Reform UK revokes Staffordshire County Council leader’s membership

The Reform UK leader of Staffordshire County Council has been removed from the party after being accused of making racist comments on social media.

The posts at the centre of complaints about Ian Cooper included one making reference to then foreign secretary David Lammy, which stated “no foreign national or first generation migrant should be allowed to sit in Parliament”.

“Following an investigation into the failure to declare social media accounts during the candidate vetting process, councillor Ian Cooper has had his membership of Reform UK revoked”, said a party spokesperson.

Martin Murray has been appointed interim leader of the council until the group elects a new permanent leader.

The national leader of Reform, Nigel Farage, said on Thursday the party’s investigation into Cooper did “not look good” for the council leader.

The BBC has repeatedly tried to contact Cooper and he has not responded.

Activist group Hope Not Hate claimed to have found racist posts on an account on X allegedly linked to the council leader.

His alleged activity on Facebook also came under scrutiny after a group called Reform UK Exposed claimed he was a top fan of a page called The European Race, which promotes white supremacy.

A top fan is someone who has high engagement with a Facebook page.

Nine of Labour’s Staffordshire MPs called for his resignation following the news.