A candidate for Reform UK in the upcoming council elections next month has faced disciplinary action from the Conservative Party twice due to alleged offensive or racist remarks. Additionally, another candidate has been found to share conspiracy theories regarding Covid-19, as the final list of candidates has been made public.
On May 7, over 5,000 council positions across England will be contested, along with several mayoral positions and elections for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, presenting a significant challenge for all major political parties.
Following the closure of nominations at 4 PM on Thursday, councils began releasing their confirmed candidate lists on Friday. Reform UK claims to have candidates in more than 95% of the available seats, roughly matching the number from Labour. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, stated that the party has strengthened its vetting processes.
Derek Bullock, a former Conservative and a candidate for Bolton council, was suspended from the Conservative Party following accusations of posting a racist comment about individuals of Pakistani descent on Facebook. Bullock contends that the screenshots of the comment are manipulated.
During his candidacy as a Conservative in 2023, Bullock faced scrutiny when posts from the time of the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack surfaced, in which he allegedly employed a racial slur and suggested violent actions against individuals of Pakistani heritage. The Conservatives renounced his candidacy, leading Bullock to run as an independent, where he was successful. Previously, in 2020, he had been subject to internal discipline from the Conservatives for allegedly sharing an anti-Islam article on social media.
A spokesperson for Reform said, “Mr. Bullock has always firmly claimed that this image is fake and has reported this resurfaced material to the authorities. He is a respected member of his community and currently serves as a trustee for the Asian Elders’ Resource Centre in Bolton.”
In a separate instance, the party noted that Glenda Hall, a candidate for Sunderland council, has a Facebook page that includes a video promoting Covid conspiracy theories and a blog post that characterizes Afghan men as “sexual predators.”
In 2020, Hall shared what she referred to as an “interesting video” questioning whether Covid was the “hoax of the century,” produced by notorious conspiracy theorist Vernon Coleman. Coleman has labeled the pandemic as the “greatest fraud in human history,” alleging it was an exaggerated scare orchestrated by influential families and groups.
Last year, Hall promoted a Substack article that characterized Afghan men as “sexual predators,” suggesting that reports of their murder by Western forces might be “wishful thinking” stemming from a negative perception of their behavior. She added, “Personally, I hope they were true.”
Reform has yet to comment on Hall’s candidacy. Anna Turley, chair of the Labour Party, condemned Hall’s comments as “utterly deplorable.”
“Nigel Farage has consistently boasted about Reform’s vetting procedures,” Turley stated. “Once again, his party is disrespecting voters by endorsing individuals who are completely unsuitable for public office. Farage must urgently denounce these abhorrent remarks and remove these candidates from Reform.”
Forecasts suggest that Reform UK may gain ground in several councils, as well as in Scotland and Wales. In contrast, Labour and the Conservatives are expected to face significant losses, while the Greens aim to secure additional seats, buoyed by a rise in polling under Zack Polanski, the party’s leader in England and Wales since September.
On Friday evening, the Greens announced that they have candidates in 89% of the contested local council seats in England, a significant increase compared to previous elections, where their highest participation was 72% last year.
Earlier in the week, the Greens gained a seat from Reform on Kent council, often regarded as Reform’s “flagship” administration, following a by-election triggered by the incarceration of a sitting Reform councillor for controlling or coercive behavior towards his spouse.
