Ukrainian refugees condemn failure of authorities to take action against Reform over campaign lies

Martin Shipton

Ukrainian refugees who were offered shelter when Putin’s Russia invaded their homeland have expressed dismay that no action is being taken against Reform UK for spreading lies about the Welsh Government scheme that helped them settle in Caerphilly.

The most prominent theme in the far right party’s messaging for the Senedd by-election taking place on October 23 has been an attack on the £55m Nation of Sanctuary programme.

Reform has constantly stated that the money was “wasted” by being spent on asylum seekers, despite having been told that is not the case and that 85% of the £55m was used to pay for the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees, predominantly women and children, who are not asylum seekers.

Last week the group Caerphilly Ukrainians made a formal complaint about Reform’s misinformation campaign to the by-election’s Returning Officer Ed Edmunds, who is also chief executive of Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Mr Edmunds has told the group, whose members have spoken about how they feel they are being told to go home whenever they see a Reform placard in the street, that he cannot intervene.

Misleading

Yuliia Bond, one of the leading members of the Caerphilly Ukrainians, has now written a social media post in which she greatly regrets the failure to take Reform to task for its deliberately misleading criticisms of the Nation of Sanctuary programme in the ruthless pursuit of votes.

The open letter states: “ We came to Wales because it stood for truth, fairness, and kindness – the values that gave us hope when we had lost everything. Wales opened its homes and hearts to us. People here didn’t just give us shelter, they gave us dignity and a future. We will always be grateful for that.

“But that’s why what’s happening now feels so wrong. Across Caerphilly County Borough, thousands of homes have been given leaflets full of false claims – designed to turn kind neighbours against people who have done nothing wrong except seek safety. Those lies don’t just mislead voters; they divide communities and poison trust. Yet no authority seems willing to act: when those responsible face no consequences, it sends a terrible message — that truth no longer matters in politics.

“Every voter in Wales should care about that. Because if politicians can lie to you and get away with it, what hope is there for honest democracy? If deceiving the public isn’t against the rules, then the rules themselves are broken.

“Accountability must mean something again. Those who spread lies should be made to answer for them – publicly and clearly.”

‘False claims’

Ms Bond added: “They want to scrap a scheme that mainly supports Ukrainians, spreading false claims and misinformation to make it their main political agenda.

“So far, no local authority has taken urgent action to address this. We are now considering taking it higher, preparing an open letter to be sent to the UK Government, the Electoral Commission, MPs, MSs and international democratic and human rights organisations, such as the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

“This is about truth, fairness and protecting vulnerable people from being targeted by political misinformation.”

‘Wrong’

When Reform UK leader Nigel Farage visited Caerphilly on October 10, he was asked about the misinformation. He didn’t apologise, but said: “They [Ukrainians] should be entirely [in a different category]. Actually it’s completely wrong that they’re put into that basket. It should be in a separate box – no question about it.”

Since Mr Farage’s visit, there has been no change in Reform UK’s messaging, with the entire £55m – including the 85% spent on resettling Ukrainians – still branded a waste of money.

A Caerphilly council spokesman said: “We can confirm that the Returning Officer has received a complaint concerning election campaign material.

“There are few restrictions on what candidates, political parties or campaigners can say in campaign materials. These restrictions include making or publishing a false statement about the personal character or conduct of a candidate, or publishing offensive material.

“However, the Returning Officer has no power to investigate such complaints so will pass on the complainants concerns to Gwent Police who can consider if the law has been breached.”