Reform’s ‘ghost candidates’ are paper candidates who actually exist

Suspicions over the validity of a number of Reform's candidates listed on ballot papers in the recent U.K. general election were raised after media outlet Byline Times published an article on July 3, 2024. The article alleged that many of the candidates had little to no social media presence or digital footprint and had been absent from hustings, media interviews, and the counts in their constituencies. 

A subsequent article published by Byline Times and Democracy for Sale reported that the "phantom candidates" may potentially be fake. Following the election results – in which Reform U.K. gained five MPs – social media users began to question the legitimacy of the party's candidates. Users flagged multiple candidates as potentially fake based on their lack of photographs, contact details, biographical information, and mysterious absence from hustings or counts.

The story was picked up by other publications and the Liberal Democrats, which called on Reform U.K. to provide details about the candidates. 

Collage of X posts speculating on whether several Reform party candidates are real (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Social media users also noticed that some of the candidates had disseminated generic flyers with photos of party leaders Nigel Farage and Richard Tice rather than photos of themselves, in some cases writing lengthy threads detailing their concerns.

By July 9, Byline Times had identified at least 75 "hyper-shy" candidates with no public profile and who had not turned up to hustings. 

Generic Reform pamphlets used by some paper candidates on the left compared to an example of pamphlets including candidates’ names and photos (Source: X/Collage by Logically Facts)

Logically Facts contacted Reform spokesperson Gawain Towler, who said that all of the candidates were real people, but some were paper candidates. Paper candidates appear on the ballot but do little to no campaigning in their constituencies. They are legal and have been used before by major political parties with difficulties fielding a full list of candidates to contest an election. This allows their supporters in all constituencies to have an opportunity to vote for the party and to maximize the total votes the party receives. 

Towler told Logically Facts that the reason there is scant information available online about a number of their candidates is because the short amount of time parties had to campaign meant their "single webmaster literally did not have the time to update all the profiles." 

Who can stand as an MP?

"For a candidate to be qualified to stand as an MP, the individual must meet the qualification criteria, which includes being over 18 and a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen. A candidate must ensure they meet these criteria and sign a declaration of truth that the details they have provided are accurate," an Electoral Commission spokesperson told Logically Facts. 

To be a "validly nominated" candidate, a person must submit completed nomination forms and provide a deposit of £500 before the deadline for nominations. Each prospective candidate must also have an election agent responsible for proper – including financial – election campaign management.

There is no need for candidates to provide identification documents to qualify as a candidate for a general election in the U.K., but it is a criminal offence to make a false statement on nomination papers. "There is no requirement for a candidate to show ID as part of this, but it is an offense to provide a false statement on nomination papers. If a false statement was provided, it would be for the police rather than the Commission to investigate," the Electoral Commission spokesperson clarified to Logically Facts. 

We examined some flagged candidates more closely and could not find evidence that any of them were fake. After some digging, we verified the identities of at least nine candidates. 

Mark Matlock, Clapham and Brixton Hill 

The case of Mark Matlock, the Clapham and Brixton Hill candidate, gained ample online attention. Unlike other suspected "phantom candidates," Matlock's profile on Reform's website includes a photo, a link to his website, and a bibliography. However, many suspected that the image was not real. On X, the image was shared with captions such as "Reform UK appear to have fielded a fake candidate made with AI, Mark Matlock. Look at his hair, AI-generated. It is a crime to field fake candidates and must be investigated immediately." The post garnered nearly a million views.

After the election, Matlock’s website stopped working (archived version here), fuelling speculations of an AI candidate. 

Left screenshot shows Matlock’s profile on the party’s website and the right screenshot is from the archived version of Matlock’s website listed on Reform’s website. (Source: reformparty.uk/markmatlock.co.uk/Modified by Logically Facts)

Matlock stood in the Clapham and Brixton Hill constituency in South London and received 1,758 votes. While Matlock maintains a low online profile, he posted on X on July 4, "Unfortunately I will not be attending the count tonight as I have pneumonia," explaining his absence from the election count.

