Reform UK has said it is "mortified" for sacking a general election candidate for being "inactive" after he had actually passed away.
The right-wing party, founded by Nigel Farage, said they had dropped York Central candidate Tommy Cawkwell, after he did not respond to a number of phone calls and emails. Reform said they announced the reasons after incorrect reports emerged that they had rescinded his candidacy for "inappropriate social media messages". In fact, the RNLI volunteer had sadly passed away following the selection process.
When Reform UK first sacked him, a spokesman said "we need candidates who are active to give people the candidates they deserve", adding: “We can’t afford to have people doing nothing in an election year."
After finding out Mr Cawkwell had in fact passed away, Reform UK spokesman Gawain Towler said: "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."
He continued: "Having it being suggested that we had rescinded Mr Cawkwell's candidacy for inappropriate social media messages by a local paper, I suggested that he was one of those candidates that had been removed for inactivity. The process, if we have not heard from a candidate in a while we try and get in touch, a number of phone calls and emails are made, then if no response a final email is sent suggesting that the candidate does not respond then they will be removed.
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"Reform was not aware that Mr Cawkwell had passed away, as this happened in an interregnum between Yorkshire area managers. So with no response being made he was removed."
Reform UK has been chipping away at Tory support in a major headache for Rishi Sunak. It reached its highest ever polling figure of 16% last week, just four points behind the Tories on 20%, according to YouGov.
The party has been under increasing pressure over its selection of candidates after having to drop five of them in one week for making racist, homophobic and offensive posts on social media. Leader Richard Tice defended the party’s candidate selection process, saying vetting was like doing a car MOT, which a car may pass on one day but might fail the following day.
He said every party has their fair share of “muppets and morons” and said Reform UK had been "fastest" to kick people out when necessary. But he warned his candidates not to go on social media drunk.
Asked how confident he was that Reform UK wouldn’t have to ditch more candidates, Mr Tice told a press conference in Westminster no Monday: “We’re very clear to all our candidates: ‘For heaven’s sake, if you’re going to have a glass of wine on a Friday night then don’t use social media, it’s not sensible.’ And that if someone lets us down hereafter then frankly, if it’s inappropriate, if it’s unacceptable, then we’re going to part company.
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