Reform UK’s finance chief is expected to meet Elon Musk amid rumours the world’s richest man could donate $100million.
Property tycoon Nick Candy, who declared he was joining Nigel Farage’s outfit as Treasurer last week, said he believed Mr Musk ‘would like to help’.
Mr Candy has committed to giving the party £1million himself – but is also launching a push to raise tens of millions more from other wealthy business figures.
Insiders in other parties admit funding on such a scale could ‘shift the dial’ and add fuel to Reform’s rise in the polls.
But there have also been complaints about influence on British politics from abroad, with Mr Musk having been a vocal critic of Keir Starmer.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Candy – whose former pop star wife Holly Valance is also a fan of Mr Farage – claimed that Reform’s membership would soon exceed that of the Tories. That stands at around 130,000.
‘The oldest political party in this country… will be overtaken in members by the newest political party in this country – and that is mindblowing,’ he said.
Property tycoon Nick Candy (picture right with Nigel Farage) declared he was joining Reform as Treasurer last week
Elon Musk pictured with Donald Trump, after they former a strong alliance during the US election campaign
Mr Farage has repeatedly insisted he knows nothing about a potential contribution from Mr Musk, but said that if money were offered ‘we will take it’.
Mr Candy gave a broad hint that he is wooing the Space X and Tesla mogul – who has highlighted Reform’s progress on the X social media site that he owns.
‘Elon’s managed to do an incredible job for President-elect Trump, and he’s sort of changed the political spectrum in America,’ Mr Candy said.
‘He knows how to get things done. I want to understand how he got those people out in Pennsylvania. I want to learn from him.’
Pressed on whether he would ask Musk directly for advice, Mr Candy said: ‘You might be seeing something soon on that.’
He refused to say explicitly whether that meant he would be heading to the US for a meeting.
‘I don’t want to go too much into the personal side of it. But he, I think, would like to help Nigel and Reform and myself,’ Mr Candy said.
The Reform Treasurer insisted any donation would need to be ‘within the rules and regulations’, but argued that Mr Musk is already ‘legally allowed to donate through his companies that are registered in the UK… whether that’s Tesla or whether that’s X’.
He added: ‘We would like him to help… I would like him to help.’
Mr Candy’s former pop star wife Holly Valance (pictured) is also a fan of Mr Farage
