Holly Valance helps Nigel Farage’s Reform ‘raise £1.5m within days of his return’

Holly Valance

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Reports indicate that Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has raised an impressive sum of £1.5 million in a matter of days since the return of former Neighbours actress Holly Valance to the party.

Holly Valance - Figure 1
Photo The Independent

The recent announcement will contribute to the problems faced by Rishi Sunak, following a survey result showing that the Tories are leading by only one point over the Reform party.

Major contributors are believed to be hesitant in financing the Conservative party's campaign, and Conservative Members of Parliament are grumbling that a sudden election left them insufficient time to accrue significant funds.

In the meantime, Reform has experienced a significant increase in its membership count, thanks to the addition of thousands of new members, as well as contributions from prominent donors.

According to the Guardian, it is believed that the donations will contain a considerable amount of money from the singer and actress Ms Valance, who supports the party and is wedded to property developer Nick Candy.

She has also organized a fundraising event for Donald Trump lately.

The political group had earlier depended on loans worth £1.4m from its ex-chief Richard Tice, who stepped down to make way for Mr. Farage to assume the leadership role, which came as a surprise.

Recently, new members have enrolled in the party by paying a fee of £25. Reliable sources reveal that approximately 14,000 individuals have registered themselves in the party within the past seven days. This surge in the membership has brought the overall number of members to 45,000.

Holly Valance - Figure 2
Photo The Independent

Charlie Mullins, the creator of Pimlico Plumbers, is another well-known figure who has shown support for the Conservative party. In the past, he has donated over £70,000 to their cause.

Mr. Tice cautioned last month that his party would face challenges in executing a successful grassroots campaign during the election due to limited funding.

Reform UK's annual expenditure is below £1.5 million which is substantially lower than the £35 million permissible amount allocated to each political party during this election. This amount is significantly higher than previous years.

The political group that came before Reform, known as the Brexit party, gathered a total of £17 million in contributions during the year 2019.

This past week, YouGov conducted a survey that revealed Reform is only one percentage point away from the Conservatives. The Conservative party's rating was at a low 18 percent.

The Conservative party is preparing for the chance that Reform may lead in an upcoming poll, putting the Tories in third place. This would be a very important moment in a campaign that has already been a complete failure.

At the beginning of the week, Mr. Farage canceled an important interview with the BBC due to a controversy within his party about whether the UK should have tried to please Hitler.

The ex-leader of Ukip had plans to participate in a special program of Panorama alongside Nick Robinson. The broadcast was scheduled for Tuesday evening.

However, it was delayed even though Mr Farage persisted in promoting his campaign in Barnsley and Nottinghamshire.

Less than a day after finding out that one of his chosen ones stated that the nation would have been in a superior position if they had acknowledged Hitler's proposal of being neutral instead of resisting the Nazis, the politician made the decision to take action.

According to BBC reports, Ian Gribbin, who is running for office in Bexhill and Battle, made derogatory remarks about Winston Churchill and commended Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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