What questions does Nigel Farage have to answer about his finances?

A YouGov poll carried out this week found that 73 per cent of Britons would describe Nigel Farage as “sleazy”. The poll found that 69 per cent think his party, Reform UK, is sleazy, a figure that has increased by 18 points over the last two years.

This increase presumably reflects the reporting of Farage’s finances, especially over the past two and a half months, since Anna Isaac of The Guardian reported in April that he had received a personal gift, before becoming an MP, of £5m from Christopher Harborne, the Thailand-based crypto billionaire, and had not declared it.

Farage responded to questions about the donation by insisting that he was not required to declare it because it was a personal gift unrelated to his being an MP.

Yes, just as they tend to think that all politicians are liars. In fact, fewer people think Farage is sleazy than say the same about “British governments” (77 per cent). But Farage does worse on this measure than rival politicians: Keir Starmer is described as sleazy by 54 per cent, Zack Polanski by 42 per cent, Andy Burnham by 36 per cent, and Kemi Badenoch by 34 per cent.

It is not clear how much these perceptions matter, though, because 40 per cent of Reform voters see Farage as sleazy – and it doesn’t stop them from intending to vote for his party.

The code of conduct for MPs stipulates that benefits received in the 12 months before they become an MP should be registered – if they could “reasonably be thought by others” to be related to their “political activities”. (The code adds: “If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered.”)

Farage himself suggested that the £5m gift from Harborne might be a “reward” for his lifetime’s campaign against EU membership, in which case it would be “related to” his “political activities”.

Farage told journalists the gift was “none of your business”.

All of this followed the news that Harborne had given Reform £12bn since the 2024 election, and that he gave a similar sum to the Brexit Party, which later became Reform, before the 2019 election. These donations – all disclosed, as required by the rules – prompted questions about possible conflicts of interest. Harborne made much of his money from cryptocurrencies, and Farage has made the case for wider use of bitcoin and other digital currencies, including to Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England.

The donations to Reform also prompted the government to tighten the rules on political donations from British nationals (Harborne is a dual British-Thai national) resident abroad.

Further undisclosed support from Farage’s aide George Cottrell was reported by The Sunday Times last weekend. Cottrell is alleged to have supplied staff, security and housing in the 12 months before the general election, and since.

That was what prompted Farage to make his angry statement announcing that he would stand down and fight a by-election so that the people of his Clacton constituency could give their verdict on the “establishment” campaign against him.

Since then, further questions have been asked about the true source of donations to Reform from Fiona Cottrell, George’s mother – another colourful character, who reportedly dated the King (then the Prince of Wales) in the 1970s.

The police are investigating a donation to Reform’s economics spokesperson and candidate for chancellor in a Farage-led government. The Electoral Commission had been looking at claims that £37,500 donated to Jenrick’s Conservative leadership campaign originated overseas. That information was passed to the Metropolitan Police in January this year.

The donation relates to Jenrick’s time as a Conservative MP, and so any questions about it should not reflect on Reform – which he did not join until January.