Reform UK is facing demands to provide evidence that all its candidates in the general election were real people, after doubts emerged about several who stood without photos, biographies, or contact details. The Liberal Democrats have called on the party to come clean, with a source saying: "This doesn't sound right and Reform should show who they are. People need to have faith in the democratic process."
Reform insists all 609 candidates on 4 July were real, but acknowledges some were "paper candidates" who did no campaigning, simply helping to boost the party's vote share. A Reform source stated: "All our candidates are categorically real. Given the rush, a few are just paper candidates and didn't campaign."
Many of these candidates have no visible online presence and did not appear to campaign. Photographs from electoral counts show that some Reform candidates were the only ones absent. Under electoral rules, only the candidate's full name and home constituency must be provided, along with an agent and ten nominating voters.
One candidate, Mark Matlock, who stood in Clapham and Brixton Hill, was suspected of being fake partly because his official photo looked AI-generated. However, Matlock proved his existence, explaining: "The image is me. Stupidly I had to get it altered to change my tie and suit as I couldn't get to a photographer on time." He missed the count due to pneumonia.
Separately, Reform raised nearly £600,000 in the fourth week of the campaign, including £200,000 from new donor Zia Yusuf, a Muslim businessman. Other donors include Jeremy Hosking and former Tory MP Andrew Bridgen.
