Harborough MP faces formal complaint and potential investigation after revealing private party membership information

It follows a post made by Market Harborough resident Daniel Balderson, who expressed his concerns on Facebook about future housing developments, including a proposal for 1750 homes on the north side of town.

Hallam Land and William Davis Homes are currently consulting on proposals to develop land east of Harborough Road and south of Gallow Field Road, next to Airfield Business Park.

The plans include a three-form entry primary school, as well as proposals for land for a secondary school.

Mr Balderson confronted two Conservative councillors, Cllr David Page and Market Harborough District Council leader Cllr Simon Whelband, in a video posted on social media about these developments before criticising local MP Neil O’Brien within the same post.

The 36-year-old received criticism from the MP and other councillors for how he conducted himself during the video, including his criticism of the party and for posting it online.

But frustrations reached a tipping point after the Member of Parliament for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston revealed Mr Balderson had joined the Conservative Party “three weeks ago” within a heated exchange at around 11pm on Saturday, November 7.

The comments remain public to this day.

In the comments, Mr O’Brien said: “If you think that “under the Conservatives” everything has got worse, then why did you join the local Conservative Party three weeks ago?

“What were your honest intentions, please?”

Under UK GDPR law, membership of a political party could be classed as special category data, as it directly reveals an individual’s political opinions.

According to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), this information is considered “more sensitive”, and strict conditions govern when special category data can be processed.

This includes explicit consent, reasons of substantial public interest, and the subject’s consent to the information being made public.

Mr Balderson confirmed he would be complaining to the ICO and has also written to the Conservative Party.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mr Balderson said he had told “no-one” about his political party membership, and he did in fact rejoin the Conservative Party around that time.

He added: “I was really worried because I’ve got friends and I would lose friendships over it.

“That was my main sort of worry because I’ve got friends who are much more left-wing than I am. That’s why I didn’t tell no one about it.

“Not publicly, not privately. Nobody outside the party”.

Mr Balderson, 36, also said he has major concerns about how the MP obtained the data, including the approximate time when he joined and how that data was accessed.

He also said that he never gave explicit consent for the information to be revealed and, to his knowledge, has never made his membership of the Conservative Party public.

Mr Balderson added that much of his criticism stemmed from frustration with “issues” and “decisions” that were going to “change his home”.

He continued: “I was angry because my worries are genuine. Why are they trying to discredit me as opposed to addressing the issue and taking a stand?

“I’m not running for a political party. I’m not doing it because I want to have a career in social media.

“My kids are growing up here”.

The LDRS contacted Neil O’Brien for comment but said he would be unable to comment as a complaint against him had been lodged.

The Conservative Party was also contacted for comment but did not receive one in time for publication.

The LDRS contacted the ICO but was told it could not comment on the matter.