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A group of voters have joined together to file a ‘groundbreaking’ legal claim against Reform UK, after it allegedly failed to properly respond to their requests for what personal information the party held on them.
Good Law Project is bringing a case on behalf of the claimants after it created a tool in the lead up to the general election that allowed voters to ask political parties what information they had on them through a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) and to demand the party stop using that information.
Around 1,800 people used the tool to contact Nigel Farage’s party and, of those surveyed, 96% said that Reform had failed to respond to their data requests, thereby breaching its legal obligations. Reform was the worst performer of all the major political parties, according to GLP.
Between June-July 2024, voters submitted requests to Reform UK for their personal info and for the party to cease processing their data.
Reform UK was required to respond to these requests within one month, but failed to meet this deadline, according to the legal submission to the High Court.
Only after receiving a formal letter before action in October 2024 did Reform UK respond, claiming they had “no record” of the individuals in their systems, except for the original requests.
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But GLP believes Reform UK’s identical responses to all the individuals were inadequate and likely false – since Reform UK’s own privacy policy states they “maintain a profile for each registered voter” by “merging” the Electoral Register with other data from third-party sources.
The claimant suspects Reform UK may be processing so-called special category data (including political opinions) about the individuals without proper legal basis.
The voters – ‘data subjects’ in the eyes of the law – have allegedly suffered “concern, worry, uncertainty and distress” due to Reform UK’s handling of their data and ignoring their requests.
GLP wants the court to order Reform UK to comply with the data requests, pay compensation for non-material damage, and cover legal costs.
Good Law Project through its lawyers, Pallas Partners LLP (Pallas), wrote formally to Reform UK to challenge its refusal to meet its obligations under the law. Reform failed to respond to the legal letter, but sent out “identical emails”, claiming to hold no data on any of them. It never responded to the demand to stop targeting those voters who requested it, the lawyers state.
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Reform has reportedly ignored further legal letters from Pallas which sought more information about its process for handling DSARs and challenged Reform’s contention that it held no data on any of the individuals.
Now 51 people have opted to take further action collectively and challenge Reform in the High Court, under a novel legal mechanism embedded in the UK’s GDPR data protection law.
Article 80 (1) of GDPR allows Good Law Project to represent the claimants as a group of victims of data protection infringements. Pallas is acting for Good Law Project in this challenge.
An anonymous claimant involved in this legal challenge said: “After receiving unwanted communications from Reform during early 2024, I joined this case because I believe it’s crucial to hold all organisations wholly accountable for protecting personal data.
“Reform’s data breaches highlight the importance of transparency and responsibility required in safeguarding all individuals’ privacy. This case being brought by Good Law Project is about ensuring such violations are addressed and prevented in the future.”
Jo Maugham, Executive Director of Good Law Project, added: “Big data sets give political parties the ability to micro-target different audiences with different messages in a way that can fragment, indeed divide, the audience. The right not to be targeted by a political party, and the right to know what it knows about you, are very important safeguards. And, as it will learn, Reform is not above the law.”
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And Matt Getz, Partner at Pallas Partners said: “Political parties, more than anyone, should understand the importance of respecting the rule of law.”
It appears to be the first time in the UK that a legal claim has been brought under Article 80(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This provides a new right for public interest organisations to represent victims of data protection infringements before the courts, provided they have officially nominated the organisation to take action on their behalf.
Good Law Project is the non-profit which says it “uses the law to build a fairer future”. The group took a leading role in overturning Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of parliament and in exposing the cronyism at the heart of the government’s £50bn Covid procurement.Based in London and New York, Pallas Partners LLP is an “elite litigation and disputes boutique [firm” focused on “high stakes litigation, international arbitration and investigations.”
Reform UK has been contacted for comment.
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