Reform has ignored calls for the candidate to step down and stood by him
A Reform UK local election candidate and deputy chair for North West Leicestershire has shared racist views online in the past, but that’s not enough for Reform to drop him as a candidate.
In 2013, Coalville North candidate Elliott Allman, who is a former Tory, shared a racist post on Facebook claiming that black drivers in Volkswagen cars tailgate him on the M1.
The post resurfaced after campaign group Reform Party UK Exposed shared a screenshot on X on 2 April.
Allman responded to the tweet, stating: “Fail to see your point. What it shows is a fantastic maturing and development stage. I’m glad you’ve highlighted this to me. It reminds me of how far I’ve come. Thank you so much.”
Reform UK told the BBC that they’re confident Allman has matured since then.
Reform Party UK Exposed said on X: “Elliott Allman was 26 when we ranted about Audi [VW] drivers and made the slur. Hardly the ‘foolish comments’ of a teen or kid.”
In WhatsApp messages also shared by the group, another Reform member shamefully suggested Allman should take a photo with a black friend to show he’s not racist.
“Have you a black friend you can have your picture taken with? I always have a black mate to pull out my back pocket,” the Reform member said.
Reform UK candidate for Bakewell, Max Bethell, also shared a racist post on Instagram in 2019. When Reform Party UK Exposed urged Reform’s local branch chair Jeremy Ruse to ask Bethell to stand down, Ruse said he’d look into it.
The Instagram account was made private. Ruse then suggested that Bethell had never had an Instagram account, adding: “So we have to assume you are faking it or someone is”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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