A Reform UK candidate standing in the upcoming local elections in Essex has been accused of celebrating the rape of two Sikh women in the West Midlands, prompting calls from Labour MPs for his immediate suspension. Stuart Prior, who is standing for Rayleigh West on Essex County Council and Sweyne Park and Grange on Rochford District Council, is alleged to have responded to a social media post about the attacks with the words “Good. Reap it”.
The post in question was made in October by Zarah Sultana, the former Labour MP, who wrote: “These horrifying attacks show how racism and misogyny feed each other – fuelled by the rise of fascism and hate.” Sultana was referring to the separate rapes of two Sikh and Punjabi women in their twenties, one in Walsall and one in Oldbury. Last week, John Ashby, 32, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 13.5 years for the religiously aggravated rape and assault of the woman in Walsall. The attack was described as Islamophobic — Ashby wrongly believed his victim was Muslim and directed anti-Muslim abuse at her. The case has been noted as potentially the first in England for a religiously motivated rape conviction.
Alleged racist comments spanning months
Prior’s alleged remark on Sultana’s post is one of dozens of inflammatory messages uncovered by a joint investigation by the Mirror and the anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate. Investigators said the comments were made on an X account that has since been deleted, but which they were able to attribute to Prior through personal images he had posted, including of his house and dog. Among the alleged statements: Prior described white people as the “master race”, called Muslim people “rats”, suggested black people have smaller brains, wrote that “Muslims don’t belong”, referred to immigrants as “cancer”, and used a racial slur aimed at a black man. In one exchange, responding to a tweet about white women wearing braids, Prior reportedly wrote: “As the master race, they can do as they please.” In another, he claimed: “There cannot be genocide against Muslims.”
When approached by a reporter from the Mirror, Prior denied making any of the comments and rejected accusations of racism. He said he did not recall the “master race” tweet and claimed the account was not his. Regarding the rape comment, he stated: “No, this isn’t me.” His address is listed as 69 High Road, Hockley, Essex. Prior is standing in the local elections scheduled for 7 May 2026.
Joe Mulhall, Hope Not Hate’s director of research, described Prior as “one of the worst” of the racist and extreme Reform candidates the group has found.
MPs demand Reform act
Four Labour MPs representing the Sandwell area — Sarah Coombes, Antonia Bance, Gurinder Singh Josan and Alex Ballinger — have written to Ray Nock, Reform UK’s leader in Sandwell, demanding he condemn the alleged comments and call for Prior’s withdrawal. “The community in Sandwell was shaken to its core last year after a Sikh woman was raped in a racially aggravated attack. It has now emerged that a Reform candidate in Essex, Stuart Prior, has celebrated this attack,” the letter reads. “Will you, as the leader of the Reform party in Sandwell, condemn this disgusting behaviour and will you write to Nigel Farage requesting Stuart Prior be immediately withdrawn as a Reform party candidate?”
The MPs also raised concerns about a second Reform candidate, Jonathan James Fox, who is standing in Sandwell. The HuffPost reported in April that Fox had shared a post in 2019 stating: “People who eat bacon are less likely to blow themselves up.” The MPs described this as a “clear statement of hatred against Muslims”. Fox is also reported to have shared a quote from Enoch Powell and a picture of the former Conservative MP. The four Labour MPs called on Nock to withdraw Fox’s candidacy as well.
In response, Reform UK said it was “thoroughly investigating the allegations” and that the cases involving Prior and Fox were with the party’s disciplinary team.
The controversy is the latest in a series of incidents that have raised questions about Reform UK’s candidate vetting process. Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, has repeatedly insisted that vetting procedures have improved since the general election. However, a report from Hope Not Hate suggests that the party’s “common sense” vetting approach — previously described by Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf as “the best” in the country — has proven “completely inadequate”. Yusuf stated in March that candidates are asked to “tell us the truth” and provide social media handles for checks, but acknowledged that “sometimes people lie”. Earlier, in June 2024, Farage criticised Vetting.com, a company Reform paid approximately £144,000 to vet over 400 candidates, claiming the firm “failed to return any research”.
Hope Not Hate has highlighted a pattern of problematic candidates. Last week, the group drew attention to a Reform candidate who called for a “white Britain” and said Keir Starmer should be shot. Another candidate, Linda McFarlane, tweeted “you should all be shot” at accounts used by Keir Starmer and David Lammy. Three Reform candidates were expelled earlier this year after a joint investigation by Hope Not Hate and the Mirror revealed historical links to the British National Party: David Prior (Saltwell ward, Gateshead), George Parnell (Fleet Town and Hart’s Fleet Central, Hampshire), and John Black (Little Harwood & Whitebirk, Blackburn with Darwen). Other past scandals include candidates expressing Islamophobic views, praising fascist leaders like Oswald Mosley, and making racist remarks. One candidate, Derek Bullock, was reportedly disciplined twice by the Conservatives for alleged offensive or racist comments. In July 2024, questions were raised about some Reform candidates who stood without providing photos, biographies, or contact details; the party acknowledged some were “paper candidates” who did no campaigning.
Reform UK has won significant electoral ground, taking control of 10 councils and securing 677 seats in the May 2025 local elections. But the party has also seen a notable number of councillor suspensions, expulsions, and resignations since then. For Prior, the local elections on 7 May will determine whether he will represent Rayleigh West on Essex County Council and Sweyne Park and Grange on Rochford District Council — if his candidacy survives the disciplinary process now under way.
