Scots investor hands Nigel Farage's Reform UK £100,000 donation
Mr Farage’s party received £10.3 million in donations over the third quarter of the year
A Scottish investor gave Nigel Farage’s Reform UK a £100,000 donation, according to figures from the Electoral Commission.
The money from William Alan McIntosh, the founder of Emerald Investment Partners, was the fifth largest donation to the party between July and September.
However, it pales in comparison to a record-breaking £9 million donation to Reform by businessman Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency investor and aviation entrepreneur.
Figures show Mr Farage’s party received £10.3 million in donations over the third quarter of the year, while the Conservatives received £4.6 million and Labour £2.1 million.
The SNP reported just £2,584 in cash donations. The party said it was “proud to be overwhelmingly funded by our ordinary members”.
Most of its funding came from Short Money, which is the public cash given to support opposition parties in carrying out their parliamentary business at Westminster.
The latest figures come as parties in Scotland prepare for the upcoming Holyrood election in May, with Mr Farage due to hold an event in Falkirk on Saturday.
Mr Harborne’s donation is the largest ever given by a living person to a British political party. He previously gave large amounts to the Conservatives under Boris Johnson and Reform's predecessor the Brexit Party.
Mr McIntosh co-founded Punch Taverns in 1997 and Irish housebuilder Cairn Homes.
The Electoral Commission said UK political parties received £24,159,261 donations and public funds during the third quarter of this year. This compares to £10,046,532 in the same period in 2024, and £11,191,843 in the previous quarter.
Jackie Killeen, director of electoral administration and regulation, said: “The UK political finance system has high levels of transparency, and we know that voters are interested in where parties get their money from. This quarterly publication is an important part of delivering this information for voters.
“However, we know there are parts of the system that need strengthening, and we have been calling for changes to the law for some time.
“The UK government’s proposed reforms to the political finance regime have the potential to improve the strength of donation controls and help ensure voters can have confidence in the political finance system.
“We will continue to work with the government so that any changes are evidence based and workable in practice.”
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