A newly-elected Reform UK councillor has resigned and been expelled from the party following allegations that he celebrated the rape of a Sikh woman in Walsall. Stuart Prior was one of 53 Reform members elected to Essex County Council last week, as Nigel Farage's party secured a majority. Prior also won a seat on Rochford District Council.
Before the election, a joint investigation by the Mirror and Hope Not Hate alleged that Prior had shared racist content online. Political opponents called on Reform UK to drop Prior as a candidate ahead of last Thursday's elections. Zarah Sultana, the former Labour MP and co-founder of Your Party, highlighted the rapes of two Sikh women in Walsall and Oldbury in a post on X last October, stating: "These horrifying attacks show how racism and misogyny feed each other – fuelled by the rise of fascism and hate." In response, Prior is alleged to have said: "Good. Reap it."
When approached by a reporter from the Mirror, Prior denied making the comments. John Ashby, 32, was recently jailed for life for his horrific attack on a Sikh woman he followed off a bus before raping her in her Walsall home. An investigation into the racially aggravated rape of another Sikh woman in Oldbury is ongoing.
Prior won the Essex County Council division of Rayleigh West with a majority of 796 votes, taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats. He also won Sweyne Park and the Grange on Rochford. Farage's party won all 13 seats up for grabs on the district council, but no single party now has overall control there.
A Reform UK source said on Monday: "Stuart Prior informed us that he was resigning from his elected positions for personal reasons. We have also revoked his Reform UK membership." An Essex County Council spokesperson confirmed: "We have had confirmation that the successful candidate for Rayleigh West has resigned from their position as a county councillor. We also understand they have resigned from their role as a councillor for Rochford District Council. Officers from both authorities will work together to co-ordinate by-elections, with arrangements communicated to residents as soon as possible." A spokesperson from Rochford District Council also confirmed this.
It is alleged that Prior deleted an X account named @essexpriory earlier this year. In November, it is claimed that he suggested white people had larger brains than Black people. A user shared pictures of white athletes on the floor next to their standing Black counterparts, writing: "But how did they manage to colonize us?" In response, Prior is alleged to have written: "Larger brains. Google which race has the smallest brain.... Then, once you have that answer, Google whether brain size dictates intelligence in humans."
In response to a tweet questioning whether white women should be allowed to wear braids, Prior allegedly wrote in December: "As the master race, they can do as they please." The same month, he allegedly wrote: "There cannot be a genocide against Muslims. It's only ever self-defence against those rats." Reacting to a video of a Black man apparently being disruptive on a Tube train in October, Prior is accused of using a racial slur. In response to a tweet referencing the Huntingdon knife attack, Prior is accused of writing in November: "If this was caused by another third world invader, then this country needs a purge." He is also alleged to have tweeted "Muslims are dirt" and "Muslims are awful, globally."
When confronted at his home in an Essex village, Prior said "that's not what I would have put down" and "this isn't me." The 54-year-old denied being a racist. On the tweet about the "master race," Prior claimed: "I don't recall that at all, blimey." In reference to his alleged comment about Black people's brains, he said: "Goodness me, that is not me, 100% not." When read the tweet saying "good" and "reap it" in reference to women being raped, Prior said: "No, this isn't me." When read a tweet in which he is alleged to have referred to immigrants as a cancer, Prior said: "This looks likely something that's been kind of created against me."
Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope Not Hate, accused Reform of a systematic failure in the party's vetting. Last month, Farage was asked if all Reform's candidates had been vetted in the county. He said: "I know that our candidates will be held to a higher standard than any of the other parties. That's because we are the challengers. We are the ones taking on the establishment. Yet we have done a good, thorough professional job."
