Some residents who live on the street that won Nigel Farage’s controversial energy bills competition have said they have not been given their prize.
Reform said they would cover the energy bills from the winning home – and every address on the street – for a year.
June from Wigan was announced as the winner earlier this month. In a video posted on social media, Mr Farage could be seen handing over flowers to June and her husband in their foyer, as the party’s treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick held a giant cheque.
The win faced scrutiny when social media users claimed Mr Farage already knew the winners, as a picture appearing to show him standing behind the couple at a 2019 Brexit Party event resurfaced.
Wigan’s local Reform UK branch also posted the news on Facebook later, congratulating the pair of “staunch” branch members on their win.
It is understood that the party followed the legal requirements of the competition, with a draw that picked June as the winner at random.
Now some people who live on St Malo Road in the Greater Manchester town have said they have been excluded from the prize, despite Reform saying it would pay for the energy bills for every home on the street.
The Telegraph has reported that only the homes in the same half of the street, which is divided by St Aubyn’s Road, as the winners that received a letter, which instructed them how to put in a claim to Reform.
Reform says they were not able to deliver all of the letters on the day of their visit, but they are now incoming.
Angie Ecclestone, 48, told The Telegraph that her sister rang her to congratulate her on the winnings but she has not received them.
“I thought to myself I’ll believe it when I see it but I didn’t realise I had been excluded and that my neighbours had all received a letter and instructions,” Ms Ecclestone said.
“Nigel Farage said the whole street [would be included] but we haven’t heard anything. I am in shock. I am the first house on St Malo Road. It’s the whole street or not the street. I am mortified.”
Similarly, IT worker Matt Johnson, 53, learnt about the prize draw win when his sister got in touch with him.
“We thought we would hear something from Reform by email or post but at the moment we haven’t heard anything,” he said.
“I mean if Reform said at the time it would be the whole street, then we feel like we should be included in that.
“Our energy bills keep going up and down but they are around £3,500 a year. Having them paid for would make a huge difference.”
Fraser Hayes, 63, also said he has not received the winnings but would give them away if he does get them, as he is no fan of the insurgent right-wing party.
“I have no qualms about depriving Reform of the money and giving to a local kids’ charity or maybe even the Labour candidate,” he told The Telegraph.
“[The stunt] is appalling. It’s obviously a data grab. They’re trying to get loads of people to write in and they ask, ‘Who did you vote for last time. Who will you vote for this time?’
“I am absolutely not a Reform fan and I am appalled that anyone is.”
When announced, the competition sparked calls for the information watchdog to investigate, after competitors were asked questions including who they voted for at the last general election and who they plan to back at the next.
Reform UK said it had been cleared by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
A Reform UK spokesman told The Independent: “We posted letters physically through some of the doors on the day but weren’t able to deliver to all the addresses on the day. Letters are incoming for the remaining households. We always intended to pay for the whole road, as promised, and will do.”
