Reform UK refuses to say Doncaster councillor's posts comparing Islamic dress to bin bags is ‘unacceptable’
Reform UK has refused to answer questions about its vetting process or a new Doncaster councillor whose Facebook account featured posts comparing black Islamic dress to bin bags.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) approached the party after a number of posts on the Facebook account of Councillor Mark Broadhurst went viral along with calls to “suspend him”.
A Reform UK spokesperson said the party would not be commenting on questions submitted by the LDRS, including whether the posts – including a since deleted image which suggested Adolf Hitler would be a “legend” had he targeted people following Islam – are acceptable to the party.
The party additionally refused to answer questions on whether any action will be taken against councillors who share offensive content on social media, or for details on why the posts were not flagged in the reportedly upgraded vetting process for political candidates.
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Cllr Broadhurst continues as a Reform UK representative for Hatfield ward on the City of Doncaster Council, where the party has 37 seats.
The overwhelming majority would normally have given Reform UK control of the council, however, due to Labour winning the vote for the Mayor of Doncaster, executive control of the council remains with them.
Reform UK’s Alexander Jones was just 698 votes behind Labour’s Ros Jones in the mayoral contest.
Ros Jones secured a fourth consecutive term as Doncaster’s directly elected mayor and criticised the prime minister and his government in the hours after her victory.
Alexander Jones was subsequently elected a city councillor for Edenthorpe & Kirk Sandall.