THE Reform UK candidate for Glasgow North has been found after concerns were raised about whether they existed.
Helen Burns has insisted “I do indeed exist” after voters could find no social media presence linking her to Reform, and she failed to campaign in the area or appear at the count on July 4, leading some to claim she was a fake name on the ballot paper.
It has since been revealed that Burns lives in the East Midlands and stood in Glasgow North as a “paper candidate” because Scotland holds a “special place in [her] heart”.
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Burns came fourth in the seat, winning 1655 votes. Labour’s Martin Rhodes was elected as MP, beating the SNP’s Alison Thewliss.
Speaking to The Telegraph from her home in Coalville – some 280 miles away from Glasgow – Burns said she “didn’t need” to visit the city ahead of the election.
“Hello, I am here and I do exist. I am a real person. All the people who stood for our party are really people,” she said.
“I stood for a constituency in Scotland as the country holds a very special place in my heart.
“We have travelled to many areas in Scotland over the past 20 years, and indeed got married in a small hunting lodge near Aviemore in 2019. This was featured in Scottish Wedding Magazine.”
Burns, who works as a PA for Reform and whose husband has “Scottish roots”, added: “A snap election had been called, and Reform, which I have officially represented since the start of the year, had hoped to have a candidate in every single constituency.
“Some hopeful candidates couldn’t stand because there wasn’t enough time to get the vetting.
“Our constituents were really upset in some areas asking why there wasn’t a Reform candidate representing them. I was a paper candidate and was given every opportunity to represent my constituency.
“But I didn’t go there, I didn’t need to. I have visited Glasgow many times in the past.”
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