Tory candidate sparks Derbyshire Police investigation with ‘misleading’ election posts

A Conservative general election candidate’s campaign material on Twitter/X is being investigated by Derbyshire Police, after he shared posts with the taglines “Labour for Largan” and “Reform for Robert” which have been labelled “desperate” and “misleading” by voters.

Robert Largan, who’s hoping to be re-elected as the MP for High Peak in the county in July’s big vote, took to social media on Saturday (1 June) to claim that “so many local Labour voters” have told him they’re lending the Conservatives their support in the voting booth.

“There have been so many that I’m launching a new Labour for Largan club,” he added, directing people to a webpage where visitors can fill in a form to receive messages from the Conservative Party about “local issues, campaigns and opportunities to get involved”.

When the post sparked condemnation and criticism, with one individual branding it “totally pathetic”, Largan doubled down and launched a separate graphic in the light blue colour of Reform UK with the text “Robert for Reform”.

Others have called on election spending regulator the Electoral Commission to investigate:

However, when asked if it would be looking into the posts, a spokesperson for the watchdog told indy100: “When it comes to campaigning, the Commission is responsible for ensuring that campaign material by parties and campaigners includes information to identify the person or organisation which has caused it to be published. This is known as an imprint.

"Our remit does not extend to the content or style of campaign material. This is not subject to regulation by any UK body.

“The digital imprint regime gives voters more information about who is trying to reach them online, including campaigners and political parties. Voters should check for an imprint if they have concerns about the source of material.

"We encourage all candidates to consider how voters will understand their campaign materials."

Instead, Derbyshire Police said in a tweet posted on Saturday evening that it had “received a number of messages in relation to claims of election fraud” and “an incident has been created and will be reviewed”.

Meanwhile a spokesman for Largan defended the posts in a statement to this website, arguing that “nobody voting in the High Peak could possibly be confused” as to whether he is standing as the Conservative candidate.

“As Mr Largan’s social media posts and website make abundantly clear, large numbers of traditional Labour voters have been contacting him to tell him they plan to vote for him, despite him being a Conservative candidate. The same goes for Reform supporters.

"This is because of Mr Largan’s strong record of delivery in the High Peak. Therefore, supporters clubs of traditional Labour and Reform voters have been set up, to allow people to tell Mr Largan that they’re supporting him.

“"These are called Labour for Largan and Reform for Robert. Such supporters clubs are not a new phenomenon.

“It is worth pointing out that all of Mr Largan’s election leaflets clearly state that he is the Conservative candidate and are in full compliance with electoral law. He is very well known in the High Peak as the local Conservative candidate. His name will appear on the ballot paper as the Conservative candidate.

“Nobody voting in the High Peak could possibly be confused on this point. Those claiming otherwise appear to have a very low opinion of the people of High Peak,” he said.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.