Reform UK unveils proposals for electoral reform after by-election result
Reform UK has unveiled proposals for election reform, including a significant restriction on postal voting and the removal of voting rights for Commonwealth citizens.
Outlining the party’s plans in the Sunday Telegraph and Mail on Sunday, Nigel Farage argued that postal voting had turned UK elections into a “ridiculous stock” and that allowing non-British citizens to vote was “absurd”. Under Reform UK’s proposals, postal voting would be severely limited to the elderly, the disabled, personnel serving in the armed forces and those working abroad at the time of the election. This contrasts with the current system that allows eligible voters to cast their ballots by mail.
Additionally, the party aims to remove the right of Commonwealth citizens to participate in UK elections. Currently, Commonwealth citizens who qualify as residents are able to vote in any election in the United Kingdom; This is a provision that Reform UK is trying to repeal.
A Reform UK spokesman confirmed the changes would not affect Irish citizens, who also have the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
Reform UK said the policy was born out of Mr Farage’s belief that allowing Commonwealth citizens to vote would “undermine national sovereignty” and lead to elections being held on international rather than domestic issues.
In 2012, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that approximately 1.2 million Commonwealth citizens lived in the United Kingdom.
Mr Farage said: “For too long postal voting has allowed our elections to become a laughing stock, riddled with fraud, intimidation and outright fraud. “It has been allowed to continue for years and has poisoned confidence in our democracy.
“Meanwhile, it’s absurd to allow non-Brits – people with zero connection to this country – to vote on our future. “It’s right that only British citizens should be able to vote in British parliamentary elections.
“Therefore, in a bid to restore confidence in British democracy, the Reform government will immediately ban wholesale postal voting and ensure that only British citizens can vote in elections.”
The announcement comes after Reform UK asked police to investigate allegations of election fraud in this week’s by-elections in Gorton and Denton.
Election watchdog group Volunteers for Democracy has warned it is witnessing “worryingly high” levels of “family voting”, an illegal practice in which two voters use a voting booth and potentially manipulate each other into voting.
Farage vowed to “take action” after the next general election if nothing is done about the allegations, adding: “If that’s what’s happening at polling stations, imagine the potential for pressure through postal voting.”
Conservative party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said allegations of “family voting” in the Gorton and Denton byelections were “deeply worrying” but Reform UK’s plans were branded a “headline-grabbing” exercise.
He said: “Rushing to introduce sweeping bans on postal voting is a reckless response that risks disenfranchising pensioners, disabled people and overseas British citizens who vote by post to have a say.
“We must protect our elections with proportionate, evidence-based reforms, not headline-grabbing measures that could exclude law-abiding voters from our democratic process.”
Reform England The leader has frequently complained about postal voting when his parties lost midterm elections.
When his former party, Ukip, lost the Oldham West and Royton by-elections in 2015, Mr Farage claimed that postal votes had been misused, saying the result raised questions about the conduct of elections in constituencies with large ethnic minority communities.
When the Brexit Party lost the Peterborough by-election in 2019, Farage again criticized the postal vote system.
The Brexit Party candidate challenged the result in court but later withdrew the objection and the winning Labor candidate was ordered to pay his legal costs.
The Electoral Commission’s latest data for 2024 shows no evidence of large-scale election fraud in the country. England94% of allegations were resolved locally with “advice” or resulted in no further police action.
Reform England MP Richard Tice has questioned the validity of postal votes when his party’s candidate loses the Rochdale by-election in 2024, insisting the result should be a “serious wake-up call” for voters and those in power.
No mail-in voting fraud was proven in any of these cases, and none resulted in a conviction.
