Reform UK woos former Tory donors with Mayfair fundraising dinner

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Reform UK is gearing up for a fresh influx of funding as it hosts several former Conservative donors at a £25,000-a-head dinner in Mayfair next week.

Party leader Nigel Farage and treasurer Nick Candy are hoping to raise more than £1mn from the event at the Mayfair private members’ club Oswald’s on Tuesday, party officials said.

Individuals who have collectively gifted hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative party in the past are expected to attend the dinner, in a pivot to Reform that will increase pressure on Tory leader Kemi Badenoch following several defections from her party.

Tickets to the event range from £10,000 to £25,000, and the event expects to attract up to 90 people, said a person familiar with the arrangements.

One former Tory donor planning to attend told the Financial Times they had chosen a £25,000 ticket, instead of a cheaper option, in order to examine how the party “treat senior donors, whether they respect them”.

The individual, who has given substantial sums to the Tories and asked not to be named, said: “The interest in supporting the Tories is at an all-time low. The interest in supporting Reform is slightly better, but the jury is still out whether it will deliver or not.”

The person added they understood the event was a trial for further such fundraisers, adding: “Reform want to see if this kind of thing works.”

Party officials are also making preparations for a larger gathering in the summer — dubbed a Reform festival — that they hope will attract thousands of paying attendees.

The summer event would be “a celebration of all of the incredible progress Reform has made and all that we and our supporters will achieve together in the coming years”, said another senior figure in the party.

The two events form part of a drive to raise tens of millions of pounds for the party, as it strives to increase its appeal going into this year’s local elections, and with an eye towards the next general election later this decade.

Reform is polling at 24 per cent, one point above the Tories, and three points below Labour, according to an average of recent polls, fuelling concern in the governing party and the main opposition.

The former Tory donor said they hope Farage will “unite the two strands” by merging the Conservatives and Reform parties. The two parties have ruled out any such move or making an electoral pact.

But an inpouring of cash into Reform’s coffers would be a fillip for the party after technology billionaire Elon Musk signalled his reservations about giving a sizeable donation to it in recent weeks.

Reform insiders say an uptick in donations will be the latest sign of the challenger party’s domestic momentum, after Farage and Candy travelled to Washington for Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this week and showcased their connections to Maga Republicans.

Farage’s party faces a major test in the local elections in May, however, to prove its support base is not simply a paper phenomenon. Last spring the party fielded candidates in one in seven council seats up for election, and gained a paltry two councillors in total.

This year party insiders are hopeful of making far more significant gains, including two newly-created mayoralties: Greater Lincolnshire, which they will contest with former Tory Andrea Jenkyns against a Conservative opponent, and Hull and East Yorkshire, where Labour are also in contention.

Candy, who amassed a fortune in the property market and previously donated hundreds of thousands to the Tories, joined Reform as its treasurer last month, vowing to donate at least £1mn of his own money to the party. He has since boasted he will raise at least £40mn for Reform.

A Tory spokesperson said: “The Conservatives are under new leadership and working hard to renew and rebuild trust with the British people.”