Reform UK Councillor Stuart Prior Resigns Essex County Council Seat Following Islamophobia Allegations

Stuart Prior, elected last week as a Reform UK councillor to both Essex County Council and Rochford District Council, has tendered his resignation from both positions and subsequently had his party membership revoked. The move comes in the wake of accusations, initially reported by Hope Not Hate, regarding highly inflammatory social media posts attributed to Prior.

Allegations and Party Response

Prior was accused of making statements describing white people as "the master race" with "larger brains." Furthermore, an X account, @essexpriory, allegedly deleted by Prior earlier this year, reportedly contained posts from November stating "Muslims are dirt" and "Muslims are awful, globally," alongside claims that genocide could not be committed against Muslims. When confronted by the Daily Mirror, Prior denied the accusations, stating, "that's not what I would have put down" and "this isn't me."

Reform UK had previously stated they were "looking into these posts" for several days last week. A party source confirmed Prior's resignation from both councils and the revocation of his membership.

Political opponents had called for Reform UK to "drop" Prior as a candidate ahead of last Thursday's local elections. Joe Mulhall, research director at Hope Not Hate, criticised Reform's "systematic failure with the party's vetting" process.

Electoral Context and By-Elections

Prior secured the Rayleigh West division on Essex County Council with a 796-vote majority, taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats. He also won the Sweyne Park and the Grange ward on Rochford District Council. Reform UK gained all 13 seats contested on Rochford District Council, resulting in no single party holding overall control there. By-elections are now anticipated for both seats.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, had previously claimed that the party's candidates would be held to "a higher standard than any of the other parties," asserting that they had conducted "a good, thorough professional job" in their vetting process.