Reform is flush with cash and not shy about spending it. Nigel Farage, having convinced two billionaires to donate £36m each, wants to use his war chest to steal a march on his political rivals.

Cumbria is a key “Red Wall” target in Farage’s expansion plans. This north-west county appears ripe territory for Reform, with run-down, Labour-voting towns and relatively poor rural areas which have traditionally backed the Conservatives.

Reform currently has no MPs and only two councillors across the region. But Farage’s team expects big gains at Cumbria’s local elections in 2027 and wants to take the majority of the county’s six parliamentary seats at the next general election.

While Reform has “hugely underperformed” in the area in previous elections, it remains the “perfect” territory for Farage, said Jon Tonge, professor of politics at the University of Liverpool.

“It’s an area that feels downtrodden and left behind. Red Wall places [in Cumbria] like Carlisle, Workington and Barrow-in-Furness are exactly the places that Reform should do well in.

“They have lacked professionalism and people on the ground,” said Tonge. “So I would expect them to put more organisers into Cumbria. They should have plenty of money to do that.”

Reform is hiring two campaign managers covering Cumbria, The i Paper understands, as part of plans to recruit dozens of regional organisers in key target areas across the UK.

‘I don’t think donations will hurt them’

Will the big push fall on deaf ears? The party’s national polling percentages, dropping from the high 20s to low 20s over the summer, suggest voter unease over donor-related controversies.

But in Carlisle, Cumbria’s urban capital, Reform’s finances don’t appear to have put people off, as immigration remains at the top of many people’s minds.

Barbara Ridley, 62, said she is still “tempted” to vote Reform, claiming Labour “cock everything up every time they’re in”.

“It’s legitimate to be worried about so many people coming over on boats. I’m not worried about the [Reform] donations. All the parties get money from rich people,” she said.

Teresa, a 67-year-old Tory voter in Carlisle, had a similar take. She described herself as “sympathetic but wary” of Reform.

“I think it’s reasonable for them to target left-behind places like this,” said Teresa, who declined to give her surname. The speed of change when it comes to immigration is the worrying thing, even if we’re buffered from it to some extent here.

“Some people think Farage is a slippery character,” Teresa added. “But I don’t think donations will hurt them too much. All parties have big donors.”

There are just over 700 asylum seekers across Cumbria’s two council areas combined – far fewer than in more populated parts of the north-west. By comparison, Liverpool has almost 2,000 asylum seekers, and Manchester just over 1,500.

Yet immigration appears to be a big concern here. “It’s not always about the number of asylum seekers in an area – there is a general concern about this in small towns and rural areas,” explained Lord Robert Hayward, a Tory peer and elections expert.

Cumbria is “very fertile territory” for Reform, Hayward said, as the party has been able to “strike a chord with communities that feel left behind and neglected”.

‘They target working-class areas like this’

Reform’s detractors also believe the donations will not dent the party’s standing here.

Evan Maurer, 26, is a Labour supporter. “Unfortunately, I think Reform can do well here. I don’t think people will be put off by the donations stuff.

“They target working-class areas like this because they can point to shops shutting, things generally feeling worse, and blame it all on immigrants,” Maurer added. “They create this hysteria about it.”

Others hope questions about how Reform gets its money will shift public opinion. Scotland Yard is currently investigating allegations that foreign funding laws have been broken – though the party denies any wrongdoing.

“I think the donations may be souring Reform for some people,” said Joe Misselbrook, a 19-year-old Cumbria University student who likes the Greens. “My nan was thinking about voting for them, but the donations thing has put her off.”

Misselbrook said it was “presumptuous and patronising” for Reform to “think they can claim working-class areas in the north” that have been neglected.

“Taking money from millionaires and wanting to cut taxes for the rich leaves a sour taste”, he added.

Paul Nedved, a former Tory councillor in Carlisle, said he found the questions hovering around Reform’s donations “disturbing”.

“I worry we’re becoming more like the US and moving closer to the idea of buying elections,” he said.

“But I’m not sure it will halt the momentum Reform has had. There’s a possibility of them doing very well here, if they take votes from Labour in urban areas and from the Conservatives in rural areas.”

Reform ‘prepared to throw a lot of money at it’

Reform councillor Hazel Edwards – one of only two the party has in Cumbria – told The i Paper that the party expects to win “many” seats at the council and mayoral elections here in 2027.

Reform also has its eyes on “the majority of the [six] Westminster MP seats” across Cumbria at the next general election, she added.

Tim Farron, the Lib Dem MP in the Cumbria seat of Westmorland and Lonsdale, is well aware of the challenge in fending off Farage: “Reform will see this as a real opportunity and are clearly prepared to throw a lot of money at it.”

Michelle Scrogham, Labour MP for the Cumbria seat of Barrow and Furness, said the £72m given to Reform by Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo “buys a lot” in campaigning power.

But Cumbrians are “pretty savvy and are wondering what these two crypto billionaires are buying from Farage”, she said.

Cabinet minister Angela Rayner has hinted that Reform may be forced to give the £72m back, with Labour changing the law around overseas donations.

But Farage’s party believes the law won’t affect the money it’s already received. “We are 100 per cent confident both [£36m donations] are legal and won’t ever have to be handed back,” said a Reform spokesperson.