A REFORM UK Scotland candidate has defended his girlfriend from cronyism allegations after she was appointed the party’s press officer.
Thomas Kerr, the party’s lead candidate in Glasgow, said his partner Aimee Alexander had got her media job with the party on her own merits.
Reform UK’s previous press officer Amanda Crawford left the role last week and Kerr insisted that Alexander was not “officially” the replacement.
But since Crawford’s departure, statements from the party have come from Alexander, who is Reform’s sixth candidate on the Glasgow list.
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Speaking to the Daily Record in Glasgow, Kerr dismissed Crawford’s departure as one of a number of “bumps in the road” for the party.
He said: “Things happen in political parties, I'm not going to get into the ins and outs of why people have came and left and whatever else. We've now got somebody else who's coming on board to help us support with the press operation that we're doing.
Big day ahead folks!
Scotland, it's time for Reform 🏴 pic.twitter.com/NefKbWttmZ— Cllr Thomas Kerr (@CllrTKerr) March 19, 2026
“We are still a new party. There will be bumps in the road that we're going to face. Internal struggles mean nothing to the people of Cranhill.”
Asked if Alexander was his girlfriend, Kerr – who previously publicly announced his engagement to another woman in 2023 – replied: “It is, indeed.”
He added: “There's no cronyism in it whatsoever. Amy's a fantastic young woman who's got her own degree in media and public relations, to try and come forward.
“She'd applied for the job. She's also a candidate standing for the party. She's not the press officer, officially, she's assisting with the press role that's happening."
A party source told the paper Alexander's appointment reeked of "cronyism".
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On whether she had applied for the role she currently held, Kerr said: “The press officer role, Amy was planning on applying for that. She then decided she wanted to be a candidate, so she stepped away from that role and now she's assistant in that role.”
The party has had a rocky start to the election campaign, having lost not only its press officer but multiple candidates with some quitting in disgrace while others claimed they had never intended to stand.
Kerr attempted to play down Reform’s chaotic performance so far, saying: “I don't see it. I see a lot of people who've thrown their toys out of the pram because they've not got positions that they wanted. That's politics. This happens in all political parties.”
He announced earlier this week that he would no longer appear at The National’s hustings.
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