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A Reform-backed amendment to Labour’s new elections Bill would see candidates who use the Irish language, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish face prison time.
New Clause 107 to the Representation of the People Bill – tabled by Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice and co-signed by every sitting Reform MP (including Lee Anderson, Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman) – would require all election publications material to be “in the English language or the Welsh language” only.
Publishing campaign material in any other language would become a criminal offence – punishable on summary conviction by up to six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine, and becoming an illegal practice for candidates, agents and parties.
The penalties are drafted to apply across the UK – including in Northern Ireland, where the Irish language and Ulster-Scots are protected in law and under the Good Friday Agreement designed to end the decades-long civil war.
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The ban on languages other than English or Welsh would appear to criminalise election material published in Irish, used in parts of Northern Ireland, and Scottish Gaelic – including the bilingual leaflets routinely used in constituencies such as Na h-Eileanan an Iar – while exempting Welsh.
Five of six Cornish MPs (four Labour and one Lib Dem) have signed a joint statement at the bottom of this piece, exclusively published by Byline Times, condemning Reform’s proposals.
And the Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow says it is “unbelievable” that MPs from Reform UK have tabled the amendment to the Representation of the People Bill in the House of Commons.
The Scottish National Party has also come out strongly against the proposals. SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands Maree Todd said: “This despicable anti-Scottish amendment reveals exactly what Reform really thinks of Scotland – and would threaten anyone publishing election materials in Scots or Gaelic with up to six months in prison.
“It’s not even as if this amendment was introduced by one rogue MP – it was tabled by Reform’s Deputy Leader, and co-signed by a number of their MPs.
“Reform must now do the right thing – apologise to the people of Scotland for attempting to criminalise election materials written in the Scottish languages, and immediately withdraw this outrageous amendment.”
An SNP source said “plenty of our election material would fall foul of this – lots of SNP campaign literature, especially in the Western Isles, features Gaelic, even if the materials are not written exclusively in the language, though some are.”
Lots of SNP literature also uses Scots words and phrases, with Scots identified as a distinct language under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. The UK ratified the charter in 2001.
Since there is often overlap, Reform would then presumably have to increase funding for police to identify what they deemed English versus what was Scots.
The SNP has previously offered Gaelic translations of party manifestos, something which would likely be illegal under Reform’s amendment.
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‘Plainly Discriminatory’
Sophia Smith Galer, a language expert and author of How to Kill a Language, told Byline Times the move was “plainly discriminatory.”
“It’s discriminatory not only to the other indigenous languages of the UK affected by this — the ones that aren’t English and Welsh — but also to individuals who could be publishing political literature in any of the migrant languages that also have a home here.”
She added that Reform UK wants to “frame languages as a problem, and as part of a wider problem — multiculturalism.”
“This is part of a broader vilification of languages other than English.”
Britain is a signatory to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Smith Galer said it was the defining “instrument we have that protects and promotes language diversity, and minority languages especially… They would take a very dim view of this too.”
A law like this would be “unique in Western Europe,” the linguistics journalist noted. “It’s not something any of our peers has done.”
“What’s funny is that, to police this, you’d probably need multilingual policing. You’d actually require language skills to enforce it. I don’t know if Reform were planning on creating multilingual jobs — I wouldn’t recommend this as the way to go about it — but that’s accidentally what they’ve created.”
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‘Send Anyone Using Cornish to Jail’
Noah Law, Labour MP for the Cornish seat of St Austell and Newquay, told Byline Times: “The fact that Reform would even think of tabling this amendment, just goes to show how ignorant they are to left-behind parts of the UK with their own distinct cultures and languages. They are ignorant of Cornwall”.
Speaking on behalf of Cornish party Mebyon Kernow, Cllr Loveday Jenkin said: “It is ludicrous that Reform UK are seeking to outlaw and criminalise the use of Celtic languages such as Cornish, Irish and Scottish Gaelic (as well as Romani) on election materials.
“I also find it extremely worrying that Reform MPs have such little respect for the Cornish language and the national minority status of the Cornish people. Instead of supporting one of the UK’s historic Celtic languages, they want to send anyone using Cornish on an election leaflet to jail. Madness!
