NMCmassive, Sat 12 Sep 21:09

I wonder if British businesses are willing to throw 10’s of millions at Reform in hope of a change in financial policy

Dave_1885, Sun 13 Sep 10:01

NMCmassive, Sat 12 Sep 21:09

I wonder if British businesses are willing to throw 10’s of millions at Reform in hope of a change in financial policy

Have any done it yet? Maybe that says it all if they haven’t so far.

NMCmassive, Sun 13 Sep 13:34

Dave_1885, Sun 13 Sep 10:01

NMCmassive, Sat 12 Sep 21:09

I wonder if British businesses are willing to throw 10’s of millions at Reform in hope of a change in financial policy

Have any done it yet? Maybe that says it all if they haven’t so far.

If you’re going to ignore that both Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne are British born and have British businesses then I suppose you’d be closer to an argument that British business hasn’t donated to the Reform party

Dave_1885, Sun 13 Sep 13:44

NMCmassive, Sun 13 Sep 13:34

Dave_1885, Sun 13 Sep 10:01

NMCmassive, Sat 12 Sep 21:09

I wonder if British businesses are willing to throw 10’s of millions at Reform in hope of a change in financial policy

Have any done it yet? Maybe that says it all if they haven’t so far.

If you’re going to ignore that both Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne are British born and have British businesses then I suppose you’d be closer to an argument that British business hasn’t donated to the Reform party

One loves the country that much he lives in Thailand and has done since Brexit (I wonder why) and the other is a convicted fraudster in America…….

It’s not exactly ringing endorsements.

Indiapar1, Sun 13 Sept 18:52

The headline is the amount but my thoughts behind this are;

I don` think the issue is the amount of money. The political dynamic seems to have changed from the two party system to three party, with the latest polls showing Labour and Reform both on about 23% of the vote, and Tories on about 20%.

My question would be:

"Why has the UK political environment developed to the point where sophisticated wealthy individuals consider investing £36m each in a relatively new political party to be worthwhile?"

Reform were a Brexit movement and political influence party 5 years ago. Now they are probably considered a plausible contender for political power. Thus they are likely to attract donations.

What has remained under developed with the Reform party is the organisational machine. The money will fund organisational development and structure. £72m spent building institutional capability could permanently change the Reform party

Simply attacking Reform will not work.
If Reform voters already believe that established institutions are dysfunctional, attacks from those institutions can paradoxically reinforce Reform`s narrative.

Money and credibility - Money cannot manufacture political demand indefinitely, but it can dramatically improve the efficiency with which existing support is converted into votes.

Success goes to success i.e. resources migrate towards the apparently successful competitor. This could attract candidates from the other parties, more donations etc.

Both donors have substantial cryptocurrency interests, while Reform has advocated crypto-friendly policies. Reform says the donors expect nothing in return. However, the scale of the donations will generate scrutiny.


The Electoral Commission is proposing limitations on donations. This also helps explain why making very large contributions now could make strategic sense to donors before the regulatory regime changes.

One of the constraints for Reform in the past was voter awareness. However now everybody knows Reform and Farage. The constraint now for Reform is how you convert one in four voters into hundereds of MP`s in Parliament. I see this £72m as an attempt to remove that constraint.

The challenge for Reform will be if the donations remove that constraint, the next constraint for them is competence, trust and governing credibility. That is something that cannot be purchased.

I think the intent is to cement Reform as the third political party. It goes beyond the donations. It wouldnt surprise me if we end up with a coalition government after the next general election.

NMCmassive, Sun 13 Sept 20:40

I use AI, it’s like a really sharp Google but if you’re taking a point/learning something from it you really need to check sources. Like everything on the internet there’s to many times the source for something is circular and unchallenged. Once looked at, it falls apart.

I can’t say for certain that’s copied and pasted from AI but if I was a betting man I would say it is. It looks like part of a conversation with a LLM.

Again, nothing wrong with using them. They’re tools but I don’t appreciate copied and pasted responses without context.

NMCmassive, Mon 14 Sept 10:52

Do you think it will be a coalition of the right or the left?

Politically it should be easier for the right but I don’t see Farage and Badenock forming a coalition together (just my gut feeling - I’ve nothing to back that up)