Reform activist accuses party of ‘sewer’ politics in resignation letter

With the local elections fast approaching, Reform UK are gearing up for a fight. The problem is they keep punching themselves in the face — most notably by borrowing a Jimmy Saville catchphrase and by refusing to dismiss a would-be candidate who did a Nazi salute. Shockingly, however, it seems like things are even worse under the surface than they are on top:

Sewer politics

The above message reads in full:

Having been an active member of Reform since it was founded, and the Brexit Party before that, it is with some sadness that I resign. In truth, Reform has left me.

The party I joined and helped build had a clear vision of how to solve our country’s problems: better politicians who care more about the people they serve than their careers. That’s how we fought the 2024 general election, winning 14.3% of the vote across the UK. In Swansea, I came in second, with 17.5% of the vote.

The “professionalisation” of the party has led it to take its members and candidates for granted. Communications that once began “Thank you” now more often start “You are required to…”. The party’s employees in Millbank forget that branch officers and candidates are unpaid volunteers.

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Some will call my resignation petulance or sour grapes at my lowly placing on the list (fifth to an ex-Tory on the make and three novices). That rankles, but it has also confirmed to me what I feared; Reform is no longer open or honest. Politics is a dirty game, but Reform has sunk deep into the sewer when it should have been a beacon of decency.

Across Wales the candidate appointment does not reflect how people performed in the selection process; I know because I was there. In many constituencies those at the top of the list are not the best. Far too many are Tories – and the Reform vote will suffer.

Politics should be about openness, decency and serving the country, which it once was in Reform. Politics is (or should be) about people, not process. Principles, not opportunism. Passion, not career building.

The Reform Party has betrayed its early members’ vision, labour and achievements. I won’t be a party to that, so I resign.

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As we’ve been saying for some time, Reform is morphing into the Conservative Party 2.0, and its early members can’t stomach it. The question is whether voters will realise this before or after they have the opportunity to vote in the 2029 election.

Candidate collapse

As reported by Reform Exposed, the above is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their candidate chaos.

There was also this mess:

And they’re are struggling to hold on to sitting councillors too:

‘Reform Will Fix It’

When we said that Reform have borrowed a Jimmy Saville catchphrase, this is what we were talking about:

That’s right — ‘Reform Will Fix It’.

We’re not sure what the ‘It’ refers to, but Reform’s key fault is their inability to field a normal candidate.

Featured image via emap