Three Reform UK councillors resigned from a local authority in England after ITV reported racist and sexist remarks by party figures, leaving their ward without sitting councillors.
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council identified the departing members as Alan Feeney, Chris Whelan and Jamie Campbell in a statement Friday, Oct. 16. Its monitoring officer had received formal complaints about their comments, the council said. All three Castle Bromwich seats are vacant.
ITV gathered the footage during party campaigns in England and Wales in 2025 and 2026. It reported that Campbell discussed burying pork to obstruct a possible mosque, while Whelan made sexually aggressive comments about female candidates. Feeney made racist remarks about Asian residents while canvassing, according to the broadcaster.
The three Solihull councillors also left Reform UK, ITV reported. Of the seven councillors featured in its investigation, five had left the party. ITV said Adam Parkins and David Kerr remained Reform councillors. The five councillors who left Reform UK include Feeney, Whelan and Campbell, who also resigned their Solihull council seats.
ITV also reported on a leadership discussion about mayoral candidate Chris Parry. Reform UK communications director Ed Sumner sought Parry’s removal over remarks questioning the loyalty of Black and Asian politicians to Britain. Party leader Nigel Farage asked Parry to apologize instead.
Reform UK told ITV it had begun investigations, suspended some individuals and improved candidate vetting. The party acknowledged that unsuitable people could still pass through its screening. “There is no room for racism in Reform UK,” it said, adding that it would await the investigations before commenting on individual cases.
Former Reform parliamentary candidate Matthew Goodwin told LBC the recorded remarks disgusted him. He argued that Reform did not attract more extremists than other parties.
Reform UK has not given a date for its investigations to end. Solihull council said it would hold a by-election to fill the three Castle Bromwich seats at the earliest opportunity, but it has not announced a date.
