Reform UK Party Faces Allegations of Violating Foreign Funding Laws

Undercover footage allegedly shows top Reform officials discussing ways to evade foreign funding laws. The anti-immigration Reform UK party stated that two of its senior officials stepped down on Friday, following allegations that they were secretly filmed discussing methods to circumvent UK electoral laws regarding foreign donations. The party, which has gained popularity in the past two years, is already involved in several other funding scandals related to its leader, Nigel Farage. On Friday, it announced an internal investigation into the latest allegations, which were revealed by a Channel 4 investigation. Reform is currently holding its annual party conference in Birmingham, central England. Channel 4 aired footage of senior Reform officials Dan Jukes and James Orr meeting with undercover reporters posing as potential backers from the United States. In one instance, footage showed Jukes discussing a proposal for Reform to receive a £500,000 ($675,000) donation from one of the men, who was presenting himself as an American financier, through his son, who he claimed lives in the UK. The “son” was actually another journalist from the investigative group Verbatim, which recorded the exchange. In separate footage, Orr discussed a plan for the US donor to fund opinion polls for Reform UK rather than donating the money directly. He mentioned to the undercover reporter that “we just don’t have British-resident donors, British entities, that would support us.” During the investigation, Verbatim reported that Reform officials arranged for the US donor to pay over £30,000 ($40,500) to fund three opinion polls without disclosing the source of the funds. Channel 4 stated it had verified the findings from Verbatim, an offshoot of the Centre for Climate Reporting. Under UK electoral law, political parties may only accept donations from British voters or UK-registered businesses, with overseas donations strictly forbidden. A spokesperson for the UK Electoral Commission stated that political parties must report all “permissible donations” exceeding £11,180 ($15,120) and all “impermissible donations” exceeding £500 ($676). The spokesperson added that parties are responsible for ensuring their internal processes and controls are adequate, and any potential attempts to evade donation controls are for the police to consider. Following the broadcast, Reform initially denied any wrongdoing and claimed the allegations were a hoax. However, the party later stated it was conducting an internal investigation and that Orr and Jukes had stepped down pending its outcome. Orr, the party’s policy head, agreed to step down temporarily and stated he would “cooperate fully” with the investigation. Jukes, a long-term aide to Farage, denied any wrongdoing but indicated he had “stepped back from politics in order to clear my name.” Farage accused the undercover journalists of “entrapment” and told broadcaster LBC that they got a couple of contractors to say things that perhaps should not have been said. He insisted that the party has not broken any laws or accepted any questionable funds. The UK’s ruling Labour Party has requested a police investigation into possible criminal offenses. The Metropolitan Police confirmed it was aware of the allegations and would assess any information provided, although this does not amount to a formal investigation. This latest donation scandal is a setback for Reform, which has seen its popularity decline in opinion polls recently. Last year, polling by YouGov indicated that Reform had become the most popular political party, likely to win a UK general election if held at that time. However, a poll this week by YouGov showed Reform now tied with the Labour Party at 23 percent support each, while the Conservatives have reached 20 percent. This is not the first funding scandal Reform has faced. In July, Farage stepped down as Member of Parliament for Clacton amid allegations that convicted fraudster George Cottrell recruited and paid staff to work on Farage’s social media. Farage later re-won his seat in Clacton at a by-election but still faces a parliamentary inquiry into undeclared funding of £5 million ($6.7 million) from Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne, who funded Farage’s personal security before he announced his candidacy for the 2024 general election. Farage has denied any wrongdoing. This week, Farage described the parliamentary inquiry as unfair, claiming there is a “wilful attempt” to portray everyone associated with Reform as dishonest. Justin Fisher, a professor of political science at Brunel University of London, stated that Reform’s latest donation scandal could further damage Farage’s standing and cost the party votes in upcoming elections. He noted that if this were an isolated incident, Reform might manage to dismiss it, but it adds to existing concerns about donations with overseas links, creating a narrative that the party is struggling to escape.