“The clause is so daft that it would even ban Mebyon Kernow activists from campaigning as we would not be allowed to use our party name on election materials – as it is in Cornish.” Mebyon Kernow means ‘sons of Cornwall’ in Kernewek/Cornish.
Conservative MPs have also moved an amendment to “ban election materials published in a foreign language,” though, unlike the Reform UK amendment, it states that this “would not ban campaigning in native languages of the British Islands such as in English, Welsh, Cornish, Ulster Scots, Irish, et al. Nor would it prevent campaigning via the likes of BSL or Braille.”
Mebyon Kernow opposes any amendments to specify which languages can or cannot be used on election leaflets, saying: “All inhabitants of the UK should be able to read about party policies in the language that they speak.”
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‘Against the Good Friday Agreement’
Julian de Spáinn, Ard-Rúnaí (General Secretary) of Conradh na Gaeilge, the leading Irish language body in Ireland, told Byline Times the move was “very small minded.”
“It really is a sad reflection [on Reform] that they are not taking the official languages of the UK on board — Northern Ireland included. It goes against the Good Friday Agreement, which called for resolute action to support linguistic diversity. That was agreed by the British government and the Irish government, and you would expect that the language — now recognised in the north of Ireland — would be included in any bill going through Westminster…
“Maybe they’re simply not aware of the progress on the Irish language in the north of Ireland. I’d call on them to update their knowledge of what’s going on and to ensure they’re not taking language rights away — they should be adding to language rights. Many people have been educated through the medium of Irish; many people use Irish as a daily language in the north of Ireland. The language itself is thousands of years old and part of the heritage of these islands. It’s a language for all — it doesn’t belong to any one group.”
Irish language election materials are on the rise across Ireland, de Spáinn said. “It would be very unwelcome if [Reform] were to take away that opportunity to have the language seen more, which is what’s happening in Northern Ireland.”
“We’re seeing Irish included more in daily living… [The amendment] creates such serious legal jeopardy for people who use the language.”
“The language shouldn’t be used as a political tool. It’s a language for all… It would lead to problems in the north of Ireland if legislation like this went through. [Reform] should make themselves aware of this and make sure they don’t create conflict.”
On Monday, reports emerged that the Representation of the People Bill would be delayed until September, giving new PM Andy Burnham time to rewrite it if needed. It was due to be debated again this Tuesday (14th July).
Sophia Smith Galer added: “One sure way to stand against freedom of expression is to police language use — and that includes a multilingual person’s choice between the languages they speak. I don’t know what Reform’s justification is, but this is not the activity of a party that wants to defend free speech…
“When they have greater political power, politicians who hold myopic linguistic attitudes will try to enact legislation limiting the population’s language rights. That’s very dangerous.”
Reform UK and Richard Tice were contacted for comment.
This article has been updated to note that Scots is recognised as a distinct language under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.
Joint Statement from Five Cornwall MPs
“Reform UK has tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill that would make it a criminal offence to publish election material in Cornish, carrying a penalty of up to six months’ imprisonment.
“As five of the MPs representing Cornwall, we fundamentally disagree.
“Amendment NC107, tabled by Richard Tice MP, and backed by all Reform MPs, would permit election material to be published only in English or Welsh.
“This is a direct attack on Cornish language, identity, and culture. We Cornish MPs are exceptionally proud that in January 2026, the Government officially recognised Kernewek under Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. As a result, Kernewek now has the same status as all other Celtic languages across the UK, including Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.
“The inclusion of Welsh, and not Kernewek, in Reform’s ill-intentioned amendment is demonstrative of their complete lack of understanding of Cornwall’s unique identity and heritage.
“We will wholeheartedly oppose this amendment in Parliament.”
Signed by:
- Perran Moon MP, Camborne and Redruth (Labour)
- Noah Law MP, St Austell and Newquay (Labour)
- Jayne Kirkham MP, Truro and Falmouth (Labour)
- Anna Gelderd MP, South East Cornwall (Labour)
- Ben Maguire MP, North Cornwall (Liberal Democrat)
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