Reform UK general secretary leaves amid renewed scrutiny of candidate vetting

Tom Waterhouse has left his post as Reform UK’s general secretary amid renewed scrutiny of the party’s candidate vetting and internal organisation. His departure is a setback for Reform’s effort to professionalise ahead of a future general election, as it follows the arrest and charging of a senior party figure in Hampshire.

Waterhouse, recruited in August last year, oversaw recruitment and candidate selection and took part in an internal inquiry into two officials over alleged unlawful foreign donations; the inquiry cleared them, while police investigations continue. Hampshire council group leader George Madgwick has been charged with 12 counts of rape and one count of distributing indecent images of a child, which he denies. Reform says an interim general secretary has been appointed, and candidate vetting is now overseen by deputy chair Paul Nuttall.