Voters believe Nigel Farage should have declared a controversial £5m gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne that is now being investigated by Parliament’s ethics watchdog.
The Reform UK leader did not register the gift despite parliamentary rules requiring MPs to declare any “personal benefit” they have received in the 12 months before taking office, and to register them within one month of their election.
Farage said the money from the Thailand-based businessman was for his security and said he had no obligation to declare it because it was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all”.
But a clear majority (60 per cent) of voters appear to reject this, believing Farage should have publicly declared it, with less than a quarter (22 per cent) backing the Reform leader in saying he did not need to.
Of the main four parties, only Reform’s voters backed Farage’s insistence he did not need to declare the gift (59 per cent).
But even one in four of Reform’s supporters (26 per cent) think Farage should have declared it.
The Reform leader has faced questions about a £1.4m home he bought in 2024, shortly after receiving the £5m, but his party has insisted the property purchase was not related to Harborne’s payment, and was instead funded by Farage’s fee for appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The row does not yet appear to be damaging Farage’s standing, with his net satisfaction rating among voters stable on -15, the same as last month, although he recorded his highest level of dissatisfaction (45 per cent) among voters since becoming an MP.
Farage facing parliamentary investigation
Parliament’s standards commissioner is now investigating the gift after a referral from the Conservatives in April.
MPs who are found to have broken the House of Commons Code of Conduct face a range of punishments, from a written or oral apology to suspension from the House, or even expulsion in the most serious cases.
The commissioner does not recommend any particular sanction for MPs, with any punishment being decided by the cross-party Select Committee on Standards.
MPs suspended for longer than two weeks, or 10 sitting days of the Commons, can also be subject to a recall process that can result in a by-election. For a by-election to be triggered, a petition must reach 10 per cent of eligible registered voters in a constituency within a six-week period.
Last year, Harborne gave £9m to Reform – the largest-ever single donation by a living person to a British political party. In total, he gave £12m to Reform in 2025.
Reform support for crypto ‘long-standing’
Reform has promised a raft of crypto-friendly policies if it forms the next government. Last year, the party published a draft “crypto assets and digital finance bill”, which it said would make Britain the “world’s premier hub for cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation”.
Measures in the draft bill include cutting capital gains taxes on crypto assets to 10 per cent, from the current maximum of 24 per cent, and directing the Treasury to establish a “Bitcoin digital reserve”.
Farage has previously said that his support for crypto deregulation is long-standing and not influenced by donations from the industry.
The House of Commons Code of Conduct states that “purely personal gifts or benefits” from family or commercial loans would not normally have to be registered.
The rules also say that “both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered,” and that “if there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered”.
Reform has been approached for comment.
BMG surveyed a representative sample of 1,511 GB adults between 26 and 28 May. BMG are members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.
