Millionaire ex-Tory donor defects to Reform with £1m pledge ahead of local elections saying Nigel Farage should cut non-dom taxes if he wins power
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A millionaire former Tory donor has pledged £1million to Reform UK and urged Nigel Farage to cut taxes for non-doms if he becomes prime minister.
Property owner and tech businessman Bassim Haidar accused the Conservatives of having 'lost their way' after the party's election manifesto pledged a similar clampdown on non-doms to that introduced by Labour.
The magnate, a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) said that Mr Farage had what it took to return the UK to its 'glory', ahead of local elections next week expected to show support for the hard right party strengthening.
He has already given around £200,000 and is ready to offer the balance on the £1million as and when it is required, having given the Tories £700,00 when Rishi Sunak was PM.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Haidar, who was born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents, said Mr Farage was 'talking about immigration in a way that no one has actually spoken about, he is willing to do things that I think the other parties aren't willing to do'.
'I believe he would reform tax, he would encourage investment, maybe come up with a new non-dom tax regime, so hopefully once he becomes prime minister we're going to see the UK becoming great again,' he added.
Mr Farage added: 'With a donation like this, we can rapidly build out our team and professionalise further as we head towards the next general election. This is especially true if others follow Bassim's lead.'
It is another blow for the Conservatives, who have lost a string of high profile backers since their election drubbing last year, but leader Kemi Badenoch said this morning she was 'not worried' by his defection.
She told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: 'We are raising money as well in the Conservative Party.
'The last release showed that we raised more than the Lib Dems, Reform and Labour combined.
'So we're doing fine on donations. Obviously, we want we don't want to lose, our donors, but we need to make sure that what we are doing is about the public's not just about winning elections. What are we winning? Okay, what's the agenda?'
In September Mr Haidar told MailOnline he had left Britain for Dubai due to concerns over Labour's policies and was looking to sell the £80million luxury portfolio he had built up in London.
He moved to London in 2020 but decided to leave to avoid paying millions of pounds in tax on his overseas income.
'My biggest concern was tax on global assets and inheritance tax on global assets,' he told this website.
Ms Reeves confirmed the Government would abolish the non-dom tax regime from April 2025.
Mr Farage and Reform are said to be wooing donations from super-rich British expats and foreign nationals with UK businesses, which allow them to donate to UK political parties.
Last month Mr Farage criticised changes to the non-dom tax regime over fears it would lead to an exodus of millionaires.
He told a campaign event in Birmingham: 'We cannot help those on lower incomes, we cannot help those that need to access public services, if we get rid of those that pay the most tax because they leave and go to Monaco, Dubai, America, or wherever else it is. We need to be grown-up.'
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