Conservatives disowned Derek Bullock in 2023 after he allegedly used racial slur to call for people of Pakistani heritage to be shot
A Reform UK candidate for next month’s council elections was twice disciplined by the Conservatives over alleged offensive or racist comments, while another shared conspiracy theories about Covid, it has emerged, as the full slate of candidates was confirmed.
More than 5,000 council places in England are being contested on 7 May, along with several mayoralties, and elections for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, in a significant test for all the major parties.
Councils began publishing lists of confirmed candidates on Friday, after the closure of nominations at 4pm on Thursday. Reform says it is standing candidates in just over 95% of seats, around as many as Labour. Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader, has said the party’s vetting procedures have been beefed up.
One of its candidates for Bolton council is Derek Bullock, a former Conservative who was suspended by the party over allegations he posted a racist comment about people of Pakistani heritage on Facebook. Bullock said screenshots showing the comment were faked.
