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MP for South Basildon Will Not Return to Reform After Covid Loan Questions

James McMurdock, the representative for South Basildon and East Thurrock, voluntarily stepped away from the Reform UK party whip in July 2025 while an inquiry into allegations related to Covid-19 business loans is ongoing.
The investigation followed a Sunday Times story alleging two businesses connected to McMurdock took Covid loans totaling £70,000, one company having no employees.
McMurdock stated that he obtained confidential professional legal counsel regarding the matter and maintained that all his business activities had been conducted lawfully and thoroughly reviewed by qualified experts.
McMurdock asked to suspend the Reform whip as a precautionary measure and decided to continue his parliamentary career as an independent to focus on constituents.
His departure makes him the second of five Reform UK MPs elected in 2024 to sit as independents, highlighting internal party challenges amid criticism of Farage's leadership.

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Commons leader Lucy Powell brutally mocks Reform UK’s vetting procedures

Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell roasted Reform UK in a statement to MPs this morning. Reform MP James McMurdock announced earlier this week that he would not seek to have the party whip restored, after The Sunday Times published an investigation raising questions about his use of covid support scheme loans. Despite former Tory chair and Boris Johnson ally Jake Berry defecting to Reform this week, she said: “This defection doesn’t mak…

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