The far-right Reform UK party, led by the firebrand populist Nigel Farage, is on the rise, doubling down on calls for tougher border controls and anti-immigration rhetoric. But a look at its finances tells a different story, with money flowing across borders.While Reform UK says it aims to strengthen the rule of law by prioritising parliamentary sovereignty, cutting immigration, and reducing the influence of international bodies, many of its financial backers, political relationships and ideological allies extend beyond the United Kingdom and into international networks.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemsend of listWithin this network is a small number of individual donors, including its largest backer, Thailand-based crypto investor Christopher Harborne.Farage himself is a global networker.In December, he flew to Abu Dhabi at the expense of the United Arab Emirates to attend events and meet officials, despite building a political brand centred on opposition to immigration from regions such as the Middle East.Are these payments legal?The UK political finance system allows unlimited donations on the condition of openness, Sam Power, an expert in political financing, electoral regulation and corruption at the University of Bristol, told Al Jazeera, noting that “anybody can donate as much as they want as long as they’re permissible”.While transparency was meant to balance this freedom, in practice, with opaque donations, gifts, and weak lobbying rules undermining scrutiny, the system is “no longer fit for purpose in British electoral law”, he said. Advertisement Duncan Hames, director of policy, Transparency International UK, said in a statement that British democracy …
