Reform candidate claims election interference but council and police have received no complaints

Emily Price

Caerphilly Council and Gwent Police have confirmed they have received no complaints about election interference, despite Reform UK’s Risca East by-election candidate claiming his campaign is being disrupted.

In a post to social media last week, Reform UK hopeful Darren Crandon complained his bid for elected office was being sabotaged by “election interference and underhand tactics”.

Crandon described the level of interference as “staggering”, claiming “anonymous attempts” were being made to involve his family’s personal lives, including his wife’s workplace.

Council election interference is considered a serious threat to local democracy.

Any council candidate who suspects election interference or fraud should report it directly to their local police force or raise concerns with their local council’s Returning Officer.

Nation.Cymru contacted Caerphilly Council and asked if Crandon had made any official complaints to the local authority about election interference.

The council confirmed it had not received any complaints, but said concerns could have been raised with Gwent Police.

We also contacted Gwent Police asking if the force had received any reports of interference in the Risca East by-election.

Gwent Police said it hadn’t received any reports relating to this.

Crandon’s allegations of election interference came after Nation.Cymru uncovered social media posts showing his support for anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson.

In posts published to X, Crandon described himself as an “admirer” of Robinson, whom he praised as being “in touch with the public”.

We also revealed that the Reform UK activist is a foul mouthed social media troll who, under the pseudonym “Brunte” on X, has a history of routinely targeting journalists and politicians with explicit insults and aggressive language.

Posts unearthed by Nation.Cymru revealed that Cradon had lashed out at two female Members of Parliament branding them “thick as sh*t”.

He also published a post calling for “F*ck Mark Drakeford” to be sung in football stadiums and sent a Scottish MP a comment branding him an “absolute pr*ck”.

When former Health Secretary Matt Hancock posted a photo of himself receiving the Covid jab in 2021, Crandon commented: “Bet that’s not the first pr*ck you have had.”

Labour officials made calls for Reform UK to block Crandon from standing in Risca East.

But Crandon has remained on the ballot, insisted he will not apologise for his admiration of Tommy Robinson, claiming his support for the far-right figure dated back several years.

This claim appeared to be at odds with Crandon’s timeline on X, as Nation.Cymru found a social media post published just a few months ago in which he described Robinson as a “breath of fresh air”.

Since announcing his candidacy, Crandon has continued to target female politicians on X, responding to a post by Plaid Cymru MS Keira Marshall with a vomit emoji and telling Plaid MS Sarah Cooper-Lesadd that her brain “needs to be studied”.

The Risca East by-election takes place on November 19th. Candidates are listed below:

Marcus Kyle Leonard – Labour, Tracy Barrington – Green Party, Ceithin Llewellyn Dennes – Conservatives, Brandon Ham – Plaid Cymru, Peter John Heathcote – Independent, Darren Crandon – Reform UK.