Reform UK candidates standing in this week’s local elections have posted racist and Islamophobic views online, including apparent support for far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson and Nick Griffin, as well as a series of explicitly anti-Muslim, antisemitic and white supremacist messages.
The revelations, which span candidates in south-east England, Essex, the Isle of Wight, Gateshead, Norfolk, Plymouth, Sheffield, Sandwell, Bradford, and Scotland, add to growing concerns that Nigel Farage is failing to tackle extremism within his party despite his repeated claims that Reform’s vetting system is the best in British politics. Anti-racism campaign groups such as Hope Not Hate have described the issue as a “systemic failure” in the party’s candidate selection procedures.
Among those accused of “spewing hate online” is Lynn Smith, the Reform UK candidate for Blackfen and Lamorbey ward in Bexley, who was previously a UKIP councillor in the same borough between 2014 and 2018. She appears to have reposted a graphic containing a photo of a Muslim woman and the text: “hates Jews, Christians, atheists, gays, dogs, bacon, wine, beer, your civilisation, your culture, your traditions, your country, and you. Complains about islamophobia.” On X (formerly Twitter), she also posted: “Has the NHS become the new Islam, criticise at your own risk?” and “I don’t think we should have the ‘word’ islamaphobia. Wherever I look abroad at Islamic countries as a woman I am fearful for them, and am fearful of the growth of Islam here.” In a Facebook post, she shared a picture of herself using a scarf as a hijab, writing: “Thinking of becoming a Muslim just as a reason to hide my pelican neck. Then again, I couldn’t give up alcohol.” She also expressed support for Tommy Robinson, replying to a Nick Ferrari post by saying: “I used to be against Tommy [Robinson]’s methods but when the MSM are too cowardly to dig deep into radical Islam he’s now a hero for sure.” Eamonn Delaney, Reform UK Bexley chair, said he did not condone the posts but argued that Smith is an “advocate of free speech” who believes “everything had a right to be criticised.”
Mike Ferro, the Reform UK candidate for Blendon and Penhill ward in Bexley, and a former UKIP candidate for Barnehurst ward in 2018, appears to have posted on Facebook: “Am I the only person who thinks that Uran Nabiev has been harshly treated by the law”. Nabiev was a pizza delivery driver sentenced to 14 years for killing Jake Kemp and injuring John Ambler in Erith in October 2019, after driving his car into the two men when one punched his wing mirror. The incident was described in court as a “grotesque and wholly unwarranted over-reaction.” Ferro also commented on the Black Lives Matter protests, writing: “They are delighted – overjoyed – at the shocking manner of his death, and the platform it has given them to promote their odious beliefs. The irony is, these groups themselves are the new totalitarians, heirs to the Nazis…”
Matt Davis, the Reform UK candidate for Chingford Green ward in Waltham Forest, has been pictured with Nigel Farage and appears to have posted numerous hate messages on a now-deleted X account about Islam. He referred to Islam as “an evil death cult” and “evil” in dozens of messages, and also made further unpublishable comments. Davis was previously a Conservative councillor in Waltham Forest from 2002 to 2018 and worked as a manager for singer Bonnie Tyler.
Other candidates identified with extensive online activity include Stuart Prior, standing in Rayleigh West, Sweyne Park, and Grange in Essex. He allegedly posted that white people were the “master race”, that black people have smaller brains, that “there cannot be genocide against Muslims”, and used a racial slur aimed at a black man. He also wrote “Muslims don’t belong,” responded to news of a racist attack on a Punjabi heritage woman with “Good. Reap it,” and celebrated the rape of two Sikh women in the Midlands with the same phrase. He called Muslim people “rats.” Prior has repeatedly denied making these comments, insisting the account was not his and rejecting accusations of racism. Labour MPs have called for his suspension and withdrawal as a candidate.