On July 9, 2024, he appeared on GB News, reassuring people that he "is real" and thanking Reform U.K. voters for supporting the party. Logically Facts previously debunked the claim that Matlock was AI-generated. 

Screenshot of Matlock's interview on GB news on July 9. (Source: gbnews.com)

Matlock explained the altered image to The Guardian, saying, "The image is me. Stupidly I had to get it altered to change my tie and suit as I couldn't get to a photographer on time."

The Independent also included Matlock's original photo, which he claimed to be the unedited version of the image in the viral posts. Matlock told The Independent, "The photo (original) of me was taken outside the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford."

We have contacted Matlock but have yet to receive a response.

The left screenshot shows what Matlock says is the original photo captured from The Independent article, and the image on the right shows Matlock’s digitally altered photo. (Source: The Independent/ reformparty.uk/ Modified by Logically Facts)

Katherine Hales, North Northumberland 

Another of the speculated Reform "phantom candidates" was Katherine Hales, who stood in North Northumberland. Hales received 7,688 votes and finished third. However, her candidate webpage does not have a photo, biography, or contact information; it only has a general email address for the local party office. We could not find pictures or mentions of Hales on Reform's or local representatives' social media accounts.

Screenshot of Katherine Hales’ candidate profile on the Reform U.K. website. (Source: reformparty.uk/Modified by Logically Facts)

We discovered a June 22 Facebook post suggesting that Hales had recently been selected as the candidate, just two weeks before the election. The post included the same Richard Tice and Nigel Farage leaflet used in other cases of alleged "phantom candidates."

Screenshot of Facebook post, published June 22, announcing Katherine Hales standing for Reform U.K. in the North Northumberland constituency. (Source: Facebook). 

We contacted the Reform Party's Regional Manager for the North East Region, Ciera Hudspith, who directed us to an X post published on July 8, 2024, on Hudspith’s account. The post included a 30-second video showing Hales introducing herself and affirming her candidacy and support for Reform. 

Screenshot of X post captured from the Reform U.K. regional manager’s X post, published on July 8, 2024, in which Katherine Hales affirmed her authenticity and candidacy for the Reform Party. (Source: X).

Helen Burns, Glasgow North

Reform's Glasgow North candidate, Helen Burns, rose to fame amid online user speculation that she was also fake, with one X post declaring: "Helen Burns got 1655 votes! Someone who isn’t real got 1.7k people tricked. Wtf!"

"Also look into the fake candidates! Glasgow North voters are pretty sure a fake candidate was put in their area by Reform UK (Helen Burns). Other areas in the U.K. had similar ghost reform candidates", another X user stated. The lack of knowledge over Burns's whereabouts inspired comedy online search patrols, and the hashtag #WhereIsHelen circulated on X. 

The Glasgow North candidate finished fourth in the constituency with 1,655 votes. Burns's profile on the party website is scarce in terms of candidate information, and she is not active on social media.

Eventually, Helen Burns was found. On July 10, she told The Telegraph, "Hello, I am here and I do exist. I am a real person." Despite standing in Glasgow North, Burns lives nearly 300 miles away, in Coalville, Leicestershire. Burns conceded to The Telegraph "that she was a 'paper candidate' who did not campaign but said she wanted to stand in Scotland because it holds a 'special place in my heart.'"

Abdoul Aziz Ndiaye, Greenwich and Woolwich

Reform's candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich, Abdoul Aziz Ndiaye, was identified as a potential ghost candidate after he was nowhere to be found during the lead-up to the election. In a Facebook post published in a Woolwich residents group on July 5, residents questioned the lack of publicly available information, including photographs of him. 

"Can't find any information on the guy and would be fascinated to hear his story and how he ended up representing Reform," a resident wrote.  

A search on the Reform website revealed no photographs or biographical details. The only contact details listed were a generic Reform email address for the Greenwich and Woolwich area. We also could not find any social media accounts associated with the candidate or a digital footprint for him before the general election. 

