Reform councillor used data from policy survey to promote partner’s steak restaurant

A Reform councilor used social media and data collected in a political poll to help promote his partner’s restaurant, an independent regulator has concluded.

It has been revealed that Councilor George Madgwick used information from a survey to message residents about UK Reform party policies without their consent.

Voters for the 37-year-old received ‘breaking news’ messages and links to her social media posts.

It was also revealed that the experienced restaurateur was promoting the steak restaurant of his partner, another Reform councillor, using a list of contacts he had collected.

After a voter complained, the case was taken to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), where it was found to have breached its data protection obligations.

The investigation began after Portsmouth resident Scott Alexander completed a survey conducted by the Portsmouth Independent Party (PIP) in late 2024, in which he provided his phone number and email address.

In May 2025, Mr Alexander began receiving unsolicited emails promoting the ‘Steak and Roast’ restaurant run by his partner, Councilor Emily Strudwick, who is now leader of the Reform UK group on Portsmouth City Council.

Cllr Madgwick, who represents Paulsgrove, Wymering & Port Solent, is not officially listed as part of the business but is an experienced restaurateur and has frequently promoted the restaurant on his social media pages.

Following Commander Madgwick’s defection from PIP to Reform UK in July 2025, Mr Alexander also began receiving text messages sent via bulk SMS software containing ‘breaking news’ and links to the councillor’s political social media posts.

Mr. Alexander said he never consented to his personal information being used for political messaging or marketing purposes.

He publicly challenged Major Madgwick on social media, saying he had not agreed to receive Reform UK updates.

He said his post was deleted within an hour.

He then requested the privacy notice allowing the use of his personal information.

Major Madgwick submitted a copy of the survey disclaimer; Mr Alexander said this meant “the requirements under the Data Protection Act for the collection of such information are woefully inadequate”.

He said: “The survey received over 4,000 responses, meaning Major Madgwick has effectively misused a dataset of over 4,000 Portsmouth residents to pursue his own political agenda.

“He thinks he can get away with disobeying the law; the law will catch up with him.”

Mr Alexander subsequently lodged two complaints; The first of these involved an Instagram live broadcast in which Major Madgwick posted the confidential names of people who had filed complaints against him.

In December 2025, the council’s monitoring officer found breaches of the rules and said publicly naming complainants (otherwise referred to as disclosing personal information) was “indicative of bullying and/or oppressive attitudes”.

Mr Alexander subsequently lodged a second complaint regarding alleged misuse of data. In February 2026 the monitoring officer concluded that ‘the evidence was that the code had been breached’.

He added that sharing data from a single source to a business without ‘legitimate consent’ could breach the Data Protection Act.

The monitoring officer advised Major Madgwick to apologize to Mr Alexander and refer him to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is responsible for protecting information rights, enforcing key data privacy laws and regulating how organizations handle personal information.

In April 2026, Mr Alexander questioned why no apology had been issued as suggested. But Major Madgwick replied: “No apology will be made to you, as it is neither deserved nor needed.”

Now, after nearly 10 months of investigation, the ICO has published its findings, upholding both of Mr Alexander’s complaints.

The regulator said it was ‘our view that Councilor George Madgwick has failed to comply with his data protection obligations’.

It also said it “appears” that Cllr Madgwick has failed to keep personal data secure under GDPR guidelines and has “failed to comply with data protection obligations” in relation to emails and texts.

The ICO said it understood concerns that survey data from other residents may also have been used without a clear or lawful purpose.

The watchdog said it would make recommendations to Cllr Madgwick on improving data protection practices to help prevent similar incidents.

Mr Alexander said: “I am very pleased that all my complaints have been accepted.”

Cllr Madgwick said he hoped to clear his name and provide further evidence to the ICO.

He said: “The ICO has failed to contact me to respond to the complaint. I have written to the ICO to complain and request a review as the information provided by Scott Alexander was inaccurate.

“I have clear evidence that no infringement has occurred and the ICO will be in my favor when they allow me to present this evidence.”

A Portsmouth City Council spokesman added: “The ICO’s findings do not relate to Portsmouth City Council’s collection, processing or use of personal data. The Council was not involved in obtaining or using any of the information set out in the complaint.”

“We were not aware of this issue until later, but we are pleased that the ICO has addressed this issue. We will continue to remind all councilors of their responsibilities when processing data.”