The Far-Right's Britain is a Billionaire's Britain

‘We’re living in a two-tier culture in this country where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities.’ These were the words of Nigel Farage in an ‘emergency address’ following George Nowak’s tragic killing in Southampton. 

It is rather rare to hear the Reform UK leader speak directly about race. He would feel much more comfortable ranting about illegal migration or asylum seekers. Farage appears especially keen to weaponise this moment, with him feeling pressure in the polls from Rupert Lowe to his right. The Greater Yarmouth MP’s party seems to be a potentially major electoral obstacle between Farage and No 10. By appealing to those even more hardline than Farage, Lowe has ensured that Reform no longer monopolises the British far right. This may prove significant in the Makerfield byelection, where Restore could take crucial votes from Reform and stop them potentially winning the seat. 

Rupert Lowe himself may be surprised by his rise to political salience, as he cannot exactly claim full responsibility for it. He has Elon Musk to thank. Musk and Farage fell out in early 2025 over the Reform leader’s refusal to welcome far-right agitator Tommy Robinson into Reform. Musk ultimately stated that Farage ‘doesn’t have what it takes’ to lead Reform. Musk has shifted his support to Lowe, an MP removed from Reform after claims of physical violence and workplace bullying. He has since shifted even further right than Reform with the creation of his own party, Restore UK. Lowe has said of illegal immigrants: ‘they should be deported to a midge-infested island offshore either England or Scotland and let the midges do the rest.’ 

The richest man alive is now using his social media platform X, with around 20 million UK users, to promote Lowe and his party. A report by Sky News shows a disproportionate amplification of right-wing accounts by Musk’s algorithm, which particularly benefits Lowe. Despite having less than half the followers, Lowe has 12 posts with more than 10 million views since February while Farage has none. This online support seems to be translating into real life, with Restore polling in third place in Makerfield. Try as we may to ignore Elon Musk and his unhinged obsession with UK politics, he is having a very real impact on our political debate. Previously fringe ideas such as race politics are becoming a fixture of our modern political rhetoric due to their growing acceptability online. It is alarming to say the least. 

This raises serious questions about the role of billionaires in the rise of the far right in Britain and elsewhere. Farage may bemoan the role of Musk in taking key votes from him, but he knows that he would struggle without the backing of his own cash cows. Last year, Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne gave Reform UK £9 million, the biggest single political donation by a living person in British history. Farage himself has been referred to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for failing to declare a £5 million personal ‘gift’ from Harborne. He alongside fellow crypto billionaire Brian Delo make up a third of all private political donations in the UK this year. All to Reform. Such significant investment makes a huge difference in terms of campaigning, while other parties rely on smaller donations and unions for their funding. 

It is clear that these figures are getting involved in politics in order to curry favour with a potential far-right government. In Hungary and the US, we have seen that such governments remain fiscally loyal to those who helped financially in bringing them to power. Many of those donating to Reform come from cryptocurrency, hedge funds, or other forms of alternative finance. They hope that an anti-system party may encourage investment in these industries as opposed to banking and traditional finance, which is usually preferred by establishment parties. There is, generally, a higher concentration of political donors coming from industries, such as hedge funds, which are highly regulated. Cryptocurrency could well fall under stricter regulation in the immediate future, so it is little wonder that Harborne and company are going hell-for-leather with Farage. Over the years alternative finance has acquired disproportionate political influence in the UK and now has a more powerful lobby than traditional finance. Big donations such as Harborne’s make this apparent. 

The Labour government is trying to push back against this by introducing a £100,000 limit on political donations by those residing outside the UK. Christopher Harborne has nevertheless refused to stop funding Farage, ‘there is always a way’ he says. Even if the government did limit the cash flowing from billionaires to political parties, it wouldn’t stop the indirect ways in which the right benefits from billionaire support. With an entire social media pushing Rupert Lowe and Restore UK, Farage is experiencing how this can work to his detriment. 

It is impossible to say what our political landscape would look like if the far right did not have the support of the super-rich, but their influence is clear. In France the same ultra-conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré controls many of the nation’s most popular media to promote the far right and eradicate debate. When single individuals like him and Musk can exercise such control over the political narrative, we must call our democracy into question. But it is hard to see how we go back.

Illustration: Will Allen/Europinion