Campaigning Birmingham Labour MP Jess Phillips has voiced her concern after a newly elected Reform UK councillor in her Yardley constituency was exposed for making inappropriate comments on social media posts from young women.
Darren Colling, 56, the new Reform councillor for Sheldon on Birmingham City Council, faced public backlash over a series of remarks he made in response to posts featuring young women, some of whom were scantily clad. Colling swiftly deleted the posts from the Threads social media channel just before being sworn in as a city councillor on Monday, May 11. However, screenshots captured his comments, which included calling women 'stunning,' 'yummy,' or complimenting their 'great pins,' and in one instance, he made a crude sexual remark about a pictured young female.
The comments were exposed online and shared by accounts such as Reform Exposed after Colling secured one of two seats in the Sheldon ward. Jess Phillips, Labour's under-secretary of state for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, expressed her concern. She questioned the reaction of Birmingham Reform's group leader, Jex Parkin, who described the comments as 'a mistake' and 'uncomfortable reading' but not in breach of misconduct rules.
Phillips stated: 'I have supported many women and girls in Sheldon over the years who would tell him where this kind of attitude to women leads. If Reform think it's nothing but harmless banter, why did he feel the need to delete them? He represents hundreds of women and schoolgirls now, so he and his leaders need to explain how they are sure he won't have this approach to them.'
The screenshots were labeled as 'creepy,' 'misogynistic,' and 'vile' by some online, while others defended them as 'harmless' and accused critics of being 'desperate.' The expose tested Birmingham Reform's newly elected leader, Jex Parkin, who was chosen by the 23-strong group of new Reform councillors. Parkin told BirminghamLive that Colling had informed him of the messages and was 'extremely open' about them. Parkin said: 'What I would say is they do make for uncomfortable reading. My understanding is the posts were deleted before he took office. We have had a conversation and he understands his mistake. It shows the increased scrutiny that all our councillors at Reform UK are under.'
Parkin added that while the posts were uncomfortable, they were not illegal or a breach of conduct. He assured residents that any flagrant issues would be dealt with immediately, noting that all councillors passed vetting, which he considered 'very, very high.' However, he acknowledged that some individuals had slipped through vetting elsewhere due to dishonesty or nondisclosure, and those were dealt with effectively.
Colling received 2,102 votes to secure the top spot in the Sheldon ward election, within Jess Phillips' Yardley constituency. His running mate, Rachel Ann Conaghan, received 2,006 votes. The new political makeup of Birmingham City Council is as follows: Reform UK 23, Green Party 19, Labour 17, Conservative 16, Independents 13, Liberal Democrats 12, and Workers Party 1. A majority requires 51 seats.
