By Eniola Amadu
A company owned by Conservative donor, Lord Bamford has donated £200,000 to the Reform UK.
The JCB chair revealed that it had donated to the Reform and Tories as a result of his interest to support parties that “believes in small business”.
The company with 22 plants on four continents is the third largest construction equipment company with employers totalling 19,000 people.
In 2024, its sales revenue was £5.8bn.
According to the Sunday Times, Bramford’s family is one of the richest in Britain with an estimate of £9.5bn worth of wealth.
The contribution to Reform is Bamford’s latest effort to strengthen ties with Farage’s party, following his funding of an £8,000 helicopter trip for the party leader last year.
Several Conservative donors have contributed to Reform, including financier Jeremy Hosking and Charlie Mullins, who previously gave to the Tories through his company, Pimlico Plumbers.
Reform had earlier revealed that Farage and Bamford are friends. Meanwhile, Reform UK’s party leader, Nigel Farage has aimed to strengthen connections with the business community.
JCB’s spokesperson stated that it had worked with 800 suppliers across the UK, most of which were small to medium-sized businesses.
“As a privately owned British family business, JCB has been backing Britain since 1945 and is supportive of pro-business political parties that create the conditions for these businesses to grow and prosper.
“Both the Conservative party and Reform UK believe in small business and it’s for that reason JCB has donated £200,000 to each in recent weeks.”
