Reform UK has suspended two of its candidates ahead of the upcoming local elections, just weeks before voting day. One candidate was dropped for making racist comments on social media, while the other found himself in hot water for defending the notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile.
🚨 Farage’s Bold Claims Fall Flat
Despite numerous vetting scandals surrounding his party, Nigel Farage confidently boasted about Reform UK’s “rigorous” vetting process last month.
In an interview on GB News, Farage proudly declared, “We’ve been vetting, I bet, to a standard that no other party has ever done before for local council elections.”
However, his claims have quickly unravelled.
🏛️ Suspended for Defending Savile
Steve Hartley, an Oxfordshire candidate, was suspended after he made a series of shocking comments about Jimmy Savile. Hartley referred to the convicted paedophile as an “innocent man” and a “working-class hero”, even calling him a “role model”.
On X (formerly Twitter), Hartley said in 2022: “The established elite don’t like a self-made man, a working-class hero. Saville was one, Putin is another. So they make up horrible lies about them and let the media do the rest.”
His comments drew widespread outrage, with Hartley later doubling down in an interview, insisting, “I stand by my claims that Jimmy Savile was a working-class hero. These allegations were never proven and really how it came out after his death was the worst thing.”
💥 Anti-Muslim Comments Spark Another Suspension
The second suspension followed the discovery of anti-Muslim posts by Reform UK’s Buckinghamshire candidate, Miriam Thomas.
The Mirror uncovered posts where Thomas referred to Islam as a “false religion” and claimed that Muslims were trying to impose Sharia law in the UK.
🤯 Reform’s Vetting Process in Question
In a strange twist, Farage had previously blamed his party’s vetting company for allowing candidates with offensive views to stand. Just a month ago, Reform UK appointed a candidate who had praised Hitler and Bashar al-Assad to oversee the vetting process.
It’s safe to say their ‘rigorous’ vetting system is far from foolproof.
🛑 Farage’s Promises Don’t Add Up
Despite Farage’s claims that Reform UK was leading the charge on vetting standards, these suspensions paint a very different picture. The party’s vetting process seems to be missing a few important checks—specifically when it comes to candidates’ social media histories.
In other words, while “Reform will fix it” might be their slogan, it’s clear their own vetting system is in need of some serious work.
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