One notable moment in the BBC election coverage was when they had the Reform guy in the studio. He said they had employed an agency to do background checks on candidates, but they let them down.
Reminded me that ChangeUK (remember them?) said a similar thing when they had a few dodgy candidates.
So what's going on with these agencies? Are they too old and out of touch to realise they have to check through Twitter history and Facebook likes? Or is the trouble that they're being asked to review hundreds of CVs with just a few weeks timescale? CRB checks take longer.
This is a new opportunity for the old job of Inquiry Agent. Like Frank Marker in "Public Eye", except with a new mission instead of the old divorce and credit check work that would have dried up in the late 70s if he'd carried on.
Instead of cynical old loners, this would be an ideal job for Gen Z and other "digital natives" who know where to rummage around for the dodgy opinions and how to connect up alt-identities.
Seems to me it was Reform caught on the hop for failing to predict the end of a five year parliament would come somewhere around five years after the start of the parliament. £300 for a serious background check seems like pretty good value, just no time for them to be run.
