Judgment reserved following hearing of election petition over Runcorn & Helsby by-election

The hearing, which took place between 3 and 5 November, came after the Court of Appeal refused last month to dismiss the petition.

Graham Harry Moore - who ran as a candidate for the English Constitution Party in the by-election held on 1 May 2025 - launched the legal challenge two weeks after polling day.

Moore named the successful Reform candidate, Sarah Pochin MP, the returning officer, Stephen Young, Royal Mail and the Cheshire Police in his initial challenge.

The respondents launched an appeal, arguing that the petition should be dismissed because it failed to give information required by the Election Petition Rules 1960 and/or was not duly served.

A Divisional Court (Yip and Butcher JJ) concluded that the trial of the petition should proceed.

However, the judges did dismiss the petition as against the chief constable of Cheshire Police and the Royal Mail.

Pochin and Young subsequently appealed the Divisional Court ruling.

However, Lord Justice Newey, Lady Justice Andrews and Lord Justice Holgate dismissed their appeal in a decision handed down on 30 October, allowing the petition to proceed.

The case was heard this week by the Election Court, King's Bench Division of the High Court, sitting at the Crown Court in Chester.

Pochin received 12,645 votes in the May election, beating her Labour rival, Karen Shore, by just six votes. Moore came last out of 15 candidates.

Moore’s election petition, published on the English Constitution Party website, says amongst other things that he received "exactly 50 votes" despite there being widespread support for him and his having participated prior to the by-election in live interviews with a number of major social media accounts. "This amount of local social media support does not tally with 50 votes."

It also says that Moore received exactly 50 votes when he ran in the 2016 Tooting by-election.

On this point, it states: "The probability of receiving exactly 50 votes in two unrelated parliamentary elections, nine years apart, in separate constituencies under councils controlled by mainstream parties (Labour and Conservative) protecting the status quo, is not just strange but impossible."

Moore's petition calls on the court to declare the by-election result void and for a recount of every individual ballot to take place.

It also requests that the court "show the people the exact ballot votes, providing the electorate with a true picture of the result".

A crowdfunding campaign supporting Moore's legal bid has raised £35,000.

Adam Carey