Lord Anthony Bamford, the billionaire chairman of JCB and one of the Conservatives’ most prolific donors, has donated £200,000 to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, signalling growing business support for the populist party.
JCB confirmed the contribution on Saturday, stating that it had donated the same amount to both the Conservative Party and Reform UK in recent weeks.
“Both the Conservative Party and Reform UK believe in small business, and it’s for that reason JCB has donated £200,000 to each,” the company said.
The move marks a significant shift for Bamford, who has donated over £9 million to the Conservatives and was one of Boris Johnson’s key financial backers, even hosting the former prime minister’s wedding celebration.
Bamford, a long-time Brexit supporter who helped bankroll the Vote Leave campaign, has not previously donated to Farage’s party. However, his company sponsored Reform UK’s annual conference in September and has featured prominently in Farage’s campaign events.
At the launch of Reform’s local election campaign in March, Farage arrived at his speech riding one of JCB’s pothole-filling machines — a symbolic nod to Bamford’s company and its ties to British manufacturing.
Last year, Bamford revealed that he had paid for an £8,000 helicopter flight for Farage from Kent to JCB’s headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire.
Farage welcomed the donation as proof that Reform UK is gaining credibility among entrepreneurs and small firms. The party has long claimed that “big business dominates government policymaking,” leaving small businesses “without a voice.”
On Monday, Farage announced the creation of a new small business advisory group, chaired by Kevin Byrne, founder of Checkatrade, to help shape Reform’s economic policies.
“Unlike other party leaders, I set up my own company in 1993, so I know how tough it can be,” Farage said. “It’s the big businesses that shape policy. The small businesses don’t even get a look in.”
He also reiterated his opposition to the government’s off-payroll IR35 rules, which affect contractors and freelancers, and attacked Labour’s planned workers’ rights reforms, which he said would place “crippling burdens” on employers.
Reform UK has struggled to attract major donors despite rising poll numbers, relying heavily on internal financing from senior figures such as Richard Tice, who serves as both deputy leader and key funder.
According to Electoral Commission data, the Conservatives raised £6.3 million in the first half of this year — roughly three times the £2.1 million raised by Reform UK.
However, the balance may be starting to shift. In October, property tycoon Nick Candy confirmed that he had fulfilled his £1 million donation pledge to Reform, while Bamford’s contribution represents the party’s first major donation from an established Tory backer.
A Reform UK spokesperson declined to comment on the donation, but Farage thanked Bamford publicly during Monday’s event, calling it “a sign that small business Britain is coming our way.”
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Tory donor Anthony Bamford backs Reform UK with £200,000 donation