Green Party group leader calls on Reform councillor previously exposed for anti-Islam posts to resign
Reform has yet to take action against a councillor who was exposed for posts on X saying Islam "is the greatest threat" and that all mosques should be closed
Max McLoughlin, the Green Party group leader on Solihull Borough Council, has said that Reform councillor Phil Tierney has “no option” but to resign.
In May, it was unearthed that Tierney had shared a series of Islamophobic posts on his now deleted X account. At the time, Reform said it would investigate the issue, however, it has not taken any public action.
Responding to the two posts which read “Delete one thing from the Earth” and “what’s the greatest threat to Earth”, the Reform councillor commented: “Islam”.
In another post before the 2024 election which appears to refer to immigrants, Tierney wrote: “Yes time for change agreed vote reform the only party who will stop the invasion of murderes [sic] and rapists keep our streets clear for women and children”.
While Reform has now forced councillors Alan Feeney, Jamie Campbell and Chris Whelan to resign from the party, and Whelan has quit as councillor altogether, the party has not taken any action against Tierney.
McLoughlin told Left Foot Forward that he raised Tierney’s case with Reform but that the party seems to have just “waited it out”.
The Green Party councillor for Shirley South said: “Cllr Tierney’s posts are not robust political debate. Repeatedly naming Islam as one thing he would ‘delete’ from the Earth, and sharing posts calling for Islam to be outlawed and ‘kicked out’ of every country, target the Muslim residents he was elected to serve.”
“When this was raised with Reform, they took no public action. In the absence of any apology, residents will reasonably read that silence as endorsement.”
McLoughlin added: “Every resident needs to be confident that every councillor accepts their humanity. A councillor who does not cannot represent all the people of Solihull. I see no option other than for Cllr Tierney to resign.”
LFF approached Reform for comment on whether it has taken action over Tierney’s social media posts but received no response at the time of publication. Councillor Tierney has also been contacted for comment.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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