Three in four Reform UK voters say candidates with inappropriate social media use should be dropped – London Business News

Three in four (76%) of those intending to vote Reform UK say candidates for major political parties should be “stopped from standing if they fall below certain standards, such as inappropriate social media use”, according to new research from Savanta.

Savanta’s findings shared as Nigel Farage’s party has been forced to respond to multiple stories and allegations concerning their parliamentary candidates previous social media use, including being Facebook friends with British fascist leaders, giving compliments to Hitler, supporting 9/11 and Covid-19 conspiracy theories, and sharing offensive comments about minority groups, with the research taking place before candidate stories made public.

Seven in ten (68%) of the wider UK public say that candidates should be blocked if they fall below standards including on social media, around the same proportion as Labour voters (70%) and Conservative voters (70%). One in five (19%) say they should not be stopped from standing, even if inappropriate social media use is found.

The UK public were also asked to choose the most important attributes of prospective candidates, with those most commonly ranked in the top 3 answers as:

1. They come from the local area (54%)
2. They have a clean record online and/or on social media (50%)
3. They broadly agree with policies of the political party they represent (49%)
4. They were selected by the local party (39%)
5. They have previous political experience (37%)
6. They have not previously represented a different political party (28%)

Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said, “Our research suggests that the public have strongly held views on MP candidates previous social media history, with seven in ten saying inappropriate use should stop them from running. Reform UK voters appear to hold these views particularly keenly in the abstract, while their party responds to multiple problem candidates.”

“Apparently coming from the local area is held in the highest regard among voters, whereas the public appear entirely unfussed if candidates have previously been in another party – likely a consequence of our chaotic political times.”