Controversy over Reform by-election leaflet

Member of rival party claims campaign leaflet is misleading

Claims have been made about an election leaflet issued by the Reform UK party by a member of a rival group ahead of a Devon by-election.

Councillor Steve Lodge (Liberal Democrat, Tiverton West) has raised concerns about a campaign leaflet that promotes a Reform UK candidate in the town, Goff Welchman.

Mr Welchman is seeking election to the Tiverton Cranmore ward on Tiverton Town Council alongside three other candidates – namely Luis Richard Alan James Gordon (Conservative), Claudette Harrower (Liberal Democrat), and Ana Luisa Hendy (Local Independents for Tiverton). The by-election takes place on Thursday 14 May.

Cllr Lodge stated he had an issue with some of the statements on the Reform leaflet that outline money allocated to various causes in the area by a Reform UK county councillor, Cllr Neale Raleigh (Reform UK, Tiverton East).

His complaints about the leaflet centre on his view that the leaflet makes it sound like Reform has worked to secure the money, when actually the type of funding referred to – locality budgets – are given to every county councillor each year.

Cllr Raleigh was contacted for comment but did not respond.

The by-election has been prompted by the disqualification of previous Lib Dem councillor Lance Kennedy under standard rules related to attendance,

Cllr Kennedy, who remains a member of Mid Devon District Council, had not attended a town council meeting for six months. He missed one meeting amid recovery from an injury and could not attend online because town council meetings are not conducted with an online attendance option.

Cllr Kennedy has attended all the required Mid Devon District Council meetings.

The leaflet promoting Mr Welchman’s candidacy states: “Since Devon County Councillor Neale Raleigh was elected in May 2025, sums totalling £8,000 have been allocated to various causes, charities and community centres across Tiverton district.

“This will increase to £10,000 in the coming year.”

However, Cllr Lodge said he had asked Devon County Council’s monitoring officer about his concerns about the leaflet.

“Cllr Raleigh has now endorsed it by name,” Cllr Lodge said. “There is no reference to this expenditure being DCC locality budgets that all [county] councillors receive to invest in their communities.

“The headline and text would leave voters thinking it is Reform money, which it is not. Similarly, this funding has no bearing on the capability of a town councillor.”

Mr Welchman said he did not produce the leaflet, and that it would be for Cllr Raleigh to comment on.

Mr Welchman also stated he had not been involved in figures printed on the leaflet in a bar chart that cites Devon County Council election results from 2025 as its source. Cllr Lodge said the Lib Dem figure should be 29.6 per cent and not 26.9 per cent.

Devon County Council data shows Cllr Raleigh has £9,500 of the £10,000 allocated to all councillors at the beginning of this financial year. That suggests he did allocate all the £8,000 from the previous year, because councillors who did not are listed as having more than £10,000 because unspent money rolls over into the next year.

Cllr Lodge also appears to have spent all his last year, and also has £9,500 of the £10,000 allocated this financial year.