Rupert Lowe reveals he 'deliberated' over Elon Musk's 'illegal' offer to give Restore Britain 'as much money as we want' but he rejected the donation because of 'optics'
Rupert Lowe, leader of hard-right party Restore Britain, has revealed he 'deliberated' over tech billionaire Elon Musk's offer to give his party 'as much money as we wanted'.
Lowe said on Tuesday at a fundraiser in Mayfair that he had rejected Musk's offer because of 'optics' - and the fact that it would be illegal to accept a foreign donation.
The American businessman and owner of X platform has been a vocal supporter of Rupert Lowe's new party, which was set up in February after he was suspended from Reform last year.
Musk, who has also publicly supported far-right activist Tommy Robinson and has been a vocal critic of the Labour government, often endorses Lowe's Party on X, retweeting his posts and pushing the party's message.
Days after the party launched, Musk wrote on X: 'It will win. It must win. To save Britain.'
Now, it has emerged that Musk offered Lowe's party 'as much money as [they] want' to help fund their political machine.
Rupert Lowe has revealed he 'deliberated' over Elon Musk's offer to give his party, Restore Britain, 'as much money as we want'
Musk reportedly made the offer at a Mayfair fundraising event for Restore's exclusive 'Cromwell Club' donor network
Lowe claimed to attendees at a private fundraising event in London for Restore Britain's exclusive 'Cromwell Club' donor network that Musk had made the unlimited financial offer to him.
But he also insisted, according to The Times: 'His moral support and his support on social media is incredibly powerful. It’s not tangible and therefore it doesn’t have to be disclosed.'
Under UK electoral law, a 'permissible' donor to a UK political party must be a registered UK voter or a company registered in the UK.
Any donation of more than £500 from an impermissible source has to be declared to the Electoral Commission and returned to the donor within 30 days.
If the party fails to declare the donation and keeps it, it will be deemed to have accepted the donation, which could lead to a fine and a criminal investigation.
It comes as Lowe's political rivals, Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police after a sting by undercover reporters was broadcast by Channel 4 last week.
On Saturday, Reform received £72million after receiving two donations from crypto billionaires in the space of 24 hours.
They mark the largest donations in British political history, first £36million from cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo and then another £36million by Christopher Harborne, a Thai-British billionaire businessman who generated most of his wealth from the crypto industry as an early pioneer in the likes of Bitcoin.
It comes as Nigel Farage's party Reform UK is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police after a sting by undercover reporters was broadcast by Channel 4 last week
Reform also celebrated two donations of £36million in the space of 24 hours. Crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne (pictured in 2022) matched another crypto billionaire's donation
Mr Delo (pictured), the co-founder of BitMEX, a cryptocurrency trading platform, donated the first £36million, saying that he had given the £36million because he wanted to ensure a 'fair fight' at the next election
It takes the total amount raised by Reform this year close to £90 million, compared with just over £10million for the Tories and £8million for Labour.
It is understood that the £72million will be spent trying to more closely replicate the office 'infrastructure' of the established parties, including appointing campaign managers in all target constituencies, competing for the best strategists and policy experts and setting up an 'attack unit' to target rivals.
Party sources said that the unprecedented injection of funds meant that Reform could 'stop worrying about fundraising and step up preparations for Government'.
Mr Harborne, a former Tory donor who has previously donated a total £15million to Reform, is also at the centre of an investigation by the parliamentary commissioner for standards into whether Mr Farage should have declared a £5million personal gift from him.
Mr Harborne said: 'There will be a lot of media speculation regarding this donation. So what do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing. No peerage, no policy change, just a Party that is ready for government.
'I have already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life. I am committed to putting that to work for Britain and humanity as a whole.
'I want the same as everyone else in Britain: for my children and grandchildren to have the chance to live happy and productive lives here and be rewarded for their hard work.
'At the next General Election people will have to vote for the Party that they think will best get that done and I'm making a donation very clearly to the Party that I believe will do so.'
Mr Farage said he was 'honoured' and 'humbled' that Mr Delo and Mr Harborne have 'shown such confidence in Reform'.
He said: 'Both men know that we are the only party that can turn the country around and win the next General Election - thanks to their generosity, we are now able to fight that election on a level playing field.'
Mr Delo, the co-founder of BitMEX, a cryptocurrency trading platform, said that he had given the £36million - in addition to £4million donated earlier this year - because he wanted to ensure a 'fair fight' at the next election against the 'entrenched advantages' of Reform's opponents.
Mr Delo, 42, announced he was moving back to the UK this year after Labour announced plans to cap donations from British citizens living abroad.
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