Tory MP and mayoral candidate face questions over election fraudster

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 11:02 · Archive

A Conservative MP and mayoral candidate were pictured with a man convicted of election fraud during a leaflet drop in Norfolk.

Jerome Mayhew, Broadland and Fakenham MP, and Tim Passmore, the Conservatives' 2028 mayoral candidate and Suffolk's police and crime commissioner, face questions after Matthew Smith, a man convicted of election fraud, was pictured delivering leaflets with them in Wroxham last weekend. The photograph was posted on Mr Mayhew's Facebook page.

Smith, a former UKIP county councillor, admitted allowing false signatures on nomination papers in 2015. He is understood to be an officer for the Great Yarmouth Conservatives and joined the party sometime after the 2024 general election. The photograph shows him in a black hoodie among a group of volunteers holding leaflets bearing Mr Passmore's name.

Carli Harper, leader of the Labour group at Norwich City Council and the party's mayoral candidate for 2028, described Mr Smith's involvement as 'an extraordinary lapse of judgement'. She said: 'Matthew Smith was convicted of electoral fraud, an offence that strikes at the very heart of our democracy.' Whilst acknowledging that people who have served sentences deserve to move on, she said there was 'a world of difference between that and inviting someone convicted of electoral fraud to help you win an election'. She called on Mr Passmore to explain his reasoning.

How it is being reported

• Tories accused of 'lapse of judgement' after election fraudster joins leaflet dropBroadland MP Jerome Mayhew and mayoral candidate Tim Passmore face questions after a man convicted of election fraud joined their Wroxham leaflet dropNorwich Evening News · 22 Oct, 10:54
• Tories accused of 'lapse of judgement' after election fraudster joins leaflet dropBroadland MP Jerome Mayhew and mayoral candidate Tim Passmore face questions after a man convicted of election fraud joined their Wroxham leaflet dropEastern Daily Press · 22 Oct, 10:54

In this story: Jerome Mayhew · Tim Passmore · Matthew Smith · Carli Harper · Conservative Party · Labour Party · Norfolk · Suffolk

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