Angela Rayner laid into Nigel Farage and his crypto billionaire “sugar daddies” in a searing speech.
Speaking at the TUC Congress in Brighton on Monday. Rayner took aim at Farage following the news that crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo had each donated £36m to Reform.
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The housing minister told those in attendance that Labour were the only party on the side of workers, not Reform.
“Congress, you know Reform are not on your side,” Rayner said. “They voted against the Employment Rights Act, and if elected, they’d repeal it in a heartbeat — along with the Equality Act.”
Rayner said the donations from crypto billionaires were proof of whose side Reform are on.
She continued: “Nigel Farage’s sugar daddies made their money in crypto. But there’s nothing cryptic about their motives.
“They know full well that a Reform government will act in their interests, not the public interest.
“When these Reform donors say they want nothing – they mean it. No workers’ rights; no renters’ rights; no social protections, no safety net, no regulation. Nothing to stand in their way.
Rayner then added: “And if Farage will do you a Cameo for seventy pounds, just ask yourself – what would he do for seventy million?
Reform and Farage have justified the eye-watering donations from the crypto billionaires by saying they are comparable to the donations Labour receive from unions.
This argument has been dismissed by union leaders, who say donations from thousands of their members are nothing like receiving huge one-off donations from individuals.
This was echoed by Rayner, who said: “How dare they try to compare money from a couple of crypto billionaires to union members’ subs.
“The most highly regulated political funding we have could not be more different from a couple of off-shore billionaires trying to buy our democracy.”
There are still questions over whether the donations from Delo and Harborne will be permissible under electoral law once the government’s Representation of the People bill goes through the House of Lords.
Harborne and Delo have both previously been based overseas. Harborne has been based in Thailand but is registered to vote in the UK, whilst Delo said earlier this year he was moving back to Britain from Hong Kong.
Earlier this year, the government announced a £100,000 cap on donations from overseas electors as part of its Representation of the People Bill. The government made clear the legislation would apply retrospectively from the date it was announced, 25 March.
Then, in July this year, the government announced an amendment to the bill which would mean individuals returning to the UK from overseas will be subject to the donation cap for at least a full calendar year from their return to the UK.
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On Monday, Farage seemed to concede that the donations from Harborne and Delo may not comply with upcoming law changes applied retrospectively to 25 March.
Speaking to the BBC’s Chris Mason, Farage said the donations were compliant with the law “today.”
When he was asked whether the donations would fall foul of any upcoming law changes, Farage said: “Retrospectively declaring donations illegal – that simply cannot be.”
“You cannot confiscate money that has been given legally within the law as it stands,” he added.