By Ben Kerrigan-
Reform UK is facing renewed questions over how it selects candidates for public office after an undercover ITV News investigation appeared to show a party official advising a prospective councillor to erase social media posts expressing support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
The revelations have intensified scrutiny of the party’s recruitment procedures, raising questions about whether its vetting system is designed to identify controversial views or prevent them from becoming visible.
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The investigation, conducted over the course of a year, also features a former Reform candidate who claims he failed the party’s vetting process twice but was subsequently invited to stand in local elections. Reform UK disputes his account, denying that he failed vetting in the first place. The allegations come amid growing pressure on party leader Nigel Farage to demonstrate that his organisation can enforce the standards it has repeatedly promised to uphold.
One of the most significant exchanges in the footage involves Ian Frost, chairman of Reform UK’s Chester branch, who describes his meeting with an undercover reporter as the first stage of the candidate-selection process. After the reporter discloses that he has previously shared social media posts supporting Robinson, Frost advises him to delete the material and start again.
Frost tells the reporter that posts associated with Robinson are politically damaging and recommends deleting the account before applying to become a candidate. Rather than ending the discussion, he subsequently encourages the reporter to consider standing as a councillor and potentially pursuing a parliamentary career. The exchange raises questions about whether the party’s screening procedures adequately examine a prospective candidate’s political associations and past statements.
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Frost later told ITV News that he believed the reporter was a genuine prospective candidate and had given him the benefit of the doubt. He argued that it was unfair to judge someone on the basis of a single conversation and said he had since left Reform UK for unrelated reasons.
The investigation also features Alex Lomas, who stood for Reform in the May local elections in Oldham but failed to win a council seat. Lomas claims he was rejected twice during vetting, initially over offensive social media posts and subsequently because of material he had shared in support of Robinson. According to his account, he received an email approving his application just days after his second rejection, despite having made no changes to his online activity.
Lomas said he questioned the apparent reversal but was later contacted and asked to stand for the party. His account raises questions about the consistency of the selection process and whether candidates are subject to the same standards throughout recruitment.
However, Reform UK denies that Lomas failed vetting, and the BBC was unable to contact him independently. He did not respond to requests for comment from ITV News.
The latest revelations follow an earlier ITV broadcast showing Reform councillors and candidates making racist, sexist and violent remarks. The footage has prompted further scrutiny of the party’s internal standards and its handling of allegations against members elected to public office. Reform has said investigations are under way in cases involving inappropriate conduct, with some individuals suspended while the party follows its disciplinary procedures.
The controversy also raises questions about how senior figures respond when concerns emerge about candidates who have already been approved. In another part of the investigation, ITV recorded conversations concerning Dr Chris Parry, a former Reform mayoral candidate in Hampshire and the Solent, who faced criticism after making remarks about then Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.
In the footage, Reform communications director Ed Sumner appears to suggest that Farage is protecting Parry. In a separate conversation, Sumner reportedly describes Parry as “clearly a racist” and says he should be removed. Farage, however, is recorded arguing that Parry should apologise rather than immediately stand down, saying that an expression of remorse was needed.
Parry apologised to Lammy in January and remained the party’s mayoral candidate until he was suspended in March pending an investigation following further comments about a Jewish voluntary patrol service.
Parry told the BBC that there had never been an investigation and said he had since left Reform. He defended his remarks, arguing that they should be considered in their original context and describing them as criticism of those he believed were acting against the interests of the British public.
The dispute comes against the background of Farage’s previous promises to strengthen candidate selection. In 2024, after Reform dropped several candidates following reports of offensive or racist comments,
the party leader pledged to vet prospective representatives more rigorously. He has since maintained that Reform applies higher standards than other parties, while acknowledging that no screening process can predict everything a person might say in the future.
Speaking to BBC Look East before the latest footage was broadcast, Farage defended the party’s procedures but said candidates could not be vetted for future comments. Reform has also accused ITV of using extreme deception, including false information to obtain an undercover role at its headquarters.
In a statement, the party said it had “improved and prioritised its vetting procedures”, while acknowledging that some individuals who did not share its values could initially pass through the process. It added that this could happen in any organisation and insisted there was no place for racism within Reform UK. The party said it respected due process and would not comment on individual cases while investigations remained ongoing.
The investigation has drawn criticism from Labour, with party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson describing the revelations as deeply disturbing and arguing that responsibility extended to the party leadership. She called on Farage to explain his handling of allegations involving Parry and said the party leader needed to take responsibility for ensuring Reform’s standards were enforced.
At the heart of the controversy is a question extending beyond individual candidates: how effectively can political parties scrutinise those seeking elected office, particularly when they are expanding rapidly and attempting to field candidates across multiple constituencies and council wards?
The distinction between failing to identify problematic views and advising applicants to remove evidence of them is central to the concerns raised by the undercover footage, although the allegations and the party’s responses will need to be assessed on their respective evidence.
The challenge Reform UK now faces is to demonstrate that its vetting procedures operate consistently, that decisions can be explained and that allegations of misconduct are handled transparently. Voters aew concerned with public accountability: candidate selection determines who is offered the opportunity to represent communities, influence local decisions and exercise public authority.
Whether the latest investigation leads to substantive changes in Reform’s recruitment and disciplinary processes remains to be seen, but the questions it has raised are unlikely to disappear without clear answers.
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