Reform continues to allow candidates with "grotesque" views to stand for the party
Nigel Farage has been urged to act over the string of Reform candidates who have been exposed for having expressed “grotesque” racist, sexist and homophobic views.
Despite claims from senior Reform figures including Farage and Zia Yusuf that the party has “the best” vetting processes, Reform continues to let in supporters and candidates with abhorrent views.
The Independent has found yet more examples of Reform candidates who have made offensive comments on social media.
Andrew Mahon, a Reform candidate in Blackburn South East, has made a number of homophobic remarks about health secretary Wes Streeting and Green Party leader Zack Polanski.
On Facebook last month, Mahon wrote: “I wonder if Wes Streeting likes sausage? I wonder if he eats meat?”
In a now-deleted post on X in March, Mahon wrote: “Hannah Spencer the Green MP knows all about ballcocks and I bet she knows all about her heavy-duty plumber’s snake. I wonder, is she has unblocked any flue’s in Zac Polanski’s residence or undertaken any pipe cleaning [sic]”.
In another post, Mahon questioned why white people can’t use the n*** word, but black people can.
Brett Muscroft, a Reform candidate in Wakefield, has voiced support for far-right figure Tommy Robinson, calling for him to be made defence secretary.
Muscroft wrote in a Facebook post that if Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, were made secretary of state for defence, “we may get Great Britain back”.
In a post from February 2025, Muscroft wrote: “Islam is like cancer. If you don’t remove it on time, it will kill you.”
As LFF reported last week, another Reform candidate, Ricky Hodges, also claimed that “Islam is a cancer”.
Arnold Tabor, who is also standing in Wakefield, left a comment on a YouTube video in 2022 stating that the navy should shoot migrants in the English Channel.
In another comment on YouTube from 2023, Tabor said migrants should be put in a “huge walled workhouse city” and made to “work for no pay”.
Anna Turley, chair of the Labour Party, told the Independent “Farage needs to act and kick these people out of his party for good.”
While Farage could throw these candidates out of the party, it is now too late for them to be withdrawn as candidates in the 7 May elections.
Turley added: “These vile comments expose the type of candidates Reform are happy to put on the ballot paper. Despite all Nigel Farage’s claims about improving vetting in the party, he continues to stand candidates who hold grotesque views. Voters deserve better.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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