‘Deceptive’ dear neighbour letter from Reform sparks anger among Caerphilly residents
Emily Price
Reform election propaganda claiming to be from a “neighbour” has caused uproar amongst voters in Caerphilly.
Nigel Farage’s party hopes to gain a Senedd seat in the by-election on October 23 following the sudden death of Labour MS Hefin David.
A concerned Caerphilly resident got in touch with Nation.Cymru about a “deceptive” note claiming to be from an elderly “neighbour” and “life-long Labour voter”.
The printed letter, which uses a handwritten style font, is signed off by pensioner “Andrew Russell”.
Questions
Russell lists Labour’s failures and explains how he can’t get a GP, dentist or hospital appointment in Wales.
He goes on to plead with residents to join him in voting for Reform UK at the upcoming Caerphilly by-election.
Small print at the end of the letter indicates that it was printed in England as election material for Reform UK.
It sparked questions amongst locals about who Andrew Russell is – with some suggesting the name has no reference to anyone in the immediate area.
‘Unsolicited mail’
In an Ystrad Mynach community Facebook group, a post gained over a hundred comments when a resident asked: “Had a letter from an ‘Andrew Russell’ from the Reform Party? Does anyone else have one please?”
One member replied: “Sent back to Reform asking them not to contact us again. Unsolicited mail.”
Another said: “Yes. A gimmicky election leaflet from some, probably fictional, dude.”
Another member said: “Straight in the shredder. Was furious they had my actual name in the letter too.”
We asked campaign manager for Reform’s Caerphilly branch, Andrew Jones, if Andrew Russell was a real neighbour of Caerphilly residents.
Jones responded: “I can confirm that Andrew Russell is a real person.”
Scotland
We asked the campaign manager where the author of the letter lived.
Jones refused to confirm that Russell lived in Caerphilly, but indicated that he does live in “south Wales”.
We noted that Reform UK is currently standing an elderly candidate with the name Andrew Russell in Scotland’s upcoming Ayr north by-election.
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “While Reform send letters from England to convince Welsh voters into supporting them, despite still not having a candidate – Plaid Cymru candidate and local champion Lindsay Whittle is busy knocking doors, speaking to his neighbours, and sharing Plaid Cymru’s ambition for a healthier, wealthier Wales.
“People in Caerffili want change for the better which only Plaid Cymru offers. With just eight months to go until next year’s Senedd election – this by-election offers an opportunity to reset politics in Wales.
“A Plaid Cymru win means keeping Reform out, protecting the NHS against their plans to privatise it, and stop them from handing all power over Wales back to England.”
Fake hand written notes are a familiar piece of election publicity used by parties that have the resources.
The strategy can be costly though, indicating that Reform UK are throwing everything at their campaign to gain a seat held by Labour since devolution began in 1999.
On Friday (September 12) Reform UK announced former spokesperson for the party Llyr Powell as their candidate for the by-election.
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I expect nothing less from Reform UK to use these sort of shady tactics. They show utter contempt for the voters of Caerphilly.
Please, please, people of Caerffili who read this platform do not vote reform. If you must vote right wing, vote reform. If you are serious about change vote plaid. Not always seen as the party of change because of support for Labour, but look at the alternative at the time of the vote. Reform will take us back 50 years in terms of working conditions. Ask yourselves what have we got in common with Farage?
Unfortunately, I doubt Reform voters read Nation Cymru!
Adrian does.
I do indeed…any questions just ask.
Sure, why do you support a party that wants to remove wales right to self governance, destroy the Welsh language and give leaner sentences to sexual offenders?
Genuinely interested.
As an English Reform drone, why are you on Nation.Cymru posting crap all the time?
Are you still there? You seem incapable of answering said question as offered by yourself.
More hoodwinkery from the Abolish Wales party.
The letter looks like it’s been written by a 5 year old which is about the age intelligence of your average Reform voter. The people of Caerphilly will reject the far right English Nationalist Party a Plsid win looking more of a shoe in as every day passes
When they show you who they really are, believe them.
Absolutely desperate stuff from the English Nationalist Party. I hope people aren’t gullible enough to fall for such dross.
They are, they voted for Brexit.
Thanks to a bunch of lies
As these letters are addressed and named personally, I reckon it’s time for everyone who received one to slap in a FOI request to Reform UK. Demand any and all information held on you by these creeps; it might make interesting reading and if nothing else it’ll keep them busy.
It may well be that the details have been obtained from the Electoral Roll. All parties have access to that; it’s a legitimate public document. This is why we always tick the box to exclude our details from the public electoral roll. By doing so, you ensure parties are committing an offence if they include you in mailings based on it. Given the scale of incompetence exhibited by Labour in recent years, I’d be surprised if they kept their deposit this time around. Reform will fight hard for this seat. If they do win, it won’t be to the benefit… Read more »
The Lib Dems used to use ‘crypto-handwritten’ letters in one of the places where I used to live in the past – though they never attempted to pretend that they were written by a ‘neighbour’, rather than the candidate or councillor! It was just an attempt to make the letters look less official and less like the circulars that they actually were. The reality is that it’s very easy to tell that such letters have been printed and that they’re actually not hand-written. ‘Reform’ in Caerphilly must be thick if they’re seriously assuming that numbers of electors will be fooled… Read more »
Plaid have done this in Ceredigion too.
It’s no more than a gimmick, really, given the legal requirement that any election communication must include the specific detail as to who is promoting and distributing it, as this ‘letter’ seems to have done!
Just when you think so called Reform can’t sink any deeper, they do 🙄
Please Caerphilly? Vote for Lindsay Whittle, a person born and bred in Caerphilly, who was given blood, sweat and tears for that town.
They can go way further down.
If there’s one country Wales doesn’t want to follow in any shape, way or form it’s England. That country is in a far, far bigger mess than Wales under Labour after 14 years of Tory rule and they are on the brink of civil war with the far right knuckle draggers at the helm. We don’t want that in Wales following England has been the policy for the last hundred years plus and where has it got us?
Asa lifelong Labour supporter, I have come to terms with the fact that, given Plaid’s, Reform’s and Labour’s standing in the polls, I hope that voters can lend their support to Plaid Cymru, the best way to keep Reform out.
“I can confirm that Andrew Russell is a real person.”
An Andrew Russell was the Farage Fan Club candidate for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock in Scotland in the last general election,
Whether this is the same Andrew Russell as the signatory of the letter is unclear.
That ‘letter’ looks like the one I sometimes get posted through the door from Jehovah Witnesses. The first paragraph indicates plausible fear and anxiety before delving into the Armageddon and Goddy stuff. This is the same tactic now being used by Reform UK.
And all in English. What a surprise.
Llyr Powell is a proper weirdo , chosen by a party of proper weirdos. He was fired from the scouts which is already suspicious, he’s clearly untrustworthy. Who lies abt a cake??
https://x.com/MGallacherMSP/status/1262345915030855681?t=v5POWu9BtJQmbBbu-ZvRKA&s=19
Sounds like both a perfect candidate and supprter for them.
Buy Welsh, Build Welsh. Printed in England.
Llŷr Powell, a Welsh speaker, is the Reform candidate for Caerphilly. Well done, our Nige, for shooting yourself in the foot! Your proud support for Mr Powell won’t go down well with would-be Reform voters in this neck of the woods.