Reform Council leader spread conspiracy theories online about Covid and Trump’s election defeat

We shouldn’t be surprised that Reform councillors continue to spread lies and conspiracy theories, especially after seeing the ITV documentary exposing how commonplace extremist views are in the party.

Yet once again it’s worth highlighting just what kind of party Reform are.

It’s been revealed by anti-extremism campaign group Hope not Hate that Sarah Wood who became leader of Kirklees Council in July, has peddled conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic and Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat on social media.

Using a since-deleted Twitter account, in November 2020 – when Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the US presidential election – Wood responded, “Fraudulent,” to a post asking: “Describe the ‘election results’ in one word.”

Hope not Hate goes on to add: “She continued spouting conspiracy theories on 6 January 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol Building in Washington DC.

“That day, Wood claimed that those who “stormed the Capitol were Antifa not Trump supporters”; suggested that police opened the gates and let “the Antifa protestors dressed up as Trump supporters in”; and wrote: “Democrats using the breach of congress by antifa to attempt to expel the republicans who objected to the electoral college vote #corruption plain and simple”.

On 5 December 2020, she also criticised the government for its measures during the pandemic, calling it #CovidLies”. Later that month, she wrote: “Long Covid Is not a thing. It was made up by the media. Get a grip.” In January, she said lockdown was “NOT about a virus”; posted that “Whatever this is it’s NOT about the virus AND it’s global”