‘Anything you can do, I can do better.’ Throughout 2025, both Reform and the Conservatives have slugged it out, trading blows and scrapping for every inch of territory. With the future of the right at stake, neither party wants to be seen as losing political momentum ahead of 2029. Reform has comfortably led in the polls since April – but one boast that the Tories have always had is that they are significantly better at fundraising. No longer it seems…
The latest figures from the Electoral Commission are out covering the third quarter of 2025. They show that Reform bagged £10.3 million in donations in just three months – though that is largely down to the largesse of Christopher Harbone who gave £9 million, in what is believed to be the single largest donation of modern times. Kerching! The Tories meanwhile netted £4.8 million with Labour pulling in a paltry £2.2 million.
And there’s potentially more bad news for the Tories too. One donor in particular caught Steerpike’s eye: Lady Rothermere, wife of the owner of the Daily Mail, gave Nigel Farage’s party £50,000. A potential indicator of where the Tory press could go at the next election…
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