Reform UK has appointed Jaymey McIvor, a county councillor previously expelled from the Conservative Party over allegations of sending an unsolicited lewd image, to a new role supporting the management of parliamentary candidates. A leaked email indicates McIvor will be involved in preparing the party's would-be MPs for future elections.
Sources within Reform suggested McIvor's role would be limited to proposing which parliamentary seats candidates might contest, and that he would not be involved in vetting them. However, Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake criticized the appointment, stating that any involvement by McIvor would "make a mockery" of Reform UK's pledges for candidate vetting.
McIvor had been a Conservative parliamentary candidate until shortly before the 2024 general election, when the party announced his suspension. In October of that year, he was formally expelled following a disciplinary hearing. Details of the complaint emerged publicly when Labour councillor Aidan McGurran challenged McIvor at a council meeting, stating the reason for his expulsion was sending an unsolicited picture of his private parts, which he described as a criminal offense.
McIvor has denied these claims and maintains he chose to leave the Conservative Party. Reform UK sources stated that the Conservative Party had not produced evidence against McIvor and asserted that the Tories have "zero credibility to lecture anyone" given their past hiring of a former neo-Nazi as an anti-extremism advisor. The photo provided shows a screenshot of a leaked email detailing McIvor's new role.