Nigel Farage is just one strand in the tangle of rightwing politicians and crypto investors | John Harris

<p>These financiers want to remodel the UK into a form that suits them – one that could threaten to erode the barriers between crime and business</p><p>This coming Tuesday, the government’s <a href="https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/4080">representation of the people bill</a> comes back to the House of Commons for its third reading. It bundles up a multitude of measures, including an extension of the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds and welcome changes to voter registration. But thanks to the continuing furore around Nigel Farage and his extremely wealthy friends – such as the Thailand-based crypto-investor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/25/christopher-harborne-mystery-billionaire-bankrolling-reform-uk-nigel-farage">Christopher Harborne</a>, who gave Farage a £5m “lottery win” personal gift and has donated in excess of £22m to Reform UK – the aspects of the legislation that have suddenly become its headline measures are focused on big-money donations.</p><p>The government has already implemented a moratorium – but only a moratorium – on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cap-on-donations-from-overseas-electors-and-ban-on-crypto-donations-to-protect-democracy">political donations in cryptocurrencies</a>, the encrypted digital assets that, to quote <a href="https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/political-party-donations-and-loans-great-britain/cryptoassets">the Electoral Commission</a>, “present particular challenges and risks in meeting electoral law requirements in identifying donors and ensuring they are permissible”. There is a new annual £100,000 limit on donations from British citizens living abroad. Other legislative moves will now take the form of amendments to the bill: they include new checks on whether companies making donations are above board by measuring their profit as well as their revenues, and a requ