Alan Stay, a Reform UK candidate on the Isle of Wight, shared racist and sexist messages including one that repeatedly used an explicitly racist epithet while arguing it was not a harmful word, and posted the N-word alongside pictures of golliwogs. Caroline Panetta, a Reform UK candidate in Bexley, retweeted anti-Islam comments including one suggesting Sadiq Khan wanted to turn London into “Londonstan” where women would be unsafe. Linda McFarlane, standing in Chopwell and Rowlands Gill in Gateshead, tweeted “you should all be shot” at accounts used by Keir Starmer and David Lammy, and wrote: “These Black people who feel their colour is against them. Maybe it’s because they arent good enough!!!!. These Black people need to get used to the colour of their skin You don’t hear Chinese or other ethnics pull the ‘race card’. Pathetic.” She also commented on immigrants with “Let them all drown” and called for a “white Britain” and a parliament with only white MPs.
Jason Patchett, Reform UK candidate in Hoveton and chair of the party’s North Norfolk branch, commented on a YouTube account: “Constant kowtowing to the black community is not doing us any favours. It is predominantly that demographic which is causing the issues but we’re frightened to do anything.” Ben Rowe, candidate in Ham ward, Plymouth, accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies” in YouTube comments, suggested the Covid epidemic had a “Hebrew” source, and urged protesters to throw bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots. Nathaniel Menday, candidate in Woodhouse, Sheffield, described himself as an “ethno-nationalist” and responded to a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion with: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” Jonathan James Fox, candidate in Sandwell, shared a post in 2019 stating: “People who eat bacon are less likely to blow themselves up,” described as a clear statement of hatred against Muslims. Dave McCullough, candidate in Sharston, posted an image on Facebook of a woman appearing to wear a suicide vest with the caption: “You think I’m a terrorist but I identify as a firework.”
Senga Beresford, candidate in Galloway and West Dumfries, Scotland, expressed admiration for Tommy Robinson, Enoch Powell, and Britain First. Kenneth Morton “liked” posts dismissing Covid-19 as a hoax and denying man-made climate change, as well as posts from Dmitry Medvedev and Alex Jones, who falsely claimed 22 million people died from Covid-19 vaccines and that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax. Otto Inglis reportedly called Greta Thunberg “aspergers girl.” Daniel Devaney, candidate in Clayton and Fairweather Green in Bradford, stated he wanted to “blast [Muslims] all of the face of the earth,” described Muslims as “pure scum” and claimed “We’re being invaded by potential terrorists day in day out.” James Bembridge, candidate in West End ward in Westminster, posted on X: “The rancour that the pro-NHS folk have against me will never match the visceral hatred that I have for the NHS. I don’t want reform – I want to see it torn down to the ground.” Holly Drafahl, candidate in Hoxne and Eye in Suffolk, posted on Facebook a warning about a “possibly Turkish” man flying a drone near a school, suggesting he might have been planning a terrorist attack.
The scale of the online activity raises serious questions about Reform UK’s candidate vetting process, which Nigel Farage has repeatedly claimed is the most rigorous in British politics. In June 2024 he blamed a vetting company, Vetting.com, for failing to conduct adequate background checks on candidates, claiming the party had been “stitched up.” Reform UK reportedly paid the company approximately £144,000 to vet over 400 candidates but alleged that no research was returned. Farage has also referred to problematic candidates as “bad apples” but conceded that vetting has not always been up to scratch, saying candidates are asked to “tell us the truth” and provide social media handles for checks, but acknowledged that “sometimes people lie.” A Reform UK councillor described the party’s selection process as “brutal,” claiming that “genuinely good people” were turned down due to past social media posts – a claim that contrasts with the ongoing emergence of candidates with extensive online histories of hate. Investigations have also revealed that at least three Reform candidates were previously associated with the British National Party (BNP).
Old Bexley and Sidcup Conservative MP Louie French described the comments by the three Reform candidates in his constituency as “truly shocking.” He added: “Reform selected three candidates who are spewing hate online and sharing wild conspiracy theories. I urge Reform UK to do the right thing and disown these candidates now.” Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “Reform UK claimed they had professionalised and properly vetted their candidates. These comments show that simply isn’t true. Instead we’re seeing a pattern of offensive remarks, conspiracies, and poor judgment. These aren’t the high standards they promised; it’s the exact opposite.”
A Reform spokesman said: “We are looking into these posts.”
