Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin cleared of election law breach

Matt Goodwin, candidate for Reform UK in the Gorton and Denton byelection, will not face sanctions after a High Court judge ruled that campaign leaflets missing a required imprint were the result of an inadvertent printing error.

The party admitted distributing around 81,000 leaflets to voters in the constituency which appeared to come from a “concerned neighbour” and did not state that they had been funded and promoted by Reform UK.

Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, election material must clearly include the name and address of the promoter. Failure to comply can result in a fine of up to £5,000 and disqualification from holding elective office for three years.

However, today, the eve of the byelection, Mr Justice Butcher granted Goodwin and his election agent, Adam Rawlinson, relief from those potential penalties under section 167 of the Act. The provision allows an exception where a breach is shown to have arisen from inadvertence or other reasonable cause.

Delivering his ruling, the judge said: “I’m satisfied that the omission arose from inadvertence, or some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and did not arise for want of good faith.”

The court heard that the leaflets had been printed and distributed by Hardings Print Solutions, a London-based company. Representing Reform, barrister Adam Richardson said the failure to include the statutory imprint was the result of an “honest administrative error”.

He told the court that the proofs originally supplied to the printers included the required imprint, stating that the material was distributed on behalf of Goodwin and Reform UK. However, when the printer altered the font to a larger size during production, the statutory wording was removed.

Mr Justice Butcher accepted that explanation, stating: “The omission resulted from an error in the production phase, due to a change of font. I’m satisfied that was neither requested nor desired from the claimants.”

The ruling means Goodwin and his agent avoid financial penalties and disqualification, clearing the way for the Reform UK candidate to contest the Gorton and Denton byelection without further legal impediment.