“Inviting failed candidates to try again under lax rules suggests that they are either struggling to recruit candidates, or something more sinister.”
Reform UK has told its members in Kent it will relax vetting rules, and is ‘strongly’ encouraging prospective candidates who previously failed vetting to reapply.
A post on Reform UK East Thanet Constituency Facebook page states that “It is important that all branches have prospective candidates lined up ready to go” for elections and by-elections.
It also said: “With plans to contest every seat at every level we need credible candidates to step forward.”
The message explains that the new rules are a set of “common-sense candidate vetting standards” that will be “more proportionate than before”.
It goes on to say that the new vetting process is a “blank slate”. It adds that candidates who previously failed vetting “are strongly encouraged to reapply under the new standards”.
Reform won 57 out 81 seats on Kent County Council on 1 May.
The move to water down the party’s vetting process comes despite ongoing candidate scandals. Daniel Taylor, a Reform councillor in Thanet, was recently charged with threatening to kill his wife. Reform withdrew the whip after he was charged.
Since the local elections in May, Reform has shed 11 councillors due to vetting failures. One councillor was expelled for sharing a social media post saying Hitler would have been “a legend” if he had targeted Muslims. In another post, he compared Islamic dress to “bin bags”.
Antony Hook, the Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition on Kent council, said: “Reform must urgently clarify the situation. They have clear issues with candidate vetting at all levels, so the idea that their standards could be watered down further is shocking and very concerning.
“Inviting failed candidates to try again under lax rules suggests that they are either struggling to recruit candidates, or something more sinister.”
Reform MP James McMurdock gave up the whip ahead of The Times publishing an investigation into Covid-19 support scheme loans he took out.
He allegedly took Bounce Back loans for firms that may not have met required turnover requirements.
This is not the only vetting issue Reform has missed when it comes to McMurdock. After the general election, The Times revealed that McMurdock had been charged for assaulting a former girlfriend at age 18.
Nigel Farage insisted yesterday that he was not to blame for any vetting failures before the 2024 general election.
In March, Farage told GB News Reform had been vetting candidates “to a standard that no other party has ever done before for local council elections”.
Given the string of vetting blunders, Farage’s boasting doesn’t hold up.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
