Reform UK may breach data laws with free energy bills competition

Experts say Nigel Farage’s party is not being transparent about how it will use data it collects on people’s voting habits Reform UK risks breaching data protection laws with its competition to win free energy bills for a year, lawyers and data experts have warned. Nigel Farage announced the lottery on Tuesday as a way to advertise his latest policy to cut energy bills. The Reform leader encouraged British people to sign up via a website for a chance to have their energy bills paid for a year, as well as those of their entire street. To enter the competition, however, entrants have to disclose not only their name, email and telephone number, but also how they voted at the last election and how they intend to vote at the next one – something experts warned could be unlawful. Mariano delli Santi, legal and policy officer at Open Rights Group, a campaign for digital rights, said: “Reform are asking the public to hand over sensitive data about their voting habits without being transparent about how it will be used.” Delli Santi said this appeared to be a clear breach of transparency obligations under UK data protection law. He added: “Political opinions are among the most sensitive typ