UK reformist candidate shifts support to Tories over racism row

VaselineJuly 1, 2024

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UK reformist candidate shifts support to Tories over racism row

Author, Harry Farley
Role, Political correspondent
June 30, 2024

A UK election candidate has ditched the party and is instead backing the local Tory candidate.

Liam Booth-Isherwood, who is in Erewash, said there was “a significant morale problem” in parts of the party following what he called “reports of widespread racism and sexism”.

He added that the party leadership’s failure to address the issue means he no longer wants to be associated with it.

The chairman of Reform UK, Richard Tice, claimed that reform candidates were being offered jobs and incentives “to persuade them to talk bad about reform, quit and then support the Tory candidate”.

He said there were “dark forces at play by desperate conservatives”.

Earlier this week, the party distanced itself from two activists filmed by Channel 4 apparently making racist and offensive comments.

Earlier in the day, UK reform leader Nigel Farage addressed a rally in Birmingham, where he said his party would become the “voice of the opposition”.

He labeled the Prime Minister a “slippery Sunak” and said Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer had “the charisma of a wet rag”.

Mr Farage admitted his party “had a few bad apples”, but insisted: “The bad apples are gone”.

However, he also attacked Channel 4 and the production company it used to produce the report on Reform, which included footage of one of its canvassers, Andrew Parker, using a racial slur about the Prime Minister .

Another activist, George Jones, was also filmed making offensive comments. Reform said Mr Jones was “no longer involved” in the party’s campaign.

Addressing supporters, Mr Farage reiterated his claim that Mr Parker was an actor and that the Channel 4 program was part of “the biggest smear campaign and job of my entire life”.

Responding to a similar attack from Mr Farage on Friday, Channel 4 said it stood by its “rigorous and impartial journalism”, adding that it had first met Mr Parker at UK Reform party headquarters and had not paid him a penny.

In a statement, Mr Parker said he wanted to “profusely apologize to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party if my personal views reflected badly on them and brought them into disrepute, as that was not my intention.” .

The BBC has contacted Mr Jones for comment.

In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Booth-Isherwood said he was leaving the reform and suspending his campaign “with immediate effect”.

“Although we campaigned alongside many decent, honest and hard-working people during the general election campaign in Erewash, reports of widespread racism and sexism in the Reformation have made it clear that there is a significant moral problem within certain elements of the party.

“The failure of the party leadership to not only take this issue seriously, but to fundamentally address it, has made it clear to me that this is no longer a party I want to be associated with.”

He said he was backing Conservative Party candidate Maggie Throup, saying: “Only she can stop Labour.”

Although Mr Booth-Isherwood is suspending his campaign, it is legally too late to change him as a candidate and he will still appear for Reform on the ballot.

In response to Liam Booth-Isherwood’s decision, a statement from the Conservative Party said it “knows that a vote for reform is a vote for Keir Starmer”.

He added: “If just 130,000 voters like him, who are currently considering a Reform or Lib Dem vote, voted Conservative, it would be enough to stop Labour’s supermajority.”

Following the Channel 4 report, Mr Farage appeared on the BBC’s Leader’s Special where he faced more hostile questions about racism in his party.

Farage later claimed the BBC had “rigged” the program with “hand-picked” members of the public.

A BBC spokesman said: “We deny these claims”, adding that the audience was “made up of broadly similar levels of representation from Reform UK and the Green Party, with the other parties also represented”.

“There were also a number of people, with a wide range of political views, who are still making up their minds.”

On Sunday, Farage stepped up his criticism of the BBC, saying it had “abused its position of power” and was becoming a “political actor” in the election.

He received loud cheers from his supporters when he said his party would campaign to scrap the license 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 that he would not only run as a candidate, but that he would take over as the leader of the reform.

Addressing enthusiastic supporters in Birmingham, he said he “couldn’t bear to sit on the sidelines” while the election campaign took place.

He said he did not think his party would win many seats on Thursday, but said the election was the “first major step” towards creating a “mass movement”.

Earlier in the day, Mr Farage dismissed as “bootstraps” allegations that there could be Russian interference in the election.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said it had identified five Facebook pages with a total of 190,000 followers promoting the Kremlin’s perspective and sometimes posting support for Mr Farage’s UK Reform party.

Conservative Party leader Richard Holden has written to the UK’s chief civil servant and National Security Adviser calling for an inquiry into claims that Russian actors interfered in the general election.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said the report was “gravely concerning”.

In response, Mr Farage said: “How dare he – when their party has taken millions of pounds of Russian money in recent years.”

Full list of candidates for Erewash is as follows: