STORY
A newly elected Reform UK councillor has resigned from his council seats just days after being elected in Essex. Stuart Prior won seats on both Essex County Council and Rochford District Council in last week’s local elections, but has now stepped down following allegations about racist and Islamophobic social media posts.
Prior was elected for the Rayleigh West division on Essex County Council and for the Sweyne Park and Grange ward on Rochford District Council. ITV reported that he had also been expelled from Reform UK, while The Independent said a Reform source stated that Prior had resigned from his elected positions for “personal reasons” and that his party membership had been revoked. The news will come as a challenge for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK which has faced a series of hate speech scandals over recent days.