Reform UK Councillor Resigns Following Racism and Islamophobia Claims
A Reform UK councillor, Stuart Prior, who was elected last week, has resigned and been expelled from the party amid allegations of racist and Islamophobic social media posts.
Prior was among 53 Reform UK members elected to Essex County Council, securing a majority for Nigel Farage's party. In addition, Prior won a seat on Rochford District Council.
However, the week before the elections, the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate accused Prior of creating racist and Islamophobic posts on social media platforms.
The BBC attempted to contact Prior for comment. When approached by the Daily Mirror, he denied being racist.
A party source confirmed that Prior had resigned from both Rochford District Council and Essex County Council. Both councils later verified they had received notification of his resignation.
An Essex County Council spokesperson stated:
"Officers from both authorities will work together to co-ordinate by-elections, with arrangements communicated to residents as soon as possible."
Details of Allegations Against Stuart Prior
Stuart Prior is alleged to have described white people as "the master race" who have "larger brains." Hope Not Hate also reported that Prior deleted an X account named @essexpriory earlier this year, which had tweeted in November statements such as "Muslims are dirt" and "Muslims are awful, globally." He was further accused of posting that genocide could not be committed against Muslims.
Responding to these claims in an interview with the Mirror, Prior said:
"That's not what I would have put down" and "this isn't me."
Hope Not Hate is a campaigning organisation dedicated to tackling and exposing far-right hate groups.
Political Reactions and Party Response
Political opponents urged Reform UK to drop Prior as a candidate ahead of the elections held on Thursday. Reform UK stated over several days last week that the party was "looking into these posts."
Prior won the Essex County Council division of Rayleigh West with a majority of 796 votes, taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats. He also secured the Sweyne Park and the Grange seat on Rochford District Council. Reform UK won all 13 seats contested in Rochford, resulting in no single party having overall control of the council.
When asked by BBC Essex last month whether all Reform UK candidates had been vetted in Essex, Nigel Farage, the Clacton MP, said:
"I know that our candidates will be held to a higher standard than any of the other parties. That's because we are the challengers. We are the ones taking on the establishment. Yet we have done a good, thorough professional job."
Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope Not Hate, criticised Reform UK, accusing the party of:
"a systematic failure with the party's vetting."
Residents awaiting by-elections will be informed of arrangements as soon as possible by the respective councils.
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