Reform UK is under police investigation after admitting it distributed letters in the Gorton and Denton constituency that lacked a legally required imprint identifying the party as the funder and distributor. Greater Manchester Police confirmed it received a report about the breach of electoral law on Friday evening and said it would investigate.
The letters, sent to dozens of voters, were written in a handwriting-style font and signed by Patricia Clegg, who described herself as a “local pensioner, 74 years old”. Clegg confirmed she is a Reform UK member and was asked by the party to write the letter, but said she left the rest to them and was unaware of the imprint requirement.
A Reform UK spokesperson said the campaign commissioned the letter with a correct imprint, but an error during printing by Hardings Print Solutions resulted in its omission. The printer said it “took full responsibility” for the mistake. The Electoral Commission noted that failing to include an imprint in candidate election material is an offence and enforcement is a matter for the police.
The letter criticised Labour and the Green Party, stating the author had previously voted Labour but felt let down, and argued against voting Green due to “extreme policies”. The by-election is expected to be tightly contested between Labour, the Greens, and Reform UK.
A Green Party spokesperson accused Reform of “playing dirty”, while Labour’s campaign lead Andrew Western MP said campaigns are responsible for their materials and that blaming a printer does not excuse the legal failure.
