Two Reform UK parliamentary candidates have been dropped after making allegedly racist and antisemitic remarks.
One candidate ranted about “Ashenazis” and suggested that Jews should not hold elected office in the UK.
Selected as Reform’s candidate for Orpington before the party dropped him, Mick Greenhough said the “problem is the Askenazi Jews who have caused the world massive misery”.
The former parliamentary candidate posted on Twitter that “A simple solution to the sectarian conflict now in the UK” would be if “nobody of the Jewish faith or Muslim faith can stand as a UK MP or councillor.” He also said, “The only solution is to remove the Muslims from our territory”.
On his blog, Greenhough wrote, “It is becoming more and more obvious that the UN wishes to see the demise of the White tribes by reducing their birthrate to extinction or overwhelming them with migrants.”
An investigation by racism watchdog, HOPE not hate, also exposed the former Reform candidate for South Ribble, Jonathan Kay. Kay accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of being a “Muslim supremacist supporter” and claimed African people have low IQs.
Hours after the expose, both Greenhough and Kay disappeared from Reform UK’s list of candidates, replaced by a note on the party’s website that said the selection was “to be confirmed”.
A spokesperson for HOPE not hate said, “It is clear that Reform UK’s vetting process for candidates is non-existent. With so many candidates sharing these extreme views it’s hard to deny that Reform UK are a radical and far-right outfit.”
Reform UK was established with support from Nigel Farage in 2018 as the Brexit Party. It gained its first and only MP when Lee Anderson defected to Reform last month.
A spokesperson for the party confirmed the suspension and said, “We want to make it crystal clear that while we defend our candidates' right to freedom of speech vigorously, we act fast when we find that individuals' statements’ fall beneath our standards.
“Labour and Conservatives also have candidates that make statements that fall below acceptable standards, but we move faster than others in acting decisively.”
When asked about claims that Reform is a “radical, far-right outfit,” the spokesperson said: “Hope not Hate are a divisive, fanatical, hard left organisation, that thinks anybody to the right of Ed Davy is a fascist. We do not answer to them or anyone except the electorate.”
Greenhough and Kay were contacted for comment.
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