A firm run by the major Conservative donor Anthony Bamford has funded a £8,000 helicopter trip for the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage. Lord Bamford, who sat as a Conservative peer until his retirement from the House of Lords this year, has given millions of pounds to the Tories and been a close ally of Boris Johnson – funding the former prime minister’s accommodation after he left office. But JC Bamford Excavators paid for a helicopter trip for Farage and one of his staff members on 25 October, valued at £8,413.20. The company said the Clacton MP had been given the helicopter trip to tour a JCB site and that the firm, which is developing hydrogen-fuelled transport, engaged with politicians of all parties, including the then shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves. However, the fact that Farage has been courted by the business of a major Conservative donor has raised eyebrows among Tories, who are nervous about the prospect of the Reform leader building relationships with their donors. A spokesperson for Farage said: “Nigel and Lord Bamford are friends.” Several Conservative donors have made the leap to Reform in recent years, including the financier Jeremy Hosking, and Charlie Mullins, who previously donated to the Tories through his business Pimlico Plumbers. Another major Tory donor, Fitriani Hay, who supported Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, gave £50,000 to Reform in June. The Reform party’s new chair and donor, Zia Yusuf, was a member of the Conservatives until his decision to switch. Others, such as the Thailand-based crypto investor Christopher Harborne, have donated to both the Conservatives and Reform over the years. A JCB spokesperson said: “We welcome politicians from all political parties to JCB. For example, Labour MP Rachel Reeves, as shadow chancellor, visited JCB in September 2022 to gain an understanding of our business and our hydrogen developments. “Nigel Farage MP visited JCB in late October and met some senior managers. The company encourages its senior management team to engage with elected political figures on such visits to improve politicians’ understanding of how our business operates, while giving mangers the opportunity to learn more about how the political world operates. “We were delighted to welcome Mr Farage as a JCB guest and were grateful to have his insights into the post-election, pre-budget political dynamic in Westminster.”
The Observer reported last week that Claire Coutinho, the Conservative former energy secretary, had also taken donations from the billionaire boss of the JCB digger dynasty, including a £7,000 trip on his helicopter. Coutinho also posed for pictures promoting Bamford’s personal £100m hydrogen engine project and accepted a £7,500 donation from JCB to her local election campaign while she was the energy secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government. In May 2024, Coutinho travelled to JCB’s headquarters in Staffordshire for a meeting to discuss Bamford’s £100m project on hydrogen combustion engines. During that trip she “met JCB chairman Anthony Bamford who is personally spearheading JCB’s hydrogen developments”, and posed for photos in a JCB hard hat and hi-vis vest. The Observer found the JCB empire gave £300,000 to the Conservatives in 2024 alone.