Reform candidate quits claiming ‘overwhelming majority of get together’s candidates are racist’

Another Reform candidate has defected to the Tories – claiming the “vast majority” of the party’s candidates are “racist, misogynistic and bigoted.”

Georgie David, Reform’s candidate in West Ham and Beckton, announced her defection in in a statement issued by the Conservative Party. It comes just two days after Liam Booth-Isherwood, who is standing in Erewash, also defected to the Tories, blaming “reports of widespread racism and sexism” among Reform candidates.

Ms David said: “I am hereby announcing my decision to leave the Reform Party and stand down as their candidate for West Ham and Beckton, with immediate effect. I am in no doubt that the party and its senior leadership are not racist. However, as the vast majority of candidates are indeed racist, misogynistic, and bigoted, I do not wish to be directly associated with people who hold such views that are so vastly opposing to my own and what I stand for.”

She added: “I also have been significantly frustrated and dismayed by the failure of the Reform Party’s leadership to tackle this issue in any meaningful way, and their attempts to instead try to brush it under the carpet or cry foul play. As such, I have now suspended my campaign with Reform, and I an endorsing the Conservative Party – I would encourage all of my fellow patriots to do the same.”

Meanwhile, the Tory candidate taking on Nigel Farage has said Reform UK rallies are “reminiscent” of those staged by the Nazis in Nuremberg. Giles Watling, who has been the Conservative MP for Clacton since 2017, branded the party’s recent mass gatherings as “chilling” and a “very un-British way of doing things”.

He told PoliticsHome: “I’m not ascribing any of these sort of things to Nigel Farage himself but the method, the process is just sort of reminiscent of the big rallies at Nuremberg with people standing to one side. It’s a personality cult that’s been created.” Mr Watling added: “There may be no evil intent, but it feels wrong and bad.”

The Tory candidate said there was “beautiful irony” that his own campaign posters have been defaced by people “painting over my face and turning me into Adolf Hitler”. Mr Farage hit back at the comments, saying: “Watling shows contempt for the thousands of decent people who turned up in Birmingham yesterday and those who come to my rallies in Clacton. They are decent, law-abiding citizens. How dare he insult them like that.”

An estimated 5,000 supporters turned out for a Reform UK rally in Birmingham on Sunday, and Mr Farage has held several mass gatherings in Clacton during the campaign. Mr Watling, a former actor, was first elected as MP for Clacton in 2017 with a majority of 15,828. He was re-elected in 2019 with an increased majority of 24,702.

But a number of polls have suggested Mr Farage could seize the Essex seat, sending him to Parliament for the first time after seven failed bids to become an MP. Survation’s constituency poll in Clacton last month put Mr Farage on course to win the seat on an unprecedented 43.5% swing from the Conservatives to Reform UK.