In the wake of the 2024 General Election, questions have arisen regarding the legitimacy of Reform UK candidates. Speculation online ranges from doubts about their existence to theories suggesting AI–generated personas. Such rumours, along with online spoofs and viral conspiracies, have led to widespread scepticism and confusion.
After the 2024 General Election, Reform UK’s candidates in Glasgow constituencies – Donnie McLeod (Glasgow East), Jonathan Walmsley (Glasgow North East), Helen Burns (Glasgow North), Dionne Moore (West), and Danny Raja (Glasgow South) – failed to secure seats. Nonetheless, the party achieved a surprising third place in all of Glasgow’s five constituencies and placed fifth overall in Scotland, outperforming the Conservatives in 23 constituencies. This unexpected result, despite limited infrastructure and numerous candidates from England, underscores significant voter dissatisfaction with the Conservatives.
With continued speculation on AI-generated candidates, these rumours have only intensified. Out of the five constituency candidates, only two – Donnie McLeod (Glasgow East) and Danny Raja (Glasgow South) – can be traced to real personas. Danny Raja is openly a fan of the European far-right such as France’s Reconquête, supports Trump’s rhetoric of a stolen election, and looks to work with other divisive groups such as Scottish Family Party, UKIP, and representatives like George Galloway.
None of the candidates appeared at local hustings or engaged in any in-person campaign activities, which has only fuelled the growing conspiracy theories. Moreover, their absence at the vote count has intensified the mystery and suspicion surrounding Reform UK’s candidate roster.
Reform UK’s Scottish campaign key figures
According to online contact pages, key figures associated with Reform UK’s Scottish campaign include Martyn Greene, David Kirkwood, and David Stark. Martyn Greene, the Scotland Manager, previously worked with the Scientific Alliance, an organisation criticised for climate change scepticism. David Kirkwood, the Deputy Chairman and Scottish Organiser, has drawn attention for his controversial online behaviour, including interactions with far-right figures. David Stark, known officially as Thomas David Stark, who has been involved in Reform UK’s campaigns as a candidate and organiser in the Central belt and previously stood as a Conservative candidate.
Thomas David Stark was the election agent for three of the five Glasgow Reform candidates – who are relatively obscure and unknown – Thomas David Stark possesses extensive knowledge about his candidates. He manages the paperwork and ensures all procedures comply with Electoral Commission standards, providing him with a comprehensive understanding of the party’s electoral strategies and candidate backgrounds.
No office or campaign site attached to Reform UK
One simple paperwork procedure for the election is to provide an address for the agent, usually a campaign office address or the agent or candidate’s home address.
Visiting the office as submitted on the nomination forms for Morag McCrae (South West), Helen Burns (Glasgow North), at 15 Forth Street, Glasgow G41 2SP, it was apparent that no office or campaign site was attached to Reform UK. Instead, the above address was unknown. Other nearby business premises confirmed no premises relating to the Reform party or such a person as Thomas David Stark.
Similar issues for Dionne Moore (South West) as a named Cafe Francoise at 138 Byres Road had no visible connection as a campaign office for Reform UK and Danny Raja (Glasgow South) in a premise at 1013 Cathcart Road, a hardware store – when approached for comment was unaware of any connection to Reform or such a person as Thomas David Stark.
Election agent must have a physical office address
I enquired with the Electoral Commission for clarification regarding the election agent requirements on providing addresses, and they reaffirmed the guidance supplied to agents:
“The election agent must have an office address to which all claims, notices, legal notices, and documents may be sent. This must be a physical address – PO boxes or similar mailboxes cannot be used. The election agent’s office address is often the same as their home address. Alternatively, it might be the local political party office or an office specially set up for the election.”
The Electoral Commission also states:
“That the penalty for a false statement is either an unlimited fine in England and Wales, £10,000 in Scotland and/or up to one year’s imprisonment.”
David Stark from Reform Glasgow has yet to comment.
Familiar patterns appear even within the digital circles of Reform UK Scotland on such forums as Reform UK with Scotland where supporters such as James Smith posted on 28 June:
“I intend to vote Reform but the local candidate in Falkirk Keith Barrow seems to be feared to show his face. No photo to be found on the internet anywhere or on the leaflet I got in the door, it seems very strange to me.”
And:
Karen Hunter posted on 24 June:
“Just want to say, I’m in east Dunbartonshire. We apparently have a candidate but where is he!! I’m not joking here.”
Relating to election offices John Johnston asked on 11 June:
“Still waiting to find out if there is an office in falkirk area”
With admin replying to another on the same conversation:
“click on the link above. Find your area and that will give you your candidate. Any problems message me”
No link was provided, and further complaints made by supporters.
The most visible nonofficial Reform UK Facebook presence is a page named Reform UK Scotland with 2.6K followers, which in the run up to the election produced new graphics introducing each candidate for seats but once again only introduced Danny Raja and Donnie McLeod.
True nature of Reform UK’s candidates
Similar instances have been reported from Leicestershire to Greater Manchester, where Reform candidates faced address, election agent, and candidate inconsistencies.
These inaccuracies raise questions and fuel suspicions about the true nature of Reform UK’s candidates. The discrepancies found at the listed addresses for their election agents add to the mystery and speculation surrounding the party’s campaign and their candidates.
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