By Nick Lockett, Reform Candidate Vincent Square 2025, Barrister* and Solicitor-Advocate
Am I alone in thinking that the recent stories can’t be right about Reform gagging its candidates. As someone who had an election just 3 weeks ago and has been campaigning all over London recently, I can personally confirm that Reform never asked me for a non-disclosure order or tried to gag me. I was free to speak and campaign without control. indeed, Reform have said that the NDAs were sent to just *some* candidates in error and it seems that this was simply a single branch chair making an error, but the Telegraph blew it out of all proportion.
So where did the Telegraph get their story or was this just anti-Reform rhetoric? I’ll let you decide. The Telegraph claim to have seen an NDA that covers “activities, communications and electoral functions of the Party” – and in full disclosure, yes- I have signed one of those, but it was nothing to do with candidacy, it was to do with working inside Reform’s HQ and properly asked for to protect “data security” about members and candidates, as well as in the event that I overheard unannounced policy statements. As a solicitor I can confirm that it is common practice to do this for very many companies – it is about ensuring that sensitive discussions in the privacy of the office are not made public – and everyone from JP Morgan to the local accountants have similar agreements and I prepare 4 or 5 a week for companies all over the UK.
Source: The Telegraph
To me, this looks like a standard NDA template taken from the internet.
The NDAs were presented to candidates to sign after they had received GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] training and before they gained access to a site called Nationbuilder, used for campaign materials. That’s required under data protection law.
The Telegraph quoted Nick Morris, a Conservative council candidate for the Cornwall elections who defected to Reform from the Tories before defecting back, who had signed an NDA (presumably, like me, before he was allowed to access Nationbuilder), hardly an impartial source.
Reform’s position is as follows: Reform UK are committed to the highest standards of data security. Like any professional organisation, we expect those responsible for managing large amounts of member and candidate personal information to keep it secure. Reform believes in free speech.
Footnote: As the Telegraph has published that Reform uses Nationbuilder, I can disclose this as it is now public information and outside the NDA.
