Reform Watch 37: It’s not only a vetting crisis

Last week’s ITV documentary Undercover: A Year In Reform got us thinking. Just as shocking as the racist comments made by Reform councillors and campaigners was the central party’s lack of seriousness in dealing with wrong’uns in its rank and file. At one point, senior party officials were filmed admitting they “defend the indefensible”. 

It’s no secret Reform isn’t very good at vetting – earlier this year, even Nigel Farage admitted it’s been “pisspoor” in the past – but perhaps this isn’t the main scandal. Worse than the fact Reform struggles to detect people with extreme views wanting to stand under its banner, once the party finds out about them, it often happily lets them stay. 

To drive the point home, here are ten examples of Reform councillors who have been exposed for making racist, far-right and conspiratorial comments online. All of them remain in the party.

Ben Rowe: Plymouth Reform councillor Ben Rowe has made racist comments online, including accusing Jews of “forcing other races on our societies” and “flooding the west with Islamists”. While Reform did suspend him, the party has since decided to let him back in, explaining Rowe had, apparently, “made clear the comments do not reflect his beliefs”. 

Adrian White: In July, we revealed that Wigan Reform councillor Adrian White called for two prominent Conservative politicians to be shot. In April 2018, he said of Michael Heseltine: “Shoot him and his fellow parasites.” In a comparably violent post in May 2019, when Theresa May was rejecting calls to resign as prime minister, he wrote on Facebook: “Champagne back on ice….can’t we just shoot her …please.” He remains in Reform. 

Steve Biggs: Another Reform hasn’t taken any action against is Durham councillor Steve Biggs. As well as having described Vladimir Putin as someone he admires, Biggs once wrote on social media: “Islam has no place on this earth. One big nuke bomb needed!”

Caley Ashman: Dudley Reform councillor Caley Ashman is still in the party despite the fact he used the phrase “goyslop” – a term used to promote the theory that Jewish people use mass media to distract non-Jews – on social media. Ashman also enquired about joining the neo-Nazi Homeland Party and shared a homophobic post about Douglas Murray that referred to him as a “snaggled toothed porridge eating semen sipper”. 

Ronald Firman: Before he was elected to West Northamptonshire Council in May 2025, Ron Firman wrote a variety of offensive comments online, including suggesting a refugee should be thrown out of a plane when it “is 30,000 feet over Somalia”. He also claimed Grenfell victims lost “pretend relatives” and, when someone responded to this post by asking what time they should meet later and whether they needed to bring a white sheet, Firman wrote: “You forgot my burning cross.” Reform stood by him. 

Paul Cutts: Back in January, Reform suspended Doncaster councillor Paul Cutts from the party pending investigation. As well as having termed the anti-Muslim extremist Tommy Robinson “A PATRIOT”, Cutts shared a number of Facebook posts targeting Muslims, including one calling for a boycott of Muslim-owned businesses. Just one month after being suspended, Cutts had the Reform whip reinstated. 

Paul Harrison: In March 2025, Paul Harrison appeared to call for the demolition of all mosques. Responding to a post which asked, “Do you want England to get back to traditional values and demolish all mosques in the UK?” Harrison wrote: “Yes. The mosques and our way of life are incompatible. IMHO.” Two months later he became a Reform councillor in Leicestershire. 

Lorenzo More: Lancashire Reform councillor Lorenzo More is a fan of Islamophobic conspiracy theories. Using X in April 2024, for instance, he responded, “they are not here to integrate but to conquer, wake up!!” to a post which read: “Why do Muslims insist on moving to non-muslim countries and then complain that they find OUR way of life offensive. Why not remain in a MUSLIM country where their way of life is the norm?” 

Andy Mahon: Back in December 2024, Andy Mahon posted on Facebook that the notorious British fascist leader Oswald Mosley “was right”, adding that “we need an educational correction” and “multiculturalism has failed”. In May this year, he became a Reform councillor in Blackburn. 

James Grainger: In April, we revealed that Devon Reform councillor James Grainger had posted on YouTube that he’d “rather fight for Putin than starmer or sunak [sic]”, declared that “Russia is not our enemy”, and said: “Id rather share my neighbourhood with armed russians thah muslims from middle east and africa [sic]”. Since then, Reform has remained silent on Grainger, who is still listed as one of the party’s councillors on the Devon County Council website. 

And in other news… 

❓Quiz Question 1

Who pledged in July 2024 to “professionalise the party”, adding: “Those few ‘bad apples’ that have crept in will be gone, will be long gone and we will never have any of their type back in our organisation – you have a 100 percent promise on that”? 

Read to the end for the answer.

🤮 “The comments were deeply inappropriate, they were frankly rather shocking”  

Those were Nigel Farage’s words in April, when he sacked his party’s housing spokesperson, Simon Dudley, who had said the Grenfell Tower fire was a “tragedy” but that “everyone dies in the end”. 

Simon Dudley and Richard Tice at Reform conference last month   

But Dudley, who still describes himself as “Housing and Infrastructure Reform UK” on LinkedIn, clearly remains part of the fold. Investigative outlet DeSmog reported last week that Dudley not only introduced Reform deputy leader Richard Tice to business delegates at last month’s party conference, but also chaired a question and answer session following Tice’s speech. Reform has yet to clarify Dudley’s exact relationship with the party.

❓Quiz Question 2 

Who said in September 2024: “We don’t want bigots, we don’t want people who think that way, because we represent the silent, decent majority in this great country”? 

Read to the end for the answer.

😵‍💫 Conspiracy Corner 

Those who read the last edition of this newsletter will know that Reform councillors in Kirklees keep coming under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Tracy Clayton, for instance, promoted a slew of hateful anti-Muslim posts online, while Eric Butterworth reposted an image calling for England to be made “ISLAM-FREE” and David Rowan called for former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow to be hanged. 

Sarah Wood 

It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Reform Council leader, Sarah Wood, has spread conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 US presidential election, the January 6 US Capitol attack, and the Covid-19 pandemic, as we reported yesterday. Typical social media posts by Wood included calling the 2020 election results “fraudulent”, suggesting that anti-fascists dressed up as Donald Trump supporters to storm the Capitol Building, and claiming: “Long Covid Is not a thing. It was made up by the media. Get a grip.” 

❓Quiz Question 3 

Who said in March 2025: “We’ve been vetting, I bet, to a standard that no other party has ever done before for local council elections”?

Read to the end for the answer.

🫥 Disappearing Daniel 

Back in April, we revealed that a Reform local election candidate in Bradford, Daniel Devaney,  had described Muslims as “pure scum” and said he wanted to “blast [Muslims] all of the face of the earth [sic]”.

Daniel Devaney 

Thanks to Reform, Devaney became a councillor in May, although Stephen Place – leader of the Reform group on Bradford Council – confirmed he would not sit for the party. Devaney has decided to carry on as a councillor, sitting as an independent; so, how’s he been getting on? 

So far, Devany has been expected at four council meetings, but hasn’t turned up to a single one and didn’t respond when we asked if there was any reason for his absence. 

❗Quiz Answers 

The answer to all three questions was of course… Nigel Farage!