In the last months I’ve been writing a series of articles for Byline Times about the Brexit Party. Last week I filed two pieces about the selection process for potential MPs and questions around the fee that has to be paid for the online application. Since then a number of registered supporters and activists have approached me with concerns. This email from a woman I have called Anna sums up how many are feeling and I reproduce it here with her permission in full (although I have made two small changes to protect her identity). If this email is indicative of wider feeling among Brexit Party activists who have been fobbed off by Farage, Tice and their cronies – the party has a major problem.

Hi Otto,

I am another qualified and experienced potential candidate who was summarily rejected by Tice’s mass email. I’m a professional, intelligent woman with a strong connection to a key Brexit Party target constituency, but I didn’t get an interview.

I became concerned a couple of weeks ago when I heard that interviews were due to conclude so I started to chase up my application – all my emails were acknowledged by the general enquiries team who told me they had passed them on to the Candidate team who then completely ignored me.

When I found your bylinetimes pieces (5th and 10th July), they made a lot of sense so I highlighted them to a Brexit Party Contact and a mate of Nigel I’d met on the campaign trail. Neither were interested (but Nigel’s crony got an interview…). I then sent a further email to the Candidate selection team, requesting specific reasons why I had not been interviewed given the strength of my case – this time I didn’t even get an acknowledgement.

All the elements of a contract seem to be present in the Brexit Party open offer to candidates (offer, acceptance and £100 consideration) so we should get what we paid for or they risk breaching contract. However, I’ve just checked my Statutory Credit Report and no checks have been made, I sincerely doubt whether my application received more than a cursory glance.

Are you aware that all applicants were strongly advised to help campaign in Peterborough, the inducement being that it would greatly help our chances of being selected? Yet no record was ever taken other than the general sign-in. Everyone I met in Peterborough was an applicant, keen to improve their chances and all at our own expense.

Farage emailed us all on the 8th July with the same fake promise if we went to Brecon for the by-election, despite selection having more or less concluded.

When the 650 are revealed, I expect they will consist of rich, mostly male businessmen, minor celebrities and lots of ex-UKIP cronies of Nigel – with the odd working class stereotype thrown in. If 50% aren’t female (as I expect) it won’t be due to a lack of suitable applicants… These people will be allocated constituencies where they have tenuous connections and they will expect to be adored. I doubt my fellow Northerners will be duped for too long. So much for changing politics for good!

I’m still a dedicated Leaver but I won’t be helping the Brexit Party again. I hope that fellow rejectees who believe they’ve been misled will use all that energy, passion and intellect to expose the elitism and cronyism at the heart of Nigel’s organisation.

I do hope you won’t mind me remaining anonymous for the moment and I sincerely thank you for your expose. Could you please acknowledge receipt and do keep up the good work!

Warm regards,

Anna P.