Blackpool Reform UK leader responds to accusations of voter manipulation over key Claremont PACT meeting
“We’ve done nothing wrong here, we’re just actively supporting a local candidate who is not from a political party.”
A prominent Reform UK leader in Blackpool has been accused of voter manipulation over a key meeting tonight - but he insists his detractors are using dirty tricks against him.
The Blackpool Gazette was shown a WhatsApp message in which Mark Butcher says Reform’s “cunning plan” is to run an independent candidate, friendly to the party, to stand against Labour for chairman of the Claremont PACT group tonight.
PACT meetings ( Police and Communities Together or Partners and Communities Together) are regular local community meetings where residents meet face-to-face with local police officers, council representatives, and partner agencies to discuss safety and crime issues.
Tonight’s meeting will see the election of the PACT chairman, a position usually voted on by members of the local community and regular attendees present at the community meetings. In the WhatsApp message, Mr Butcher says it would be counter productive to run a Reform candidate because the predominant Labour figures would “block anything good that we do”.
It has been suggested that the Reform UK branch is using a false flag tactic to win a vote through voter manipulation. But Mr Butcher, who is chairman of Reform’s Blackpool South branch, hit back and said the fact that the private message had been made public and subjected to criticism demonstrated that political opponents were worried and prepared to use grubby tactics to try and discredit him.
He vehemently denied doing anything wrong.
The WhatsApp message said: “We cannot allow Labour to take control of this PACT meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday). Regarding Claremont PACT meeting. Our plan is NOT to run a Reform member/candidate as Chair of the meeting, mainly because it will be counter productive in the long term due to the fact that we have a Labour police commissioner, a Labour leader of the council and a Labour MP that would block anything good that we do.
“Instead our cunning plan is to run an independent who’s a great friend of ours. Julie Kelly the pub landlady has agreed to stand for the chair position. But we all need to get behind her on Tuesday evening at 7pm. Vote for Julie Kelly.”
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When approached for comment on the matter, Mr Butcher said: “We’ve done nothing wrong here, we’re just actively supporting a local candidate who is not from a political party. PACT meetings are not supposed to be political and I don’t want to see them dominated by Labour, they should be independent and I’m just getting behind an independent landlady.
“The fact this has been brought up in this way says to me that some people are worried that Reform is getting stronger and they are the ones using underhand tactics, dirty tricks to try and make us look bad.”
The PACT meeting is being held at St Paul's Church Hall on Egerton Road, North Shore, from 7pm. When approached for comment, Blackpool Council says PACT meetings aren’t run by the council but via Lancashire Police. Lancashire Police have also been approached for a comment.