Stuart Prior, who recently won seats on both Essex County Council and Rochford District Council, resigned shortly after controversy erupted over the positions allegedly linked to him.The party also confirmed that it had canceled its membership.Allegations of extremist and racist posts on the InternetAccording to reports by campaign group Hope Not Hate, Pryor has been linked to social media posts that included claims describing white people as the “master race” and suggesting they have “larger brains.”Other alleged statements attributed to him included offensive and inflammatory language directed at Muslims and minorities.When confronted by the media, Pryor reportedly denied remembering the posts and dismissed the allegations, saying: “That’s not what I was going to write.”Reform reaction in the UK: resignation and expulsionA spokesman for the UK Reform Party said that Prior had informed the party that he was stepping down “for personal reasons”, adding that his membership had been withdrawn with immediate effect.
Local councils confirmed his resignation from both elected positions, leading to preparations for by-elections in the affected areas.The resignation comes just days after Reform UK made significant gains, taking control of Essex County Council from the Conservatives by winning a large majority.Pryor received about 40 percent of the vote in his wards, making the sudden exit particularly troubling for the leadership of the newly formed council.The incident is part of a wider wave of scrutiny involving several newly elected councilors from across parties, with several individuals facing allegations of racist, anti-Semitic or extremist content online.Investigations and comments have been reported in various councils as political parties rush to respond to growing backlash over candidates’ past activity on social media.Both Essex County Council and Rochford District Council have confirmed they are coordinating to organize a by-election, with details expected to be announced soon for affected residents.