Reform UK's candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester, Sian Astley, has previously described herself as 'really rubbish with money' and 'not normally very good' at rules and regulations, according to social media posts and interviews.
Social media admissions
Astley, whose first name is pronounced 'cyan', posted a video on her induction day after winning a council seat this year, saying: 'Looking forward to hearing all about the rules and regulations – something I’m not normally very good at, rules and regulations.'
On May 30, more than three weeks after being elected and becoming leader of the Reform group on Manchester City Council, she wrote that she had just learned it was a legal requirement to fill out paperwork for election expenses. Last month, she said she was 'starting to understand how decisions get made' at the local authority and was still 'getting to grips' with committee work.
Past TV career and money comments
Astley previously appeared as a property and renovation expert on BBC shows and hosted Half Built Home for Channel 5 in 2012. In a 2019 interview with LoveMoney, she was quoted saying she was 'really rubbish with money'. A Reform spokesperson pointed to other comments where she described having 'big issues being comfortable around money' as she 'wasn’t brought up with much'.
The spokesperson added: 'Unlike Labour’s Bev Craig, Sian is a successful entrepreneur, turning £1 into a multi-million-pound property and design business. Greater Manchester needs someone like Sian who has spent her life building things, getting things done and cutting waste, not another career politician.'
Election context
Astley will face Labour's Bev Craig, Green candidate Geraldine Coggins, Conservative Phil Eckersley, Lib Dem Richard Kilpatrick, independent Marcus Farmer, and Restore Britain's Marlon West in the election on Thursday. This is the first major test for Labour under Andy Burnham, who recently became party leader and Prime Minister after being elected MP for Makerfield.
At May's local elections, Labour lost all but six of the 30 seats it was defending, with 17 going to the Greens and seven to Reform UK. Reform leader Nigel Farage has posted once about Astley, highlighting her stance on illegal migration. Earlier this month, Reform activists were urged to divert from Greater Manchester to campaign for Farage in his Clacton by-election, which he framed as a 'people versus the establishment' fight, though major parties declined to participate, leaving Count Binface as his top opponent.
