Reform UK strips council leader of membership over undisclosed X account

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Reform UK has expelled the leader of Staffordshire county council, one of its most senior local government figures, after investigating past racist posts from a social media account associated with him.

The party began a probe into Councillor Ian Cooper on Wednesday following claims by the Hope Not Hate group that an X account apparently linked to him had made multiple racist remarks about public figures. These included labelling London’s mayor Sadiq Khan a “narcissistic Pakistani”.

The expulsion comes as the party battles to combat allegations of racist behaviour by a number of its members, including leader Nigel Farage.

More detailed allegations emerged on Friday that Farage had been racist towards a fellow pupil at London’s Dulwich College in the 1980s. Farage has dismissed such allegations, saying they were “banter” or not intended to be hurtful.

On Cooper’s case, Reform UK said on Friday evening: “Following an investigation into the failure to declare social media accounts during the candidate-vetting process, Councillor Ian Cooper has had his membership of Reform UK revoked.”

Cooper did not immediately resign as leader of the council. But other councillors are expected to vote him out at a meeting on Thursday if he refuses to resign.

The posts came from an account with the name @cooper_ian57035. While the councillor has not publicly confirmed he was behind this, Reform UK’s statement suggested the party concluded that he controlled it.

Cooper did not immediately respond to an emailed request to comment.

The latest allegations about Farage’s behaviour as a schoolboy were reported by the Guardian. It quoted Yinka Bankole, born in the UK to Nigerian parents, as saying Farage repeatedly taunted him during his year at the school, saying: “That’s the way back to Africa.”

Reform UK did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Bankole’s claims. The Guardian has said a total of 28 fellow pupils have come forward with claims that Farage made racist or antisemitic remarks to them while they were at the school.

Farage has insisted he never made comments about fellow pupils “in a hurtful or insulting way”.

Labour party chair Anna Turley said on Friday evening it was time Farage “took responsibility and apologised sincerely” to those who had bravely come forward.

In Staffordshire, Philip White, leader of the council’s Conservative group, pointed out that other examples of alleged bigotry among Reform UK members of the council had emerged.

Last month Peter Mason, the council’s Reform cabinet member for highways, apologised for historic posts that included describing a statue as a “fat arsed black woman”.

White said: “It was inevitable that Ian Cooper would have to go, but Reform have done nothing to address the bigotry that appears to be embedded in their Staffordshire branch.”

White also called for Cooper to resign as a councillor and criticised the party for revoking his membership on the technicality of his having failed to disclose the account.

Reform has faced a series of problems since the party hugely increased its representation on county councils in England at elections earlier this year.

Four members of Kent county council have been suspended from the party over the leaking of a video showing an internal party row. Councillors from other parties on Lancashire county council have accused Reform councillors of being intimidating towards them — a claim the party denies.

As well as the posts about Khan, the @cooper_ian57035 account was critical of David Lammy, now justice secretary and deputy prime minister. The account wrote that no foreign national or first-generation immigrant should be allowed to sit in parliament. Lammy was born in London to Guyanese parents.

Reform said another councillor — Martin Murray — had been appointed as interim leader of the party’s group on Staffordshire council until a permanent replacement was elected.

Additional reporting by Jennifer Williams