Politics

Reform UK supporters accused of using dead pensioners in campaign posts

Social media accounts promoting Reform UK have been accused of using dead pensioners to boost the party ahead of the General Election.

Two posts have been identified by people on X (formerly Twitter) showing pictures of elderly people who claim to be siding with Nigel Farage’s party in the election to “stop Starmer”.

But the images have been traced back to news stories concerning their tragic passing, much to the disbelief of people on the platform.

It’s not the first time Reform UK has looked beyond the grave to shore up support.

In April, the party was forced to drop a candidate for the next general election after they realised he had passed away.

Gawain Towler, a spokesperson for the party, said he was “mortified” after the party announced that York Central candidate Tommy Cawkwell had been dropped after it turned out he had died.

When Mr Cawkwell failed to respond to a number of phone calls and emails, Reform rescinded his candidacy for being “inactive”.

It then emerged that Mr Cawkwell, an RNLI volunteer, had died following the selection process.

Mr Towler told the Mirror: “Naturally I am mortified that through ignorance I did not realise the reason for his inactivity, it must have been ghastly for his family to read about it in the way it was presented in the press.”

Related: Starmer ‘watching cheerleading’ rather than having Friday night dinner – Sunak

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Tags: Reform UK