Reform UK's annual conference in Birmingham has been overshadowed by fresh scrutiny of the party's finances, after two senior officials were suspended following an undercover investigation that filmed them appearing to discuss ways to circumvent electoral law on foreign donations. The episode is the latest in a two-year string of controversies over money flowing to the party and its leader, Nigel Farage, raising questions about transparency and compliance with rules on political funding as Reform seeks to present itself as a credible party of government.

Among the claims: it emerged in 2025 that a Clacton property Farage said he had bought was in fact purchased solely by his girlfriend, Laure Ferrari, allegedly letting him avoid higher-rate stamp duty; in April 2026 the Guardian revealed crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne gave Farage an undeclared £5m gift shortly before his U-turn to stand as an MP in 2024, a matter now being probed by parliament's standards commissioner. The Met police are also investigating £500,000 in donations from Fiona Cottrell, mother of Farage aide and convicted fraudster George Cottrell, over concerns they may have concealed funding from an impermissible source, alongside a separate £1m deposit to a company run by deputy leader Richard Tice and revelations that George Cottrell funded staffing, security and housing for Farage's operation.