Reform is dominating our political conversation right now. Watching Keir Starmer this week you would never think he’s a prime minister with a 170-seat majority.
While so many column inches have been dedicated to the electoral prospects of Nigel Farage’s party, I’ve been asking a very different question - who funds Reform?
This really matters. Money buys power in British politics. Reform’s treasurer, billionaire former Tory donor Nick Candy, has promised to convince 20 big donors to give £1million each. That’s a lot of cash. We also know that Reform has had a lot more money to spend in recent months - as their ground operation during the recent Runcorn by-election attests - and we won’t know where that cash came for months because political donations are only published long after the fact. There’s also major questions over some of Reform’s previous funding, and the ‘black hole’ in its finances - and all that’s before we even consider the prospect of Elon Musk pouring millions into Farage’s outfit.
This all begs another, equally urgent, question - how can we stop big money buying our politics? Labour promised to do this. An elections bill is expected in the coming months. That should be good news. But my sources in Westminster tell me that Number 10 is refusing to commit to even the most minor reforms. This is a disaster for anyone who cares about protecting our democracy. But there is good news. Real change is possible, as
and I explain on our chat. Seth also exclusively reveals which London club blackballed Nigel Farage. Watch to find out!Democracy for Sale is committed to taking dark money and hidden influence out of our politics. If you appreciate our work and haven’t already done so, we hope you’ll become a supporting subscriber.
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