Reform UK councillor sues NHS for "political discrimination"

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

12 August 2026

Daniel Matchett, a former mental health nurse who is currently serving as a Reform UK councillor on Lancashire County Council, has launched legal proceedings against the NHS claiming "political discrimination". This follows a disciplinary investigation brought against him for appearing in his uniform in a Reform UK campaign video on social media.

For more than a decade, Mr Matchett worked as a mental health nurse in the National Health Service before standing for election as the Reform UK candidate for Whitworth and Bacup.

Mr Matchett was accused of breaching his NHS trust's social media policies by filming part of the video on trust premises in his uniform. The investigation was launched a day after the video was posted and was closed three months later, with no further action taken.

"I am bringing this case because I do not believe the video was ever really the issue. My case is that what was under investigation were my beliefs and that the process itself was the punishment."

"Equality before the law has to mean the same thing for everybody, or it means nothing. I am bringing this case so that the next nurse who puts their name on a ballot paper does not have to think twice about it."

The video was eventually edited by Mr Matchett, who removed the eight-second segment filmed on the NHS trust site.

Mr Matchett was elected to Lancashire County Council last year and was subsequently appointed Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing. He is now taking the fight to the NHS, claiming that he was discriminated against on the basis of his political beliefs.

This case forms part of a growing trend that the Free Speech Union has noticed, with candidates and elected officials under the Reform UK banner being targeted by employers or subjected to a series of vexatious complaints once in office.

Elliot Hammer, a lawyer at Branch Austin McCormick who is representing Mr Matchett, said: "Daniel's case will be an important case exploring belief discrimination, especially in a party political context."

The Free Speech Union will be following this case closely.

Read more in The Telegraph.