Reform UK Reported to Police Over Election Banner After Hartlepool Election Landslide...
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Police Log Complaint Over Reform UK Election Banner in Hartlepool with police giving the Political Group "Detailed Guidance"...
8th May 2026
Just hours after Reform UK secured a landslide victory in Hartlepool’s local elections, its claimed the party’s local campaign was said to have been reported to police over an election banner said to have been missing legally required campaign information.
The Teesside & Durham Post understands a complaint was raised with Cleveland Police several days ago in relation to campaign material used by Reform UK in Hartlepool during the election period. The complaint centred on claims that a Reform UK banner used by the Group on its campaign trail, failed to display the required election “imprint” — the information which identifies who is responsible for publishing or promoting campaign material.
Under Electoral Commission guidance, printed election material (including banners & flyers) must usually include details such as the name and address of the printer, the promoter, and any person or organisation on whose behalf the material is being published. The Commission states that imprints are designed to ensure transparency for voters about who is behind campaign material.
Evidence seen by The Teesside & Durham Post shows that Cleveland Police reportedly reviewed the material after the complaint was raised. In correspondence, a detective from the force’s Economic Crime Unit said the matter had been discussed with an inspector and that the Electoral Commission had provided “detailed guidance” to the campaigner so the material could be brought into compliance. The police response also indicated that Reform UK should be allowed to take the flags out of circulation and follow the guidance to make them compliant.
The Electoral Commission’s own guidance makes clear that it provides advice on election material requirements, but enforcement decisions in relation to certain imprint offences can fall to the police and prosecution authorities.
The complaint comes as Reform UK won all 12 contested seats on Hartlepool Borough Council, wiping out Labour in ward after ward and ending the party’s control of the local council which in 2023 was declared an authority with no public confidence. .
