Labour MP Luke Charters has contrasted Labour’s recent polling recovery with the growing controversies surrounding Reform UK, saying that while Reform “lurches from one scandal to the next”, Labour is focused on “giving hope back to Britain”.
The York Outer MP made the intervention as Reform UK faces renewed scrutiny over its finances and the conduct of senior figures around party funding.
Charters said:
“While Reform lurches from one scandal to the next, Labour is giving hope back to Britain.”
His comments follow a series of controversies involving Reform and its leader Nigel Farage, including an ongoing parliamentary standards inquiry into a £5 million personal gift Farage received from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne before the 2024 general election. Farage has maintained that the gift was personal, non-political and did not require declaration to parliamentary authorities, as reported when the inquiry opened.
Police investigation into Reform funding
The latest controversy centres on allegations arising from an undercover investigation into possible attempts to circumvent UK rules banning foreign political donations, first broadcast by Channel 4.
The Metropolitan Police has now opened a criminal investigation into whether Reform UK breached electoral funding laws. Reform has denied wrongdoing and said it is cooperating with the authorities.
Two senior Reform figures stepped aside following the undercover reporting, while Farage has insisted that the party has “broken no law” and described the investigation as an exercise in entrapment.
The allegations concern discussions about how money from an overseas donor might be routed through a UK-based intermediary. No such £500,000 donation was ultimately made, and Reform disputes the suggestion that it intended to act unlawfully.
£5m gift remains under scrutiny
Separately, Farage continues to face questions over the £5 million gift he received from Harborne in 2024, shortly before reversing his earlier decision not to stand in that year’s general election.
The parliamentary standards commissioner is examining the circumstances surrounding the gift. Farage has said the money was given in a personal capacity, primarily for security, and that there was no requirement for it to be declared as a political donation. Harborne’s lawyers have said he expected nothing in return.
The controversy has contributed to a wider debate over Reform’s financial arrangements and whether a party positioning itself as an alternative to the political establishment is meeting the standards it demands of others.
Labour seeks to draw contrast
Charters’ intervention reflects Labour’s growing effort to make a direct contrast between its record in government and Reform’s internal difficulties.
That argument comes as Labour has begun improving in some national polling. A new Survation poll published on Thursday put Labour on 28%, five points ahead of Reform on 23%.
For Labour MPs, the combination of stronger polling and Reform’s recent controversies provides an opportunity to argue that voters are beginning to see a clearer choice between a government focused on jobs, public services and living standards and an opposition party increasingly consumed by questions about its own organisation.
Reform rejects allegations
Reform has strongly pushed back against suggestions of wrongdoing.
Farage has said the party has taken no illegal money, while Reform has characterised the undercover investigation as politically motivated. The party has also said the conduct of individuals caught up in the allegations should not be taken as evidence of wrongdoing by Reform itself.
That means several of the most serious questions now rest with the police and parliamentary authorities rather than political opponents.
For Charters, however, the broader political contrast is already clear.
His message is that Labour should stay focused on delivering economic security and rebuilding confidence in the country, while allowing Reform to answer the growing questions surrounding its finances and internal conduct.
