Luke Campbell - Mayor of Hull & East Yorkshire | Reform Watch
Profile and accountability tracker for Luke Campbell, Mayor of Hull & East Yorkshire. Reform UK.
Role: Mayor of Hull & East Yorkshire
Party: Reform UK
Recorded incidents (showing 1-6 of 6)
Under police investigation over claims he showed a female colleague naked images of himself
Category: inappropriate behaviour
Reports published on 17 October 2026 said Mayor Luke Campbell is under investigation by Humberside Police over an allegation that he showed a senior female member of staff at the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority four "naked and sexualised" images of himself on a computer in May 2026. According to employment tribunal documents, the woman said she was left "shocked, embarrassed and humiliated" and was forced out of her job within three weeks. The Observer reported that Campbell had been interviewed under caution. He has not been arrested or charged. Reform UK said Campbell "firmly denies the allegations". Nadine Dorries later claimed the images came from a public photoshoot. The leader of Hull City Council has called on Campbell to step aside as mayor while the police investigation continues.
Sources: https://metro.co.uk/2026/10/17/reform-mayor-luke-campbell-investigated-showing-colleague-naked-pictures-himself-29717587/ https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/luke-campbell-firmly-denies-cyber-11203812 https://www.thehullstory.com/allarticles/council-leader-calls-on-mayor-campbell-to-step-aside-during-police-investigation https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/40719892/luke-campbell-probe-naked-photo-colleague/
Taxpayer-funded community fund he set up gave £5,000 to his son's football club
Category: conflict of interest
The i Paper reported on 1 April 2026 that Hessle Rangers, a grassroots football club where one of Mayor Luke Campbell's sons plays, received £5,000 from the £1m community fund he set up after taking office. At that point five projects had received a total of £30,000 from the taxpayer-funded pot in almost eight months. A video posted on Campbell's personal Facebook page showed him signing a cheque to the club and describing the money as coming from "my community fund". Residents quoted by the paper questioned the transparency of the award. Campbell's office said he "recognises that, as a local resident, there may sometimes be potential conflicts of interest" and said he "doesn't decide which groups receive funding".
Sources: https://inews.co.uk/news/reform-mayor-charity-funddonated-sons-football-team-4326153
Missed two meetings between metro mayors and cabinet ministers with no reason given
Category: other
The Yorkshire Post reported on 28 March 2026 that Luke Campbell had missed the two most recent meetings of the Mayoral Council of England, the quarterly forum where metro mayors meet senior ministers to discuss policy and regional funding. He did not attend the Liverpool meeting on 4 December 2025 with local government secretary Steve Reed and chief secretary to the Treasury James Murray, nor the Bristol meeting on 19 March 2026. The other three Yorkshire mayors attended the March meeting. Asked why, a combined authority spokesperson said only that "the mayor is fully committed to championing the interests of Hull and East Yorkshire" and that his priority had been establishing the authority. The paper noted he is paid £72,000 a year to represent about 600,000 people, and said in a subsequent leader column that the absence of any meaningful explanation "reeks of an absence of accountability".
Sources: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/reforms-luke-campbell-criticised-for-missing-two-mayoral-council-meetings-6490770 https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/why-has-the-mayor-of-hull-and-east-yorkshire-luke-campbell-been-missing-in-action-6474017
Told an MP he had no time to discuss a delayed scheme helping disabled people into work
Category: other
The Hull Story reported on 26 February 2026 that Hull Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson spent a week trying to arrange a private call with Mayor Luke Campbell about the launch of the government's Connect to Work programme, which supports people with disabilities, long-term health conditions and complex needs into employment. After being asked by the mayor's office to submit an outline of what she wanted to discuss, she was told the mayor had no time in his diary "for the next few weeks". She then wrote a joint open letter with fellow Hull MPs Emma Hardy and Karl Turner, saying: "Given the urgency of the situation that we describe below, we have decided to write to you jointly, formally and openly." The letter cited delays in mayoral decision-making over employment support funding now devolved to the combined authority, including the Exploring Opportunities Partnership, which funds 13 local organisations.
Sources: https://www.thehullstory.com/allarticles/mayor-campbell-work-programme-delays
Accused of breaking his promise of a £1m community fund every year
Category: factual inaccuracy
In August 2025 Luke Campbell announced a flagship community fund, saying in a video: "This is £1 million every year for the next four years." At a meeting of the combined authority's Overview and Scrutiny Committee, reported by the Yorkshire Post on 25 January 2026, Hull City Councillor Jack Haines pointed out that the fund appears only in the 2025/26 budget and not in the medium term financial plan for 2026/27, 2027/28 or 2028/29. The authority's interim director of finance confirmed the decision had been taken for year one only, so the scheme's success could be measured before any renewal. Campbell was accused of going back on the commitment made when the scheme was launched.
Asked five senior officials to resign amid claims of a toxic working environment
Category: intimidation bullying
The Telegraph reported on 7 August 2025 that Luke Campbell, elected Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire in May 2025, had asked five senior staff at the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority to resign, in a dispute over their performance and his management style. Campbell said officials had been "blocking" his agenda since his election, were working from home and trying to "get paid a fortune and do as little as possible". The newspaper reported counter-allegations against the mayor, including that he had tried to book first-class train tickets on expenses, organised an office move without following official rules and created a "toxic working environment" for staff. Those allegations are the accounts of the officials reported by the Telegraph and have not been established by any published investigation.