However, we eventually found a single photograph of him posted on X on June 3, 2024, by Reform's candidate for Eltham and Chislehurst, Mark Simpson. The photograph features Simpson with a second man, who he identified as Aziz Ndiaye. 

Ndiaye has not responded to our request for comment.

Screenshot of X post that includes a photograph of Reform ‘ghost’ candidate Abdoul Aziz Ndiaye. This is the only photograph of him that appears to exist online (Source: X/Screenshot)

Max Windsor-Peplow, Monmouthshire

Social media users also flagged Reform's candidate for Monmouthshire as potentially fake, given the lack of information on the party's website. 

A different website provides more information about him, including a photo, an email address that includes his name, and a line about his favorite biscuits being brandy snaps. 

However, this isn't the first time Windsor-Peplow has run for office. In 2021, he ran for the Worcestershire County Council as Reform's candidate and did an interview with the BBC. The following year, a local newspaper published an article about him being England’s youngest registered care manager, which included quotes from him and from a local business owner who employed him. 

Scarlett O’Connor (Bristol North West) and Morgan Young (South Dorset)

Another two Reform candidates have admitted to being paper candidates. One, Scarlett O'Connor, stood as the candidate for Bristol North West. Her profile on the Reform website has similarly scant details, including no profile picture, no biography, and a generic email address as her only contact information. 

However, unlike other candidates, she has active social media profiles and a large digital footprint. She became an international bodybuilding champion after a car accident left her in an intensive care unit for five days. In a profile piece published in Wales Online on June 25, 2020, O'Connor described how the car accident informed her decision to become a life coach. She documents her bodybuilding experience on her Instagram profile and has videos of her workouts on Facebook and YouTube. 

On June 18, 2024, she posted on both her Instagram account and on a Bristol North West residents group that she had decided to become a paper candidate after realizing there was no Reform candidate in her constituency.

"I went and met with some of the residents, completed the paperwork & officially became a candidate. A paper candidate though. Meaning I wouldn’t be campaigning!" she wrote. 

The top left image shows a screenshot of a 2020 profile piece about O'Connor, right shows a screenshot of a Facebook post in which she admits to being a paper candidate, and bottom left shows the same post published on her Instagram profile (Source: Wales Online/Facebook/Instagram/Collage by Logically Facts) 

Also publicly admitting to being a paper candidate was Morgan Young, who stood in South Dorset. She was flagged as potentially fake after users noted a lack of publicly available information about her. In a Times article on July 3, 2024, Young admitted to being a paper candidate who lived 200 miles away from Dorset and had only visited it once. 

"I work for the party, I work in their office in Leicestershire," Young told the publication. "I can't really go into too much detail. I have just stood as a paper candidate, so I'm not active."

Amanda Napper (Hartlepool) and Nathan McCollum (Burnley)

In some cases, candidates with blank pages on the Reform website still actively campaigned in their constituencies. One example is Amanda Napper, the candidate for Hartlepool. X users flagged her as potentially fake because of the lack of photo, biography, and contact information on her page. 

However, a quick online search reveals that while she has little presence on social media, there are photos of her campaigning in the constituency. On June 21, she published a short article in the Hartlepool Mail detailing who she was and why she had decided to run as a Reform candidate. She was also present at the count, and a local journalist published two photographs of her on X. 

X posts from a journalist and Reform-affiliated account showing photos of Amanda Napper campaigning and at the count in Hartlepool (Source: X/Collage by Logically Facts)

A similar case involves the Reform candidate for Burnley, Nathan McCollum, where, again, there was little information, leading some X users to speculate on his authenticity.

A rudimentary online search revealed him to be a real person and active candidate, with a profile, image, and manifesto included in local paper the Burnley Express on July 2. Further research led us to a Reform-affiliated Facebook page named "Nathan McCollum for Burnley-Reform UK," which included multiple posts of McCollum campaigning in the constituency, with the images matching those in the article. 

Screenshots from the Burney Express article and Reform-affiliated Facebook page showing McCollum campaigning. (Source: Burnley Express/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts).