the trade unions.

"I would just warn the Labour Party here and now, if you try and ban our donors, we in government would certainly ban funding from the trade unions," he said.

Housing Minister Angela Rayner responded at the TUC conference, telling Farage he "can't pay your way out of accountability to the people of this country." She added that Labour would "defend our democracy and society from any foreign dictator or fascist oligarch who seeks to divide our country and buy our politics."

The row comes amid calls from trade unions to limit individual donations while creating a separate set of rules for themselves. Panellists on GB News debated the issue, with some defending Delo and Harborne as philanthropists and attacking Labour for accepting donations from others, including Dale Vince and Gary Lubner. Others questioned whether any billionaire donor gives large sums without expecting influence, pointing to Reform's only policy proposal on crypto as a potential clue.

The programme also noted that trade union members can opt out of political levies, and that union leaders like Sharon Graham are democratically elected. But supporters of Reform argued that union money comes with strings attached, such as demands for wealth taxes and wage inflation, whereas the Reform donors want nothing in return.