Reform councillors reported to police by colleague
BBCInfighting in the Reform UK party in Devon has seen two county councillors and an election agent reported to police by a colleague over election expenses.
Neil Stevens and his brother Tony were elected for Reform in May and documents seen by the BBC allege Neil Stevens spent about £170 more than the campaign spending limit.
This was reported to police by Ed Hill, who was also elected for Reform in May and was the chairman of the Exeter branch but was removed from the post for what the party says was bringing it "into disrepute".
Neil Stevens said he misunderstood the process and his election agent Rob Sheridan said he was "confident" there were no errors. Tony Stevens declined to comment.
The Reform UK party won 18 seats in the Devon County Council elections held on 1 May - becoming the second biggest party on the council behind the Liberal Democrats.
Neil Stevens won the Alphington and Cowick seat with 1,126 votes - 72 votes ahead of the Labour candidate Yvonne Atkinson, with the Liberal Democrats a close third on 1,030 votes.
In county council elections, spending limits are set in each ward according to the number of voters.
In Alphington and Cowick the limit was set at £1,827.04 - however the election expenditure return papers for Stevens show he spent £1,995.72.
Hill was previously the election agent for Stevens but papers seen by the BBC show Sheridan was appointed as election agent on 3 June, a day before the election expenses forms were submitted.
Hill also alleges that a £250 podcast recording expense claimed by Tony Stevens, who won his Exwick and St Thomas seat by 22 votes, should be split equally between the brothers - further raising the expenditure of Neil Stevens.
Hill said he reported his concerns relating to Sheridan and Neil and Tony Stevens to the police and to the Electoral Commission on 1 June.
He said he had made "a clear promise to the people of Exeter" to "hold our candidates and councillors to the same high standards we expect of others".
A spokesman from the national Reform UK party told the BBC: "Ed Hill has been removed as chairman of Reform UK Exeter after bringing the party into disrepute.
"There's currently an ongoing internal investigation into the matter so we won't be commenting further."
Neil Stevens told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he believed the spending limit only related to the money he had personally contributed to his campaign – £1,703.60 – and not to donations of £292.12 he received, meaning he believed he was below the spending limit.
Sheridan told the LDRS he was "confident" there were no errors and that third parties had checked them.
He added further checks to the returns were now being made, and if there had been an error, then an amended return would be filed.
Exceeding limits on candidate expenses can lead to an unlimited fine, while making a false declaration attracts the same punishment and/or up to six months in prison for a less serious summary conviction, or up to 12 months on indictment, according to the College of Policing.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said the spending limit applied "to all spending during the regulated period in the run up to the local elections" including any personal money spent and donations received.
It said: "Any allegations of spending over the limit would be a matter for the police."
Devon and Cornwall Police did not respond to requests for comment.
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