Reform UK accused of by-election dirty tricks after casting doubt on Welsh rivals’ heritage

Emily Price

A Reform candidate standing in a by-election in Neath Port Talbot has been accused of "dirty tricks" after he told locals that one of his proudly Welsh opponents was actually from England.

Josh Tuck - a Welsh Labour candidate in Baglan - faced a barrage of questions about his background after rumours were sparked by Reform supporters about where he was from.

The misrepresentation of his heritage was fuelled further by Reform's candidate for the ward - John Bamsey.

Bamsey - who has links to the Port Talbot Freemasons - suggested to locals in a community Facebook group that Tuck was from Yeovil in Somerset and had moved to Baglan only recently.

The 67-year-old former Royal Marine also warned the community group that there was "secrecy" around the Labour candidate's campaign and argued that it was important for Tuck to "demonstrate a valid link with the community".

With the Baglan by-election vote set to take place next week, a Labour member hit back at Bamsey accusing him of  "skulduggery" and taking part in a "misinformation and speculation campaign" which was undermining the democratic process.

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Harrowing

Concerns were raised that the hearsay about Tuck's upbringing had stemmed from a harrowing Somerset Live news article from 2018 headlined: "Somerset man reveals how he took back control years after he was raped by a neighbour."

The article laid out the upsetting details of how Tuck was sexually abused by his neighbour at a sleep over when he was just 10 years old.

His experience was later told by the NSPCC as part of a campaign to encourage those being abused to speak out.

The article explained how Tuck's story had been read out by movie star Martin Freeman at a Childline Ball attended by comedian John Cleese.

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Welsh

The news article has resurfaced online in the run up to the by-election following allegations that Tuck was actually English and not from Wales.

In response, Tuck posted a statement to Facebook explaining his Welsh roots.

He said: "I was born in the Rhondda Valleys, I moved to England when I was young so my mam could pursue her law degree.

"My family has been connected to Neath Port Talbot since the 1960s, when my grandfather worked in the steelworks - to this day, all of my family, except for my mam, live in the nearby area. This is my home."

The Welsh Labour candidate's parents separated shortly after moving to England and his father moved back to south Wales where Tuck visited him and both sets of grandparents regularly.

'Traumatic'

He then moved back to Wales permanently several years ago and is now the only candidate in the Baglan by-election that actually lives in Baglan.

The election hopeful said the rumours had gone "deeper than conjecture" because the individuals misrepresenting his background had "chosen to weaponise the most traumatic experience" of his life.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Tuck said: "They have clearly searched for information about me online and found news articles detailing the childhood sexual abuse I endured.

"Abuse so severe it left me with PTSD, years of pain, and moments where I no longer wanted to be here.

"Instead of seeing the hard work I have done locally and nationally for the good of our local community and children everywhere - they have seemingly chosen only to turn it around and question the very foundations of who I am - my identity as a proud Welshman.

"They discovered I had once lived in Somerset, and, I believe, twisted that into a narrative to undermine me. What they didn’t care to understand is why I was there.

"My mother made the agonising decision to move us from our home to Somerset so I could recover, heal, and simply survive."

'Purpose'

He added: "In time, and with enormous effort, I turned my trauma into purpose. I’ve shared my story publicly to raise awareness and support for others—especially children—through charities like Childline and the NSPCC.

"That journey from survivor to advocate is something I carry with pride, not shame."

"But to see something so personal, something I’ve fought so hard to overcome, used to try and discredit me in a political race… it’s disgraceful. It’s cruel. And it says far more about them than it ever could about me."

We contacted John Bamsey and asked him the following questions:

*Why are you trying to cast doubt on the residency of Josh Tuck when you yourself don’t live in Baglan?

*You have been accused of using "dirty tactics" in this by-election, what do you say to that?

*The Somerset Live article is clearly a very sensitive story for victim of rape to have to revisit - do you think it's fair to smear a candidate by posting mistruths about his background?

John Bamsey did not provide us will a response.