The Electoral Commission imposed a fine of £1,750 on Reform UK after four items of election material were found to be missing an “imprint”, the declaration that tells voters who published and paid for the promotional message. The fine was increased by a quarter to £2,187 after the party missed the payment deadline of 23 September. The penalty was eventually paid on 20 October.
Jackie Killeen, the commission’s director of Electoral Administration and Regulation, said: “The UK’s political finance and imprints laws are there to ensure transparency in both the finances of political parties and the materials produced to influence voters. As a regulator, we take proportionate action based on the facts and circumstances of each case, as set out in our enforcement policy. We seek to support compliance and deliver transparency, and we will take enforcement action where necessary.”
The fine is separate from a complaint about Reform’s campaign material in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, where the party sent a letter designed to look handwritten by a local resident who was actually a Reform worker, without including an imprint. Reform blamed a printing error.
Separately, Reform UK has reported ITV to the police after an undercover investigation by the broadcaster showed councillors and candidates using racist language, including referring to black children as “animals” and describing an area as “infested” with Asian families. Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, announced legal action against ITV journalists and the broadcaster’s board of directors, accusing them of fabricating news and claiming an undercover reporter had “doctored” her passport to gain a position as a Reform press officer. Yusuf also said two undercover reporters who joined campaigning in Portsmouth had been reported to the police, saying it is illegal to pay someone to canvass for a candidate.
An ITV spokesperson said: “ITV stands by its journalism. The programme Undercover: A Year In Reform was produced in compliance with the Ofcom broadcasting code, relevant laws, and its broadcast is in the public interest. All journalists were instructed to operate within this framework and did so under the supervision of the programme’s producers. Should the police get in touch, we would fully cooperate.”