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Nick Candy, the new treasurer of Nigel Farage's rightwing Reform party, has promised Britain “political disruption like we've never seen before” as he claimed he has more billionaires in addition to Elon Musk.
The property developer told the Financial Times that he would “raise more money than any other political party” and that Reform would have more members than the Conservative Party within three months as it attracted Tory and Labor voters.
“We have a number of billions ready to donate to the team, not just Elon,” Candy said. “The Reform Party is a disruptor – this is a seed round, a Series A. This will be a political disruption we've never seen before.”
“The oldest political party in the world will be taken over by the youngest political party in the world,” he added.
Many in Westminster fear that the financial intervention from Musk could have a significant and lasting impact on British politics, giving the Justice Department the resources to turn itself into an established vehicle of power.
The party has only five members of Parliament, but came second out of 98 seats in the July election, 89 of which were won by Labour.
After meeting with Musk this week at the residence of US president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Farage said that the owner of Tesla and X was giving “deep thought” to making a donation.
Foreigners can give money to UK political parties through British businesses they own, but they are not allowed to donate directly.
The Electoral Commission, the UK's electoral watchdog, is in talks with the government about changing the law to ensure that only benefits made in the UK can be given to parties – amsupported by Sir Keir Starmer's adviser on ethical standards.
Lucy Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, confirmed on Sunday that the government will introduce legislation early next year to ensure that political donations are “fair and strong”.
Candy, who organized the meeting between Musk and Farage, said the US billionaire “will be the first of the wealthy donors who are legally allowed to donate”. He declined to name other billionaires who are preparing to donate.
sweets, who defected from the Tories to Reform this monthhe has pledged to give at least £1mn of his own money to the club. He said the money raised will be spent on “downstream gaming, data analysis and polling” for the group as it seeks to build its infrastructure and systems.
Describing Reform as having “more Conservative values in its little finger than the Conservative party”, Candy said “Even the big Tory donors are calling me. . . Many people will join us. The movement has begun.”
In November, Reform said it had surpassed 100,000 members. The Tory party has around 130,000 members.
Candy criticized the previous Conservative government and the current Labor administration for overseeing “the biggest brain drain this country has ever seen. So many people are disappointed. We are in a very bad situation and we have to stop it. ”
The reform – which hopes to win hundreds of council seats in local elections in May, as well as one mayor – has been fueled in recent weeks by a string of top Tory defections.
They include Tim Montgomerie, founder of the ConservativeHome website, and former Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns.