Advertising from Conservative candidate in Derbyshire is ‘blatantly deceptive’

We’ve been asked about tweets from Conservative candidate Robert Largan, which say ‘Labour for Largan’ and ‘Reform for Largan’, and have the potential to seriously mislead voters in the marginal constituency of High Peak, Derbyshire. 

These give the false impression that Mr Largan is backed by other political parties. 

Full Fact’s chief executive Chris Morris has strongly criticised this, saying: “These tactics are blatantly deceptive and play to some of the most cynical instincts in politics. 

“If politicians want to be part of the solution to catastrophically low public trust, they need to commit to honest, transparent campaigns of persuasion and advocacy—not more dirty tricks.” 

While the graphics do carry an imprint of High Peak Conservatives, it is not immediately clear and uses a tiny font that many observers could fail to spot entirely. 

Chris has written to the leaders of UK political parties to call for them to publicly pledge to run their general election campaigns honestly and transparently to enable everyone to make an informed decision at the ballot box. 

Several major parties have signed up to Full Fact’s pledge, but none of the Labour party, Conservatives or Reform UK have made the same commitment which would have rendered deceptive advertising of this nature an unacceptable and flagrant breach. 

Derbyshire Police have said they are reviewing "concerns around marketing material" which have been raised, though haven't confirmed what advertisements this relates to. Full Fact fully supports any police review of complaints, as well as the statement from the Electoral Commission which calls on candidates to consider how voters will understand their campaign materials.