Huge Wads of Cash That Taint Our Democracy

Nigel Farage hitting the jackpot with a secret, personal £5million gift from Chakrit Sakunkrit and Christopher Harborne, the two names of Thai-based crypto tycoon and Reform UK's fairygodfather, illustrated British democracy is not just for sale but has been bought by a billionaire outside our country.

No wonder the rival Conservative Party on the right of politics referred the huge present uncovered by the Guardian newspaper to Parliament's standards committee, citing rules requiring MPs to declare any "personal benefit" received in the 12 months before taking office and to do so within a month of being elected.

Follow the money and Harborne/Sakunkrit, whose vast global fortune would potentially be inflated even higher by Farage and Reform's plans to turbo-charge bitcoin in Britain, also invested more than £22m in the wannabe Prime Minister's parties on top of that £5m – and contributed two-thirds of all Reform funding.

Labour, Tories and other parties are tainted by huge wads of cash, including from filthy-rich magnates living abroad, yet now Reform is creating a super league of its own, it demands iron-clad tough laws on eligibility, caps, transparency and accountability.

Corrupted

Because Reform is a new establishment, an elite all of its own, a get-rich-quick grab for a wealthy few at the expense of the many who have been falsely sold an insurgency by calculating and cynical Trumpist politicians posing as outsiders to become insiders.

We require urgent debate and swift action or British politics will be corrupted by bitcoin speculators seeking a fresh prize after securing the US.

Should state funding be considered in order for political parties to be pulled out of the hands of the mega bucks brigade?

I'm personally unsure – imagine the public backlash over taxpayers' money for unpopular parties, a campaign no doubt orchestrated by the likes of crypto Reform – but we already rightly pay MPs, cover legitimate expenses and fund constituency teams to help the electorate.

Opposition parties once they've won seats are also funded by so-called Short Money for research and employing staff to compete with parties in power, benefiting from special advisers and civil service support.

In the 2025-26 Parliament, a House of Commons Library analysis stated, totals under a formula based on votes and seats allocated the SDLP £135,642.29, Plaid Cymru £139,949.29, DUP £158,130.01, SNP £382,182.95, Greens £406,926.87, Reform UK £406,926.87, Liberal Democrats £2,522,049.20 and Conservatives £5,518,243.24.

So state funding political parties and outlawing influence-buying, if that's the path the UK went down to save democracy from foreign billionaires, wouldn't breach a mythical no-taxpayers' cash principle.

And it might prove a relatively small amount well spent.