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    "headline": "Reform UK officials step down after alleged electoral law breach",
    "dek": "Two Reform UK officials stepped down pending an investigation into alleged foreign funding of political polling.",
    "prose": "Two senior members of the Reform UK party stepped down temporarily on Friday after an undercover investigation alleged they arranged for a foreign donor to pay for political polling. [^1]\n\nChannel 4 broadcast an investigation stating that two senior figures in Reform UK arranged for a U.S. company to pay more than £30,000 for three opinion polls commissioned by the party. [^2]\n\nJames Orr, Reform's head of policy and one of the officials filmed, said in a video on X that Reform had not been involved in commissioning the poll. [^3]\n\nReform UK denied any wrongdoing and stated it was the victim of a hoax perpetrated by climate activists. [^4]\n\nThe governing Labour Party wrote to the police asking them to investigate possible criminal offences, including an alleged proposal to channel a larger overseas donation through a UK intermediary. [^5]",
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      "thread_label": "The Electoral Commission",
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