As we’ve reported, Reform is having no end of issues with candidate selection for the local elections. The party may have thought it had a victory recently when it secured a seasoned politician to run for the position of Croydon mayor. Unfortunately for them, however, the fact that this candidate is an ex-Tory has pushed several Reform loyalists to resign:
It’s no Flook: dozen Reform candidates resign over candidatehttps://t.co/FIUvVVShFh
— Reform Party UK Exposed
(@reformexposed) March 30, 2026
Reform chaos in Croydon
The story was reported by Inside Croydon who do great work reporting on the politics in their area. This reporting has included excellent coverage of housing minister Steve Reed and the dubious activities he got up to in the area.
In their latest piece, Inside Croydon write:
Dan Milner-Tebbutt, who until last Monday was the local party’s chair and primed to be Reform’s first mayoral candidate in Croydon, yesterday announced that he had quit the party altogether, saying, “Croydon deserves serious politics – politics driven by a love for the borough, not by career ambition.”
Tebbutt’s resignation has been followed by around 10 other disgruntled members quitting, angry at how Farage’s party HQ has imposed Flook on them as their Croydon mayoral candidate. Most of those resigning were to have stood as council candidates in the local elections on May 7. They have left a gaping hole in Reform’s candidate list, with the declaration deadline fast approaching.
The candidate being imposed on them is one Ben Flook. Although, to be fair, he may just be a placeholder for whoever gets announced next:
Tory 2.0 latest from Reform
Ben Flook, a long time right hand for Jenrick, is now the candidate for Mayor of Croydon.
Why him? Because the last one quit 48 hours before he was to be unveiled.
This is now the 4th time Reform are announcing a Mayoral candidate for Croydon… https://t.co/lHJht4bVsN
— Samuel Hemsley (@SJRH03) March 29, 2026
One of the election candidates to quit was Kosta Dexiades, who said:
When I joined Reform, I thought it was not the Establishment,” demonstrating a naivety that ought to disqualify anybody from holding political office automatically.
Unfortunately, that’s not what you get when you join Reform in Croydon.
Decisions in Croydon are not made in Croydon. They are made by HQ in London.
The issue with this is that we waited for nearly a year to get a Mayor candidate. We didn’t know until it went to Inside Croydon yesterday that the Mayor candidate actually doesn’t really care about Croydon.
The person who is getting to be a candidate is a parliamentary person who just wants to be an MP, but not to deal with the issues in Croydon.
And the fact that we weren’t told, as members, who it was until the last minute shows the contempt that Reform have for the people of Croydon.
Tip of the iceberg
As we reported, the Croydon situation is really just the tip of the iceberg for Reform:
With the local elections fast approaching, Reform UK are gearing up for a fight. The problem is they keep punching themselves in the face — most notably by borrowing a Jimmy Saville catchphrase and by refusing to dismiss a would-be candidate who did a Nazi salute. Shockingly, however, it seems like things are even worse under the surface than they are on top:
Reform candidate for Swansea in the upcoming Welsh elections steps down.
Very strong statement.
“Politics is a dirty game, but Reform has sunk deep into the sewer when it should have been a beacon of decency.”
This tallies with what many long-term Reform members have been… pic.twitter.com/HKY9cgucTX
— Will Hayward (@WillHayCardiff) March 28, 2026
In only a couple of weeks you’ve had 5 candidates suspended or quit! https://t.co/b406LfFNVA
— Reform Party UK Exposed
Reform UK Councillors Gone: Updated
Todd Ferguson, resigned over the leadership of Malcolm Offord in Scotland.
Kicked Out
Brian Black
Oliver Bradshaw
Paul Thomas
Bob Ford
Bill Barratt
Ed Hill
James Regan
Mark Broadhurst
Paul Bean
Adam Smith
Daniel Taylor
John Allen
Nicole…— Reform Party UK Exposed
If things are this bad before the local elections, we dread to think what could happen if Reform do as well as expected:
NEW | Projected seat change in local elections:
Grn +450
Lib +200
Con -1,010
Lab -1,900
(Source: Stephen Fisher / @ElectionsEtc) pic.twitter.com/pkPixJ3Ont
— Stats for Lefties
(@LeftieStats) March 30, 2026
As we’ve reported, Reform-run councils have proven chaotic to say the least, and this mayhem could now sweep the nation.
Featured image via Ben Flook
By Willem Moore
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