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Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has introduced looser vetting criteria for all new candidates, even as it battles fresh controversy after one of its MPs suspended himself from the party amid an investigation into Covid loans.
The party introduced a new set of “common sense” candidate vetting standards on Monday, which are designed to be “more proportionate” and strike a better balance between party reputation and freedom of expression.
An email sent to party members on Friday, and seen by the Financial Times, said: “We’re treating this as a blank slate. If you have previously failed vetting, you are strongly encouraged to reapply under the new standards . . . priority will be given to re-vetting”.
A senior party figure confirmed the nationwide change to the party’s vetting system for both local and Parliamentary candidates was going ahead, in spite of a brewing scandal surrounding one of the five Reform MPs elected last year.
James McMurdock, who was elected in July, removed the whip from himself on Saturday, hours before The Sunday Times published allegations that he had borrowed tens of thousands of pounds under the government’s Bounce Back loans scheme in 2020 through two companies he owned.
The newspaper raised questions around whether the firms in question had sufficient revenue to meet the criteria for such loans, which helped small- and medium-sized businesses borrow money to stay afloat.
Responding to questions about the suspension on Monday, Farage said he was not party leader at the time that McMurdock was selected, and so “can’t apologise” for the vetting procedure.
“The vetting process worked for this year, I can’t apologise for what happened before,” he said.
The new vetting system marks a shift away from the stringent standards that were introduced by former party chair Zia Yusuf, who fired dozens of former staff and members as part of a major professionalisation drive that upset some of the party’s staff.
Yusuf quit last month before returning to Reform 48 hours later in a different role. The former doctor and TV presenter David Bull replaced Yusuf as chair of the party.
Labour said it was “disturbing that Farage is seemingly looking to further water down Reform’s standards”, in light of recent controversies surrounding the party’s existing elected representatives.
While Reform UK had promised a strengthened approach to vetting ahead of May’s local elections, several of its new councillors have since been suspended or expelled.
One councillor in Doncaster was expelled from the party for “unacceptable” online comments, while another in West Northamptonshire was suspended just over a month after his election due to “a number of concerns” about his conduct.
Reform UK said: “Reform UK vetting procedure remains at the highest possible level. We are committed to upholding the highest possible standards for any potential candidate.
“We have made some minor tweaks to our old policy and thus have encouraged members to reapply.”
