Money and Politics

 38 degrees has published the following on their web site.   It should raise concerns with anyone who believes in democracy.   Time for Action!

38degrees.org.uk 

Money and Politics

The scale of the problem

In recent years, British political parties have become increasingly reliant on a very small number of extremely wealthy donors. These donations are legal, but their size and concentration raise serious questions about influence, access and fairness.

[i] In late 2025, Reform UK received a record £9 million donation from Christopher Harborne, a multi‑millionaire crypto investor who has lived in Thailand for around 20 years.

[ii] This single donation was larger than the total donations received by the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party combined in 2025. Harborne has now provided almost two‑thirds of all the money Reform UK has ever raised. In total, more than 75% of Reform's funding has come from just three men.

[iii] This pattern is not confined to one party. Big money is rapidly reshaping the base of all political parties. Labour In the year leading up to the 2024 general election, Labour received £13 million from companies — more than it received from all trade unions combined. This was the first time in British history that corporate donations to Labour exceeded funding from the trade union movement. The largest single donation in Labour’s history was made during this period: £4 million from Quadrature Capital, a hedge fund whose parent company is based in the Cayman Islands.

Conservatives In the same pre‑election year, just three donors provided more than half of the Conservatives’ £52 million campaign funds. The largest donor was The Phoenix Partnership, a company that supplies software to the NHS, which gave £15 million in a single year. Across all major parties, election campaigning is increasingly funded by a handful of individuals and corporations with extraordinary financial resources. This is no longer a party-political issue but a systemic feature of how British politics is now funded