Reform mayor hits back at community fund complaint

Luke Campbell has faced criticism from a Lib Dem councillor after launching a £1m community fund

A Reform UK metro mayor says a complaint made about his £1m community fund is "entirely misinformed".

Olympic boxing champion and mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire Luke Campbell launched the fund last week with a website inviting locals to submit projects for consideration.

However, Lib Dem councillor Tom Astell submitted a letter of complaint questioning whether the funding had been officially approved by the Combined Authority Executive Board.

Campbell said: "As Mayor, I have the authority to launch the £1m Community Fund. Councillor Astell clearly has not read the Combined Authority constitution. All rules have been followed at all times."

In response to Astell's complaint, the Mayor's Office highlighted that the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (HEYCA) constitution was approved at its first meeting in March 2025 and it is published on the authority's website.

The response also stated that the threshold for funds which require a 'Key Decision' at the Combined Authority's Executive Board level is £1m, indicating that Campbell had not failed to follow procedures of the authority's constitution.

It went on to say that "a Decision Notice will be published in due course and brought to the attention of Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the usual way".

'Administrative error'

Astell, who is a member of HEYCA's scrutiny committee, also accused Campbell, who was elected in May 2025, of using the fund website to harvest data for Reform UK.

The Mayor's Office admitted in its response that when the website was launched it contained Reform UK branding saying: "The website provider has apologised for this administrative error and explained that it was mistakenly added by one of their engineers due to a misunderstanding. This has now been corrected."

It added that HEYCA was the Data Controller and had entered into a Data Processing Agreement with the website provider, adding: "Reform UK has no rights in the website or the survey product."

The BBC contacted Astell to ask if he was satisfied with the response to his complaint.

He said: "There are still questions to be answered, mainly around what is being compromised to allow for this £1m community fund."

A Hull City Council spokesperson said: "Hull City Council has not provided advice on, created or been in any way involved in the development of this website. The official website of the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority is https://www.hullandeastyorkshire.gov.uk."

As part of its devolution deal, HEYCA will get £13m per year over four years to invest in the region.

Campbell was elected in May 2025, becoming one of two Reform metro mayors, along with Dame Andrea Jenkyns in Greater Lincolnshire.

He won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics before embarking on a successful pro boxing career.

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