- author, Harry Farley
- role, Political reporter
Reform UK election candidates have disavowed the party and are instead backing local Conservative candidates.
Liam Booth Isherwood, who is standing for Erewash, said there were “serious moral issues” within parts of the party following “reports of widespread racism and sexism”.
He added that he no longer wanted to be associated with the party because the party leadership had failed to address the issue.
Reform UK chairman Richard Tice claimed Reform candidates were being offered jobs and incentives to “persuade them to badmouth Reform, resign and then support the Conservative candidate”.
“There are dark forces at work, driven by desperate Conservatives,” he said.
Earlier this week the party distanced itself from two activists who were seen in a Channel 4 video making what were deemed racist and offensive comments.
On the same day, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage spoke at a rally in Birmingham, saying his party would be the “voice of opposition”.
He called the Prime Minister a “sly Mr Sunak” and said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has the “charisma of a wet rag”.
Mr Farage acknowledged there had been “a few bad people” in his party but insisted “the bad people are gone”.
But he also attacked Channel 4 and the production company it used to make a report on the reforms, which included footage of one of the network’s campaigners, Andrew Parker, making racist comments about the Prime Minister.
Another activist, George Jones, was also filmed making offensive remarks. The Reform Party said Mr Jones was “no longer involved in the party’s election activities”.
Addressing supporters, Mr Farage repeated his claims that Mr Parker was an actor and that the Channel 4 programme was part of “the biggest fabrication and smear campaign of my life”.
In response to a similar attack from Mr Farage on Friday, Channel 4 said it was committed to “rigorous and fair journalism”, adding that it first met Mr Parker at Reform UK party headquarters but had not paid him any money.
In a statement, Mr Parker said: “If my personal views have caused any harm to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party or brought them into disrepute, that was not my intention and I wish to apologise deeply.”
The BBC has contacted Mr Jones for comment.
In a statement on Sunday, Booth-Isherwood said she was leaving the Reform Party and would stop campaigning “with immediate effect.”
“During the general election campaign in Erewash I campaigned alongside many genuine, honest and hard-working people, but reports of widespread racism and sexism within the Reform Party have revealed serious moral problems among certain elements within the party.
“The failure of the party leadership not only to take this issue seriously but also to address the root causes makes it clear that this is no longer a party I want to be associated with.”
He said he was supporting Conservative candidate Maggie Throop, saying “she’s the only one who can stop Labour.”
Booth-Isherwood has suspended her campaign but will still run as the Reform Party candidate because it is too late to change her ballot paper.
Responding to Liam Booth-Isherwood’s decision, the Conservative party said in a statement: “We know that a vote for reform is a vote for Keir Starmer.”
He added: “If 130,000 voters like him, who are currently considering voting Reform or the Liberal Democrats, voted Conservative, it would be enough to stop Labour winning a supermajority.”
Following the Channel 4 report, Mr Farage appeared on the BBC’s Question Time Leaders Special, where he was faced with a number of hostile questions about racism within the party.
Mr Farage then claimed the BBC had “rigged” the programme by using “hand-picked” viewers.
A BBC spokesman said it “denies these allegations”, adding that the audience was “made up of roughly equal representation from Reform UK and the Green Party, with some representation from other political parties”.
“There were also many people with different political views who had not yet made up their minds.”
Mr Farage stepped up his criticism of the BBC on Sunday, accusing it of “abusing its position of power” and becoming a “political actor” in the election.
His supporters erupted in cheers when he said his party would campaign to abolish the licence fee.
When Mr Sunak called the election on May 22, Mr Farage initially said he would not stand as an MP.
However, he later changed his mind and said he would not only run as a candidate but would take over as leader of the Reform Party.
Addressing enthusiastic supporters in Birmingham, Trump said he “cannot sit on the sidelines” while the campaign is underway.
He said he did not expect his party to win many seats on Thursday, but called the election a “first big step” towards creating a “mass movement.”
Earlier, Mr Farage had dismissed claims that Russia may have meddled in the election as “nonsense”.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said it had identified five Facebook pages with a combined 190,000 followers that promoted the Kremlin’s views and sometimes posted support for Farage’s Reform UK Party.
Conservative Party leader Richard Haldane has written to the UK’s top civil servant and national security adviser calling for an investigation into claims of Russian interference in the general election.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said the report was “deeply concerning”.
Mr Farage responded: “How can they do that when their party has received millions of pounds from Russia over the past few years?”
The full list of nominees can be found below. Elewash On the BBC News website.
