Material distributed in Gorton and Denton did not have legally required imprint stating it was funded by party
Reform UK will face a police investigation in Gorton and Denton after admitting it sent out letters from a “concerned neighbour” which did not state they had been funded and distributed by the party.
Greater Manchester police confirmed it had received a report about the breach of electoral law and said it would investigate. The Electoral Commission said the omission was a matter for the police, stressing that failing “to include an imprint in candidate election material is an offence”.
Dozens of voters in the Gorton and Denton constituency reported receiving letters from a pensioner written in a handwriting-style font on Friday. The letters do not include an imprint saying who they have been funded and distributed by, as required by electoral law.
Reform faces police investigation over ‘concerned neighbour’ byelection letters, The Guardian
Tag: illegal
Reform UK just broke electoral law in Gorton and Denton
People across the constituency thought they were getting a letter from a concerned pensioner, they didn’t know she was working for Reform
Every letter is addressed, both on the envelope and at the head of the letter, to the residents of the property, by name, suggesting whoever sent them has access to the electoral register. One recipient of the letter who wrote in, told us that the name on her letter was indeed her real name – but not the name that any of her friends (or neighbours) know her by. This same recipient has opted out of the Open Register, meaning that her name should only be accessible to political parties or their agents for legitimate campaigning purposes. Crucially, not one person we spoke to knew of a Patricia Clegg in the area. “Just to be clear, I have no idea who she is and if she is even real,” wrote one recipient.
Exclusive: Reform UK just broke electoral law in Gorton and Denton, The Mill
Challenging Reform’s failure on data rights
Nigel Farage’s Reform refuses to tell people whether it has their data and doesn’t delete it when they ask. We’re challenging Reform so it respects data law.
When we gave people tools to find out what data political parties were holding on them in the run-up to the general election, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK was by far the worst, ignoring the vast majority of requests.
Not only did Reform fail to respond to requests for the data that they hold on individuals – as all organisations that hold data on individuals are required to do by law – but they also refused to delete that data.
No organisation, especially a political party, should be allowed to ignore fundamental data rights.
Good Law Project
Reform councillor resigns one week after election
A Reform UK councillor elected just over a week ago has resigned after failing to declare that he worked for the council.
Andrew Kilburn will no longer take up his role as a Durham county councillor for Benfieldside.
He was elected with 1,007 votes alongside fellow Reform candidate Sandra Grindle as the party gained both seats in the Benfieldside ward – one from Labour and one from an independent.
Reform councillor resigns one week after election, BBC