Reform UK mocked over ‘cash prizes’ for canvassers

Emily Price 

Reform UK has been mocked after a leaked text message revealed that the party is offering “cash prizes” to its Welsh branches as a sweetener to entice members to canvas during the Senedd election campaign.

A Reform UK source told Nation.Cymru that members were being encouraged to use the ReformPro app to gain “points” in the weeks leading up to the May 7 election. 

The digital campaigning and engagement platform operated by Reform is designed to coordinate the party’s activities, candidate recruitment, and voter engagement.

The insider said: “The party is in the process of sending out emails to all members; top performing branches will be given cash prizes for canvassing on specific days. 

“The idea is that canvassers list voting intentions (VIs) on the Reform pro app.

“The more VIs captured the more points scored; thus, more chance of a branch being awarded a cash prize.”

The source also provided Nation.Cymru with a screen grab of a text message sent to one of Reform’s internal WhatsApp campaign group chats. 

In the text message, Reform campaign coordinator Art Wright wrote: “General alert Reform have sent out an email to all members today with the following dates stated as National Canvassing days:

“18th April – Risca east and west, 25th April – Penmaen/Newbridge, 2nd May – Blackwood.

“Top performing branches will be getting cash prizes and all of the events are going to be lived streamed like happened last year, we will be predominantly in Islwyn over this period and this is an early reach out for high turnout please.”

The text message was sent to Reform’s Newport and Islwyn branch chat. The party’s top candidate for the constituency is Welsh leader and former London councillor Dan Thomas.

A Welsh Conservative source said: “Reform’s top brass are learning what the Russians discovered long ago.

“The only way you can get a Reform politician to do anything is to bribe them.”

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “Reform are clearly struggling to get local members to go out and campaign – Farage has parachuted in his ex-Tory candidates who’ve no real connection with the communities in which they’re standing, and they offer those very communities nothing but chaos and division.

“From their toxic rhetoric to their £1 billion financial black hole – Reform don’t offer the people of Wales anything of value, and they know it.

“The polls are clear that only Plaid Cymru can stop this band of charlatans from getting their hands on power here, and committed Plaid Cymru members and activists are pounding the pavements week in, week out, to spread our positive message of hope for a brighter future for Wales – free of charge.”

The leaked text message comes after disillusioned Reform Senedd candidate Owain Clatworthy told Nation.Cymru that member attendance at local branches was dwindling.

He said: “We’ve had two meetings in the last two months. At one of the members meetings we had Senedd Member James Evans as a speaker – but only about 20 people turned up.

“We held a fundraiser last Friday – and only 15 or 20 members showed up.

“Last year we had 100 – 150 members attending meetings like this.”

Reform UK’s Senedd election campaign got off to a rocky start at the end of March when Nation.Cymru published an image of one of the party’s lead candidates performing a Nazi salute.

Since then, several other candidates have left the party citing anger over Reform’s “expensive” and “unfair” vetting process.

We asked Reform UK if the party was struggling to get local members to go out and campaign ahead of the Welsh election.

A spokesperson declined to comment but provided us with a link to a Conservative party incentive scheme run in Yorkshire and Humber four years ago.

The scheme operates annually from June to May, with Conservative associations assigned “achievable goals” and offered rewards in recognition of their “hard work”.

Prizes included a voucher to purchase campaign material and a bottle of House of Commons champagne.

Nation.Cymru pointed out to the Reform spokesperson that the link appeared to relate to an annual outreach and recruitment drive which took place outside of an election.

We also highlighted that the association was not offered “cash prizes” as part of the scheme.

The spokesperson did not reply.