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Up to a dozen newly elected Reform UK councillors are under investigation for allegedly sharing social media content linked to far-right ideologies and Islamophobic views.
The allegations involve councillors from three county councils who reportedly shared posts from Britain First, a far-right group notorious for provocative demonstrations and controversial stunts.
The scrutiny comes just a week after Reform UK secured a significant local election victory, winning 677 of over 1,600 contested seats. Despite previously deflecting such accusations during the campaign, the backgrounds of several successful candidates are now drawing intense public and media attention.
Among those named is Paul Harrison, newly elected to Leicestershire County Council, who retweeted Britain First’s chair and agreed with a post advocating mass deportations alongside an AI-generated image depicting Muslim men holding Pakistani flags.
In Thurrock, councillor Russell Cherry is accused of sharing posts by Britain First leader Paul Golding, who has a criminal conviction for religiously aggravated harassment. Similarly, Ivan Dabbs of West Northamptonshire is said to have shared tweets from Golding and called for public demonstrations.
The party reportedly used vetting software from Ferretly, a U.S.-based social media analysis startup that flags potential issues such as hate speech and extremist affiliations. However, Reform UK has come under fire for relying heavily on the tool, especially after party leader Nigel Farage claimed in an interview that they employed “AI techniques and other things” as part of what he described as the “most in-depth vetting procedure” among UK political parties.
In contrast, the Conservative Party reportedly uses a team of 30 people to manually vet their general election candidates, and Labour is similarly cautious with its screening processes.
As of Thursday, Reform had already lost three councillors. Donna Edmunds, elected in Shropshire, was suspended after expressing plans to leave the party, accusing Farage of treating members poorly and likening Reform UK to a cult. Luke Shingler, representing Warwickshire, announced he would serve as an independent due to professional obligations with the RAF. Meanwhile, Desmond Clarke resigned from Nottinghamshire County Council, leading to a by-election.
Many of the contentious posts were uncovered by the anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate. Its director of campaigns, Georgie Laming, criticized Reform’s approach, stating: “Despite their claims of rigorous vetting, our investigation reveals significant flaws. Reform continues to avoid accountability for the behaviour of its candidates and has yet to remove those who have been exposed.”
The group’s research also highlighted several Reform candidates—some now in office—who allegedly shared anti-Muslim content, endorsed far-right conspiracies, praised figures like Tommy Robinson, and circulated materials from Holocaust denier David Irving.
