Considered one of Reform’s most prominent candidates within the native elections is dealing with potential disqualification over claims she doesn’t dwell within the space.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who’s working as Reform’s candidate for the newly created Mayor of Larger Lincolnshire, will face a listening to on Friday subsequent week simply six days earlier than voters go to the polls.
The Reform candidate is presently main within the polls within the hotly contested county and was a excessive profile defector from the Tories having beforehand been a rightwing supporter of Boris Johnson as a Conservative MP.
The listening to at North Kesteven District Council subsequent week comes as Reform’s native election marketing campaign has been beset by issues together with the occasion’s ousted Nice Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe announcing he is to sue Nigel Farage for defamation. The occasion can be warding off claims it’s making an attempt to recruit disgraced former prime minister Liz Truss.
However the occasion has claimed that accusations made in opposition to Dame Andrea are “vexatious and politically motivated” in a bid to smear her simply days earlier than the voters forged their votes.
It’s understood that the grievance has been made by the agent of one among Dame Andrea’s rivals Marianne Overton, who’s standing as an impartial and is a councillor on North Kesteven District Council.
It’s based mostly on claims that Dame Andrea shouldn’t be eligible to face in Lincolnshire as a result of she lives in Leeds the place her former constituency was when she was a Tory MP.
A spokesperson for North Kesteven District Council stated: “A proper objection has been obtained by the North Kesteven Electoral Registration Officer in relation to a person registration on the Electoral Register and the statutory course of is being adopted.”
Related claims have been made by the Tory candidate Rob Waltham who not too long ago posted the accusations on Fb.
He posted: “ be Mayor for Lincolnshire! Dwell right here!”
A senior Tory MP advised The Impartial: “This isn’t private in opposition to her however the guidelines are very clear and if she has damaged them then she shouldn’t be eligible to face.”
The Electoral Commission website states that mayoral candidates should meet one among 4 residential {qualifications}: The candidate is, and can proceed to be, registered as a neighborhood authorities elector for the native authority space through which they want to stand from the day of your nomination onwards; or has occupied as proprietor or tenant, lived in or labored within the native authority space throughout the entire of the 12 months earlier than the day of their nomination.
In what’s changing into an more and more poisonous battle for the county, the Conservatives have additionally tried to report Dame Andrea to the police over the accusations.
A Reform UK spokesman stated: “We perceive a vexatious and politically motivated grievance has been made by the relative of a candidate in the identical election that Andrea Jenkyns is contesting, in an try and deprive the folks of Lincolnshire the possibility to vote for Reform UK. We’re assured that this grievance shall be dismissed.”
Dame Andrea has declined to remark herself however it’s understood she has advised mates that she is struggling a “smear marketing campaign” as a result of she is the frontrunner within the race.
She has acknowledged that she lives between Leeds and Lincolnshire for household causes however is anticipated to provide proof subsequent week which reveals Lincolnshire is her main handle. She has additionally been in direct contact over eligibility with native authority democratic officers for quite a few months.
Nonetheless, with Labour’s Jason Stockwood hoping to return via the center of a break up rightwing vote between the Tories and Reform, unions and leftwing teams are additionally piling on strain in a febrile election.
The main public sector union UNISON has written to members working for Lincolnshire County Council saying what a catastrophe Dame Andrea with claims they’ve urged them to seem in a video attacking her. This has led to issues from Dame Andrea’s camp over a possible breach of purdah guidelines earlier than an election.
However a UNISON spokesperson stated: “This all about informing members in Lincolnshire as to the place the varied mayoral candidates stand on the problems that matter. This consists of the measures being launched within the employment rights invoice. This isn’t a breach of election guidelines.”
In the meantime, Hope Not Hate have additionally been concentrating on Dame Andrea as a “local weather change denier” who has fought in opposition to Internet Zero insurance policies.
The Impartial has approached Cllr Overton for remark.
Lincolnshire Police have declined to remark.
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