
A bereaved widower received a simulated letter from his late wife asking her to cast a Tory ballot, and the Conservatives have now apologized to him.
After Paul Hutchence’s wife Mariann passed away in June from breast cancer, he was distraught by the “appalling” letter that the Tories sent her in the last days of the general election campaign. Mariann was from Melksham in Wiltshire.
The incident arose when the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) sent letters to some voters as if they were 20 years into the future, posing as the receiver and warning of a Labour supermajority.
“Dear Marianne, yes, it’s me,” read the July 3 letter sent to the deceased wife. The letter implied that it was July 2044, a full two decades after “her” Reform vote. The letter was said to inform her of the outcome.
The letter expressed dismay at the “Labour super-majority for the last two decades,” stating that Sir Keir Starmer was responsible for tax increases and the right to vote for prisoners and immigrants.
A month and a day after Mrs. Hutchence passed away from breast cancer—a disease that had returned numerous times since 2020—the ill-timed letter arrived.
Mr. Hutchence saw the letter as “shabby.”
The letter’s contents were terrible and caused him distress at a time when he was mourning, he added, adding that CCHQ would not have been aware of his wife’s death since her name had been removed from the electoral list. She was 68 years old, so it was quite improbable that she would still be alive in 20 years.
Although he had previously been a devoted Conservative supporter, he became so irritated by the letter’s unintended consequence that he cast his ballot for Reform.
During his wife’s final two years of life, Mr. Hutchence provided full-time care. He said that he brought up the matter with a local canvasser, who informed him that the candidate in his area had not approved these letters.
Michelle Donelan, a former secretary of state, lost her seat representing Melksham and Devizes to the Liberal Democrats by 2,401 votes, according to a former Conservative voter.
Much of the credit for this goes to the 6,726 individuals who supported Reform, including Mr. Hutchence.