Farage and Candy to host £25,000-a-head Reform fundraiser

The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will host a £25,000-a-head fundraiser later this month, weeks after his new treasurer – the property billionaire Nick Candy – pledged to secure more money for the party than any other in British political history.

Sky News has seen an invitation to a central London venue on 28 January at which Mr Farage intends to unveil new details of his “vision for the country”.

Reform hopes the evening will raise a substantial seven-figure sum, with general seats available for £10,000 apiece and VIP tickets on offer for £25,000-a-head.

The event is understood to be the first of a number being planned by Nick Candy, Reform’s new chief fundraiser, with some future fundraisers expected to be held outside the UK.

While overseas citizens are prohibited from donating directly to UK political parties, they are able to do so through British-based companies they own.

“As Britain faces unprecedented challenges, Reform UK is paving the way for bold, transformative change,” the invitation said.

“Join us as Nigel Farage presents his vision for the country, and help play a pivotal role in shaping Britain’s future.”

It will come weeks after it emerged that Elon Musk was in talks to make a substantial donation to Reform.

That prospect was subsequently clouded by Mr Musk’s post on X, the social media platform he owns, that Mr Farage should be replaced as the party leader amid a dispute over whether Tommy Robinson should be admitted to its ranks.

Insiders said, however, that both Mr Farage and Mr Candy were expected to attend President Trump’s inauguration in Washington DC later this month and that relations with Mr Musk were “positive”.

Mr Candy, who made his fortune in property and has since gone on to invest in businesses across a range of industries, said after his appointment was announced that he was lining up a string of billionaire backers for the party.

It was unclear on Tuesday whether Mr Musk would attend this month’s Reform fundraising event.

Approached by Sky News about the event, Mr Candy said: “Hosting Reform UK’s first major fundraiser marks a turning point in British politics.

“My phone hasn’t stopped ringing with calls from donors and supporters eager to back Reform UK.

“The ‘big beast’ Tory donors are turning their backs on the Conservatives in a big way.

“The latest polls, with just a 1% gap between Labour and Reform, show that people are ready for real change.

“This event is just the beginning – momentum is building, and the energy behind Reform is impossible to ignore. 2025 is the year of political disruption in the UK.”

Shortly after becoming leader, Mr Farage attended an event hosted by Mr Candy’s wife, the former actress Holly Vallance, which raised an estimated £1.5m for the party’s coffers.

Reform UK is aiming to turn its current handful of MPs into a major parliamentary force at the next general election, scheduled for 2029.

A YouGov poll for Sky News published this week suggested that Reform UK had seen its support grow to within one percentage point of Labour, underlining its rapid growth since Mr Farage became leader.

In recent weeks, Reform UK has engaged in a public row with Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, over claims that the insurgent party had overtaken the Tories by number of members.

Reform UK now claims to have 50,000 more members than the Conservatives’ figure of about 130,000.

It says its next target is to record double the number of Tory members, which would put its ranks at 260,000.