Reform UK, a right-wing political party founded by prominent UK Brexiteer Nigel Farage, has faced an uncomfortable situation after removing Tommy Cawkwell from his candidature for York Central. The decision to dismiss Cawkwell arose when he failed to respond to the party's attempts to reach him via email and phone calls, according to The Metro News.
Initially, Reform UK attributed their decision to Cawkwell's inappropriate social media activity. However, further investigation revealed that Cawkwell had passed away following his selection. The party expressed regret over the situation, stating they were "mortified" by the turn of events.
A Reform UK spokesman told The Metro: "Naturally, I am mortified that, through ignorance, I did not realise the reason for his inactivity; it must have been ghastly for his family to read about it in the way it was presented in the press."
Prior to his sacking, the party said, "We need candidates who are active to give people the candidates they deserve. We can't afford to have people doing nothing in an election year," they added.
After Mr Cawkwell's death, the spokesman said: 'Having it been suggested that we had rescinded Mr Cawkwell's candidature for inappropriate social media messages by a local paper, I suggested that he was one of those candidates that had been removed for inactivity.
"The process is that if we have not heard from a candidate in a while, we try to get in touch. A number of phone calls and emails are made, and if there is no response, a final email is sent suggesting that the candidate has not responded, then they will be removed."
"Reform was not aware that Mr Cawkwell had passed away, as this happened in an interregnum between Yorkshire area managers. So with no response being made, he was removed."
