Residents of Caerphilly, which next month holds a by-election to the Senedd, were surprised this week to receive a handwritten letter from a previously unknown neighbour, Andrew Russell.
In the letter, Russell – apparently a “local pensioner” and “lifelong Labour voter” – claims that the party has “taken us for granted and portrayed our trust”, adding “That’s why I plan to abandon Labour in the Senedd by-election in October and vote Reform UK for the first time.”
Yet no-one in Caerphilly seems to be familiar with an Andrew Russell, and indeed, the website Nation Cymru suggests there is nobody of that name living near to recipients of the letter.
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On a local Ystrad Mynach community Facebook group, one resident described it as “a gimmicky election leaflet from some, probably fictional, dude” while another commented: “Straight in the shredder. Was furious they had my actual name in the letter too.”
It’s only in the small print on the back of the letter that it is clear it came from Reform and it was printed not locally but in “Feltham, Middlesex”, a county which technically ceased to exist 60 years ago.
Reform won’t say who “Andrew Russell” is, only to claim he lives in South Wales. Yet sleuths have noted that it is the name of the party’s candidate for a by-election to South Ayrshire Council also being held next month.
Meanwhile, Reform’s candidate for Caerphilly is Llŷr Powell. Or, as Nigel Farage refers to him, “Welsh Dave”, because Farage can’t pronounce his name or be bothered to learn it.
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