‘The vast majority of candidates are indeed racist, misogynistic, and bigoted’
Another Reform candidate has defected to the Conservatives due to the “vast majority” of her fellow candidates being “racist, misogynistic and bigoted.”
Georgie David had been set to stand as the Reform candidate for West Ham and Beckton in the general election on Thursday.
However, she has now defected to the Tories over concerns of racism and misgoyny within Reform.
David said she was “frustrated and dismayed” by leader Nigel Farage’s failure to tackle concerns about Reform’s candidates, although she added that she did not believe the party’s “senior leadership” were racist.
She is the second Reform candidate to defect to the Conservatives in three days, after Liam Booth-Isherwood, who was standing in Erewash, cited “significant moral issue” in parts of the party.
Both defections come after a Channel 4 report found evidence of “anti-migrant rhetoric” and “homophobia” within Farage’s campaign in Clacton. This included footage of an activist in Farage’s team using a racial slur to refer to prime minister Rishi Sunak.
In a statement announcing her defection, 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.
“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.
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“As such, I have now suspended my campaign with Reform, and I am endorsing the Conservative Party – I would encourage all of my fellow patriots to do the same.”
Three Reform candidates – Edward Oakenfull, Robert Lomas, and Leslie Lilley – have been dropped by the party following Channel 4’s findings. However, the trio will all still appear on the ballot paper as Reform candidates on Thursday as it is too late for them to be removed.
