Chris Parry has been sacked after making numerous offensive comments on social media
Reform UK has finally dropped Chris Parry, the party’s mayoral candidate for Hampshire and the Solent, for making numerous offensive comments online.
Yesterday, he shared a post by Brexit Party co-founder Catherine Blaiklock, adding a caption in which he likened members of Shomrim, a volunteer safety patrol group, to “Islamists on horseback”.
Parry also said Shomrim, which works closely with Hatzola, a Jewish community ambulance charity which was targeted by arsonists yesterday, were “cosplaying” as the police.
A Reform UK spokesperson has now said: “He has been suspended pending an investigation and is no longer our mayoral candidate.”
Labour had repeatedly called on Nigel Farage to sack Parry over his offensive comments, but the Reform leader did not take action.
In a post last February, Parry said that the then foreign secretary David Lammy, who was born in London to Guyanese parents, should “go home to the Caribbean” where his “loyalty lies”.
Parry has also questioned the loyalty of at least eight other politicians who are not white.
He questioned the loyalties of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, independent MP Zarah Sultana and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
In a comment earlier today, a Labour spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage should have done the right thing and booted Chris Parry out of Reform UK months ago. He’s previously made a huge number of appalling and racist comments and faced no action – he simply isn’t fit to be a candidate for public office.
“All politicians should be standing squarely with the Jewish community in the face of appalling antisemitism – particularly after the despicable antisemitic attack in Golders Green last night.
“The fact Nigel Farage has repeatedly failed to take any action against Chris Parry shows how far he’s willing to drag politics into the gutter. Labour will always stand with the Jewish community and continue working to ensure they are not subjected to racism, discrimination, or violence.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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