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Nick Candy, the new treasurer of Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform party, promises “political chaos like we’ve never seen before” in the UK as he claims there will be more than Elon Musk Supporter of several billionaires.
The property developer told the Financial Times he would “raise more money than any other party” and the Reform Party would have more members than the Conservatives within three months as it appeals to disillusioned Tories and Labor voters.
“We have a lot of billionaires ready to donate to the party, not just Elon,” Candy said. “The Reform Party is the disruptor — this is the seed round, the Series A. This is going to be political disruption like we’ve never seen before.”
“The oldest political party in the world will be replaced by the youngest political party in the world,” he added.
Many in Westminster fear that Musk’s financial interventions could have a significant and lasting impact on British politics, providing the resources for reform and transforming himself into an established instrument of power.
The party has just five MPs but came in second place at July’s general election with 98 seats, 89 of which were won by Labor.
After meeting Musk this week at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Farage said the Tesla and X owners were “seriously considering” donations.
Foreigners can donate to British political parties through British businesses they own, but direct donations are prohibited.
Britain’s elections watchdog, the Electoral Commission, is in discussions with the government to change the law to ensure that only profits earned in the UK can be donated to political parties – a move backed by Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser.
Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, confirmed on Sunday that the government would introduce legislation as early as next year to ensure political donations are “fair and robust”.
Candy, who arranged the meeting between Musk and Farage, said the American billionaire would “be the first of many wealthy donors to be legally allowed to donate”. He declined to name other billionaires who were prepared to donate.
Candy, who defected from the Conservatives to the Reform Party this month, has pledged to donate at least £1m of his own funds to the party. He said the cash raised would be used to conduct “field games, data analysis and polling” for parties that need to build infrastructure and systems.
Describing the Reform Party as having “more conservative values than the Conservatives,” Candy said, “Even big Conservative donors are calling me…” . Many people will join us. The movement has begun.
In November, Reform said it had more than 100,000 members. The Conservative Party has approximately 130,000 members.
Candy criticized the previous Conservative and current Labor governments for overseeing “the greatest brain drain this country has ever seen”. So a lot of people are disillusioned. We are in a serious recession and need to stop it”.
The Reform Party hopes to win hundreds of council seats, as well as at least one mayoralty, in May’s local elections, boosted by a series of high-profile Tory defections in recent weeks.
They include Conservative Party website founder Tim Montgomery and former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkins.
