The Huffington Post
Nigel Farage leader of Reform UK speaks at a press conference in London, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Dozens of candidates standing for Reform UK in next month’s council elections have been accused of posting offensive content online. Labour has produced a dossier containing social media posts by 45 of those standing for the party on May 7. They include Alan Stay, who is standing for election to the Isle of Wight council, and posted the N-word and pictures of golliwogs. Angus Dalgeish, standing for Sutton council, claimed King Charles’s and Princess of Wales’s cancers were caused by the Covid vaccines. A candidate for Sefton council, Jay Cooper. shared social media posts alleging “ultimate” proof the 9/11 terror attacks were fake. The dossier also includes the revelations from HuffPost UK last week about a series of candidates. Janine Crook, who is standing in Darwen East, wrote on Facebook in November 2021: “I partly agree but in my area Aussie is used in a friendly manner and ‘P***’ used as an insult. I do think that is the problem.” Reform’s Barnsley candidate Theresa Arnold said people supporting Ukraine’s war efforts should feel like “mugs” and compared Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a Nazi – which is a Kremlin talking point. Reform’s candidate for Sandwell, Bob Jones, is part of an anti-Nato Facebook group which claims the UK and the US opened the gates for “radical Islam”. Ricky Hodges, who is standing for Reform in Hastings, joked about shooting outside No.10 and claimed “Islam is a cancer”. Jonathan James Fox, standing for Reform in Sandwell, posted an image of bacon on Facebook in 2019, along with the caption: “People who eat bacon are less likely to blow themselves up.” Meanwhile, Dave McCullough – who is standing for Reform 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.” Labour’s dossier, ‘Reform Revealed: The People Behind Farage’, has been published two weeks before voters across the UK go to the polls. Communities secretary Steve Reed called on Nigel Farage to sack the Reform candidates in it. He said: “Reform’s rogues’ gallery of wrong’uns are not fit for public office. “The idea that Nigel Farage thinks these candidates pushing vile racism, misogyny and conspiracy theories are suitable, is frankly staggering. “It’s an insult to the public that Farage put these people forwards to stand in the first place, but it’s a dereliction of duty that he hasn’t condemned them nor pulled his support for them. “From Swindon to Sunderland, these dangerous and extreme council candidates need to be shunned. The risk to communities is real and it’s only Labour that can stop them.” Opinion polls suggest Reform are on course to make major gains in English councils as well as in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd. Reform UK has been approached for comment. Subscribe to Commons People , the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster. Related... Exclusive: Farage Urged To Sack Reform Candidate Who Called Zelenskyy 'A Nazi' Reform MP Lee Anderson Thrown Out Of Commons After Accusing Starmer Of 'Lying' Nigel Farage Slammed Over Reform UK's 'Cruel' Plan For Mass Deportations
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