Reform MS accused of using constituency event to raise funds for local branch

Emily Price

A Reform Member of the Senedd has been accused of using an event intended for constituents to piggyback a fundraising effort for his local branch.

At the weekend, an AI generated poster advertising a “Politics and a Pint” event with Caerdydd Penarth MS Joe Martin was shared in several community Facebook groups within his constituency before later being deleted.

The informal public outreach event series was previously branded by Welsh Conservative MS Andrew RT Davies.

During the last Senedd term, he regularly held “Politics and a Pint” meet-ups in his Vale of Glamorgan constituency to give voters the opportunity to speak face-to-face with their elected representative.

The Reform poster featuring Mr Martin advertised the Sully gathering as offering “free entry”, although attendees who wished to have a meal could choose either scampi and chips or chicken and chips for £20.

Small print at the bottom of the poster stated: “All proceeds to the branch”.

The poster was shared online by a social media account using the name Wende Paine, which appeared to be operated by a Reform volunteer.

When members of the Radyr, Pentyrch and Morganstown Facebook group questioned why proceeds from Mr Martin’s event would go to Reform rather than a local charity, Paine argued that the money was needed to cover the branch’s running costs.

Paine wrote: “We have to pay for venues, we have to pay for leaflets, we have to pay for postage.

“We as volunteers don’t get paid for our time.

“And before you ask, all political parties pay out of their branch funds all over the country.

“Everything is documented and scrutinised.”

The user name Wende Paine has previously been criticised for sharing “misinformation” in community social media groups.

In May, the Blaenavon & Beyond Facebook group published a warning that “pretty much everything and anything posted by Wende Paine is misinformation or fake news”.

After the poster advertising Mr Martin’s “Politics and a Pint” event sparked a backlash online, it appeared to disappear from Facebook, while the Wende Paine account also appeared to have been deactivated.

Nation.Cymru contacted Mr Martin to ask whether the posts had been removed on his instruction.

We also asked whether he was satisfied that the event complied with the Senedd’s rules. Mr Martin did not respond.

Hosting a constituency event where proceeds from optional food sales go to a political party would not in itself automatically amount to a breach.

Key considerations would include how the event was presented and what resources were used to organise it, or if there was a lack of clarity between parliamentary and party political activity in its advertising.

The Senedd Commission was invited to comment but declined.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.