The councillor said Reform in Doncaster is marred by "instability" and "internal infighting".
A former Reform UK councillor in Doncaster, Christopher Marriott, has defected from Nigel Farage’s party to Advance UK.
Marriott is the second Reform city councillor in Doncaster to defect to ex-Reform member Ben Habib’s far-right party, Advance UK.
Habib formed the party after he fell out with Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf. Far-right, Islamophobic campaigner Tommy Robinson is now a member of Advance UK.
Former Reform councillor on Doncaster City Council, Nicola Brown, defected to Advance UK in December. Around six ex-Reform town councillors have also recently defected to Habib’s party.
Marriott told the Doncaster Free Press that he left Reform UK as it is marred by “instability” and “internal infighting”.
This comes after the Reform group leader on Doncaster City Council, Guy Aston, stepped down in November, claiming he had received “vitriolic texts that border on abuse” from members of his own party.
The infighting among Reform councillors escalated after Aston backed the Labour mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones’ plan to borrow £57 million to re-open Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Marriott accused Reform UK of breaking promises and said Farage and his leadership team have “shifted focus away from key areas like Doncaster despite the party’s strong performance there”.
“Locally, this has led to instability within the Doncaster Reform group, marked by internal infighting, and the recent resignation of the group leader,” he said.
Habib claims that Western leaders are failing to protect the UK from Islamic extremism, and has said some migrants who are legally living in the UK should be paid to leave.
Habib also wants to scrap the Human Rights Act, Equality Act, diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives and net-zero.
He previously accused Farage of “slinking off to the left” in order to pursue power.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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