13APR

Candidate database hits 99.97% ahead of vote

1 min read

16:52UTC

Democracy Club's candidate database reached near-total coverage three weeks before polling day, completing the data infrastructure for the 7 May elections.

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Key takeaway

Democracy Club completed candidate data for 3,073 of 3,074 areas, locking in the 7 May picture.

Democracy Club entered candidates for 3,073 of 3,074 areas (99.97%), up from 86% on 10 April. The volunteer-driven ingestion closed the remaining 14 percentage points in three days following the completion of English and Welsh Statement of Persons Nominated publication.

The completed database locks in the candidate picture for the 7 May elections. Cross-referencing against Reform UK's spending records and candidate attrition patterns across nations is now viable for the first time. The single missing area is a rounding artefact, not a data gap.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Democracy Club is a small charity that gathers information about election candidates across the UK and makes it available as open data. Before Statements of Persons Nominated (the official lists of candidates) are published by returning officers, the candidate database contains almost nothing. By 13 April 2026, Democracy Club had information on candidates in 3,073 of the 3,074 areas holding elections on 7 May. This near-total coverage matters because it is the primary source for voter information tools: websites and apps that tell you who is standing in your area rely on this database. The jump from 86% on 10 April to 99.97% on 13 April happened as the official candidate nominations were published across England and Wales.

What could happen next?

Opportunity
The completed candidate database enables cross-party analysis of candidate demographics, prior criminal convictions, and affiliation patterns that Reform UK's cold-calling recruitment story makes directly relevant.

Sources:Democracy Club

Mentions:Democracy Club →Wales →Reform UK →

First Reported In

Update #3 · Both flanks fracture

Democracy Club· 13 Apr 2026

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Causes and effects

Caused by

Candidate Database Jumps From 2.6% to 86% in Three Days

Democracy Club's 86% coverage on 10 April continued to near-total completion by 13 April, finalising the candidate picture.

Occurred 10 Apr 2026

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This Event

Candidate database hits 99.97% ahead of vote

Complete candidate data across 3,073 of 3,074 areas enables cross-referencing of party slates, spending records and attrition patterns ahead of polling day.

Different Perspectives

Rhun ap Iorwerth / Welsh Government (Plaid Cymru)

Ap Iorwerth presented six priorities to the Senedd on 22 September without numeric targets or a named partner party, promising to work across the chamber where there is common ground. He says his government will be judged on results.

Michael Marra / Scottish Labour

Marra won the leadership on 19 September, and three days later his 17 MSPs backed Swinney's right-to-decide motion once their child-poverty amendment was written in. He says Scottish Labour's task is to tell voters what it stands for.

Andy Burnham / Labour Party

Burnham told conference in Liverpool on 29 September that Labour's next manifesto will commit to changing the electoral system, and invited every party into a National Commission on Electoral Reform. He has not named a replacement system, and no chair or remit has been published.

Conservative Party (frontbench peers and Kemi Badenoch)

Conservative frontbench peers argued against retrospective rules at the Lords Second Reading on 14 September, a position that protects gifts made before any cap. Kemi Badenoch rejected Burnham's electoral reform commission on 2 October, accusing him of using it to entrench the left.

Reform UK

Reform denied wrongdoing after the Channel 4 News programme, called the sting a hoax by climate activists and said it would cooperate with the Metropolitan Police. In the same month it announced £36m gifts from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.

Steff Aquarone / Liberal Democrats (North Norfolk)

Aquarone told Rayner in the Commons on 7 September that North Norfolk District Council had spent money preparing for a reorganisation the Government has now withdrawn. He puts the cost of the cancelled merger on districts in the four areas.