Reform
UK has sacked another candidate for liking Islamophobic
Social Media posts, bringing the total dropped by the right-wing party to 63. Ian Harris was set to stand in the next
election in Lewes, but the party confirmed he had been dumped after the Mirror approached them. A party spokesman said: "Ian Harris has been removed as a candidate, his comments on social media are far below the standard expected of a Reform candidate." An investigation by HOPE not hate (HNH) revealed a
Twitter account under Mr Harris’ control had liked posts by far-right thug Tommy Robinson and former BNP leader Nick Griffin. One post included a photo of a pig on a spit, and suggested holding hog roasts outside mosques during Ramadan. Another included a video of a Koran being burned in the street in the Netherlands. And one by Robinson suggested a huge pro-Gaza demonstration in
London was evidence that “mass deportations” were needed. The account also liked a tweet suggesting Muslims be banned from standing for parliament. Another read: “Muslims want respect and give none back. It’s incompatible with Western values. Deport them all. They offer nothing and take everything.” And another, posted by the account “Extreme Patriot Channel” attacked Diane Abbot, saying the veteran MP was only in parliament because she is black and claiming she “can’t naturally talk English.” Mr Harris' account liked tweets by Tommy Robinson ( Image: Mirrorpix) HNH’s analysis found Reform UK are nearly 200 candidates short of being able to contest every seat in the country - despite leader Richard Tice’s claims to have 600 ready to stand. And the party appear to be struggling to select candidates even in the seats they're performing best in. Of their top three highest polling seats in recent polling, two - Barnsley North and Doncaster North - have no declared Reform candidate. The party’s candidates have been “dropping like flies”, with several being publicly disowned over offensive social media posts or public statements. A Reform UK spokesman said: "Reform are confident that by the time of the election we will have a complete total of candidates in
England,
Scotland and Wales "There are still hundreds going through our interview and updated vetting process who are vying for the seats now available." Recent HNH investigations into Benjamin Dade, Jonathan Kay and Mick Greenhough resulted in them being axed as candidates. And 57 other constituencies have seen their previously named candidates quietly dropped or swapped in the past six weeks, for reasons that are unclear. Ex-BNP leader Nick Griffin's tweets were also liked by the account ( Image: PA) Mr Harris has previously described himself as a “pastafarian” - a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. In 2015 he got in a public row with the DVLA, insisting it was his religious right to wear a colander on his head in his driving licence photo. Speaking at the time he said it was equivalent to muslim
Women wearing a hijab in official photos. Also among the tweets he has liked are several which attack or criticise Mr Tice. One, from Robinson, reads: “F*** Reform under his leadership. It’s establishment run”. Another, from far-right blogger Paul Joseph Watson, accused Mr Tice of “running for office in Kiev” after he posted pictures of a visit to
Ukraine . Reform UK aren’t ready for an election - no matter what Richard Tice tries to tell you By Georgina Laming, HOPE not hate Campaigns Director It’s been a tough couple of week’s for Richard Tice’s Reform UK as HOPE not hate forced the party to drop three candidates after investigations revealed their extreme far-right and racist ideologies. Reform’s South Ribble candidate Jonathan Kay was caught claiming Muslims and African people have lower IQs whilst Orpington candidate Mick Greenhough tweeted his belief that a “simple solution to the sectarian conflict now in the UK” would be if “nobody of the Jewish faith or Muslim faith can stand as a UK MP or councillor. Alarmingly, axed candidates Mick Greenhough and Jonathan Kay didn’t try to disguise their racist views, posting them for all to see on their public Twitter accounts. It begs the question, are Reform UK’s vetting procedures non-existent or are they just hoping no-one will notice the far-right beliefs of their candidates? Morale is low in the party, as on a weekly basis candidates are promptly dropped and rumours that party HQ have warned aspiring MPs that they have to pay for their own campaign material - meaning Reform’s ground game will be non-existent in most seats. But those really are the least of Richard Tice’s problems. Despite his claims last December that the party would challenge the Tories in every seat at the General Election , he’s still missing almost 200 election candidates. In fact, the far-right Reform UK have failed to announce candidates for 2 of their top 3 target seats casting doubts that the party are ready for a potential snap election. Last month, 62 candidates were dropped with only 33 replaced and 29 of those seats still vacant. Does this all sound familiar? It should: the
Brexit Party followed a similar playbook in 2019 with
Nigel Farage claiming the party had “600 candidates ready to go” in August 2019. By November, when the party announced they would stand aside in Tory-held seats, the party had only announced 343 candidates. In the unlikely case that Richard Tice gets his act together - he can continue to rely on HOPE not hate to do a thorough vetting of his candidates.