Councillor social media revelations lead to vetting questions for Reform UK
In the wake of last week's local election, a number of newly elected councillors have resigned or been suspended from the party as a result of alleged racist or antisemitic posts
Reform UK have suspended one of their newly elected councillors after reports that he shared social media posts containing Nazi content, as well as suggesting that “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for antisemitism because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”.
As reported by the Sheffield Star, Nathaniel Menday, who was elected as a Reform councillor last week for the Woodhouse ward in the city, had previously operated a Twitter account which shared pictures of swastikas, Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf and other far right iconography like the Sonnenrad, (‘sun wheel’). Another, now-deleted post, said that Britain had “a disgusting, almost subhuman underclass of people bringing the place down.”
As described by The Times in April, in 2023 Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”, adding: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”
In 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion – built by the Nazis, writing “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!”
In comments to The Times last month, Menday said: “I am not antisemitic nor do I have any Nazi sympathies.
“I have flirted with what could reasonably be referred to as ‘far-right ideology’ but ultimately I have come to reject its core tenets.”
However, Reform UK confirmed on Wednesday that “Councillor Menday has been suspended from Reform UK pending investigation after he failed to declare social media posts which have brought the party into disrepute.
“Reform UK does not support such comments.”
The suspension comes as several other of the party’s newly elected councillors have left, after revelations regarding highly disturbing social media posts. Jay Cooper, elected to a seat in the Bootle West ward at Sefton Council on Merseyside, was found to have referred to the Holocaust as “a hoax” and “propaganda” on Facebook last year, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Confirming his resignation from Reform and his intention to sit as an independent, Cooper said: “The Holocaust was real. I was not denying the existence of the camps or the systematic murder carried out by the Nazi regime.
“I have visited Auschwitz multiple times and have seen first hand the conditions and historical evidence of those atrocities.
“My comments were poorly expressed and have understandably caused concern and upset. I was not denying the suffering of millions of victims or the crimes committed by the Nazis.
“I accept that my words failed to reflect the seriousness and sensitivity this subject demands, and for that I sincerely apologise. I would also like to apologise to anyone who was offended or hurt by my comments.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Reform UK confirmed that it had revoked the membership of Stuart Prior, who was one of 53 candidates for the party elected onto Essex County Council. Prior, who is believed to also be resigning as a councillor, is alleged to have made a series of comments including describing white people as “the master race”, suggesting white people had “larger brains”, saying “Muslims are dirt”, writing that “Muslims are awful, globally” declaring: “There cannot be a genocide against Muslims. It’s only ever self-defence against those rats.”
When approached by The Mirror regarding some of these messages, Prior responded: “That’s not what I would have put down” and “this isn’t me”.
Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope Not Hate, accused Reform of “a systematic failure in the party’s vetting.”
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