The general election has been and gone and weâre seeing a new Labour government in its infancy, but thereâs one aspect of Thursdayâs big vote which is now making headlines â and that concerns online discussion about whether a number of candidates who stood for Reform UK are actually real people.
Nigel Farageâs party â formerly known as the Brexit Party â fielded 609 candidates on 4 July, and in many cases where Labour candidates won or held onto their seat, Reform UK ended up in second place.
However, now that the dust has settled on six chaotic weeks of campaigning, social media sleuths and journalists alike are questioning the legitimacy of a number of Reform UK candidates after they didnât show up at declarations, share any pictures of themselves online or have much of a digital presence.
Take Mark Matlock, the partyâs candidate in the constituency of Clapham and Brixton Hill, whose AI-like photo of himself only fuelled speculation that he isnât a real person:
The Independent has since verified Matlock does actually exist though, as the candidate â who finished fifth with 1,758 votes in a contest which saw Labourâs Bell Ribeiro-Addy keep her seat â told the outlet the image is of him.
âI got pneumonia three days before election night. I was exercising taking vitamins so I could attend but it was just not viable. On election night I couldnât even stand.
âThe photo of me was taken outside the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. I had the background removed and replaced with the logo and they changed the colour of my tie. The only reason that was done was because we couldnât get a photographer at such short notice - but that is me,â he said.
He appeared on GB News as well, criticising âfake newsâ which has come out about his very existence.
But heâs not the only Reform UK candidate who has faced questions over whether they are actually a real person, as in Glasgow South West the partyâs representative was Morag McRae.
She finished with 2,236 votes, but didnât appear at the declaration and doesnât appear to have a social media presence:
And over on TikTok, stand-up comic Kim Blythe has gone viral for trying to track down Helen Burns, who stood in Glasgow North and picked up 1,655 votes (the full results saw incumbent Alison Thewliss of the Scottish National Party lose her seat to Labourâs Martin Rhodes).
âIâm convinced thereâs a candidate in my area that does not exist ⦠I think itâs Nigel Farage in a wig,â she said.
Blythe also penned an email to the local branch of Reform UK which read: âHelen if youâre seeing this hen would love a chat.â
But it seems as though she hasnât received a response.
And in the latest development, Blythe decided to visit Reform UKâs Victoria Street headquarters in London while on a work visit to see if they had any information to share about Ms Burns.
âIt turns out not only are the candidates not real, their office isnât real, because apparently this is a virtual address, which I didnât even know was a thing. No Reform was found here,â she said.
Elsewhere, chairman and former leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, appeared on ITVâs Peston to address the speculation, fuming that the Liberal Democrats have raised questions over the legitimacy of their candidates.
He told the ITV political editor: âItâs a total, fabricated lie. It is nothing short of defamatory, libellous and utterly outrageous.
âWe proved it to people like them in The Guardian and still they print this utter trash and garbage. Iâm steaming mad about it.
âOne of [the candidates] was in hospital at the count with pneumonia â nearly died, for heavenâs sake. These people need to get a grip.â
Itâs the latest story to surround Reform UKâs election candidates after a number of them were dropped amid accusations of racism â something which also sparked defections to rival parties.
Indy100 has contacted Reform UK for comment.
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.