Publication claims Reform UK ‘plans to jail candidates’ for using Cornish, Irish or Gaelic on election material

Nation Cymru staff

An article from Byline Times has claimed that the Reform Party’s proposed amendment to the Government’s elections Bill ‘would mean candidates using Irish and Scottish Gaelic would face up to six months in prison’.

An exclusive article written by Byline Times’ journalist, Josiah Mortimer, shares that all election publications material would be “in the English language or the Welsh language” only, should the proposed Clause 107 to the Representation of the People Bill – tabled by Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice and co-signed by every sitting Reform MP – come into effect.

Publishing campaign material in any other language, according to the Clause, would become a criminal offence – punishable  by up to six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine, and becoming an illegal practice for candidates, agents and parties.

Importantly, the penalties would apply across the UK which Mortimer points out includes “in Northern Ireland, where the Irish language and Ulster-Scots are protected in law and under the Good Friday Agreement designed to end the decades-long civil war”.

The ban on all languages other than Welsh or English would appear to criminalise election material published in Irish, used in parts of Northern Ireland, and Scottish Gaelic – including the bilingual leaflets routinely used in constituencies such as Na h-Eileanan an Iar – while exempting Welsh.

Five of six Cornish MPs (four Labour, one Lib Dem) have signed a joint statement which features at the bottom of Mortimer’s piece, condemning Reform’s proposals.

The Scottish Nationalist Party MSP for the Highlands and Islands Maree Todd told the publication: “This despicable anti-Scottish amendment reveals exactly what Reform really thinks of Scotland – and would threaten anyone publishing election materials in Scots or Gaelic with up to six months in prison.

“It’s not even as if this amendment was introduced by one rogue MP – it was tabled by Reform’s Deputy Leader, and co-signed by a number of their MPs.

“Reform must now do the right thing – apologise to the people of Scotland for attempting to criminalise election materials written in the Scottish languages, and immediately withdraw this outrageous amendment.”

Mortimer writes: “Lots of SNP literature also uses Scots words and phrases, with Scots identified as a distinct language under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. The UK ratified the charter in 2001.
Since there is often overlap, Reform would then presumably have to increase funding for police to identify what they deemed English versus what was Scots.

“The SNP has previously offered Gaelic translations of party manifestos, something which would likely be illegal under Reform’s amendment.”

Mortimer adds: “Conservative MPs have also moved an amendment to “ban election materials published in a foreign language,” though, unlike the Reform UK amendment, it states that this “would not ban campaigning in native languages of the British Islands such as in English, Welsh, Cornish, Ulster Scots, Irish, et al. Nor would it prevent campaigning via the likes of BSL or Braille.”

“On Monday, reports emerged that the Representation of the People Bill would be delayed until September, giving new PM Andy Burnham time to rewrite it if needed. It was due to be debated again this Tuesday (14th July).”

Mebyon Kernow has opposed any amendments to specify which languages can or cannot be used on election leaflets, saying: “All inhabitants of the UK should be able to read about party policies in the language that they speak”.

In a social media post shared on 13 July, they wrote: “It is ludicrous that Reform UK are seeking to outlaw and criminalise the use of Celtic languages such as Cornish, Irish and Scottish Gaelic (as well as Romani) on election materials.

“I also find it extremely worrying that Reform MPs have such little respect for the Cornish language and the national minority status of the Cornish people. Instead of supporting one of the UK’s historic Celtic languages, they want to send anyone using Cornish on an election leaflet to jail. Madness!

“The clause is so daft that it would even ban Mebyon Kernow activists from campaigning as we would not be allowed to use our party name on election materials – as it is in Cornish!”

The Representation of the People Bill, if voted through, would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote at the next general election.

The legislation would also tighten rules around political donations, protect against foreign interference, move towards automatic voter registration and expand the forms of acceptable voter ID to include UK-issued bank cards.

Under the Scottish Languages Act, Gaelic and Scots are recognised as official languages in Scotland.

Around 130,000 Scots have some Gaelic skills, according to the 2022 Census, while nearly 2.5 million have some skills in Scots.

Read the full article, including a response from language expert and author of How To Kill a Language, Sophia Smith Galer and Mebyon Kernow at bylinetimes.com

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