Reform candidate defects to Tories over racism row
A Reform UK election candidate has renounced the party and is now supporting the local Conservative candidate.
Liam Booth-Isherwood, who is running in Erewash, cited “significant moral issues” within parts of the party, referencing “reports of widespread racism and sexism.” He stated that the leadership’s failure to address these issues led to his decision to sever ties with the party.
Reform UK’s chairman Richard Tice alleged that Reform candidates were being offered jobs and inducements “to persuade them to speak ill of Reform, step down, and then endorse the Tory candidate,” describing the situation as “dark forces at play by desperate Tories.”
Earlier this week, the party distanced itself from two activists filmed by Channel 4 making racist and offensive remarks. Additionally, over the weekend, it disowned three candidates for other offensive comments.
In a rally in Birmingham, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage declared that his party would become the “voice of the opposition.” He criticized the prime minister, calling him “slippery Sunak,” and described Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as having the “charisma of a damp rag.”
Mr. Farage acknowledged the presence of “a few bad apples” within his party but asserted that “the bad apples are gone.” He also attacked Channel 4 and its production company for the report on Reform, which included footage of a canvasser, Andrew Parker, using a racial slur about the prime minister. Another activist, George Jones, was also recorded making offensive comments, with Reform stating that Mr. Jones is “no longer involved” in the campaign.
While addressing supporters, Mr. Farage reiterated his claim that Mr. Parker was an actor and that the Channel 4 programme was part of the “biggest put-up job and smear campaign in my entire life.”
In response to Mr. Farage’s earlier accusations, Channel 4 maintained that it stood by its “rigorous and duly impartial journalism,” noting that it met Mr. Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters and did not pay him any money.
