Private Eye has crunched the numbers about the new Reform Councillors.
Rupert Lowe
It comes as former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has accused Nigel Farage’s party of being “the cult of Nigel” and says he was the victim of a “political assassination attempt”.
The Great Yarmouth MP made the comments in his first broadcast interview since the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to press charges over threats he was alleged to have made.
Asked whether he felt “vindicated” by the CPS decision not to charge him, he said: ” I knew I hadn’t done anything, so therefore I didn’t worry too much. But, you know, there’s always uncertainty – and as an innocent, law-abiding 67-year-old with a completely clean record, it was all new to me.”
He also wrote on X: “As a result of the false allegations that I made threats against the Reform chairman, on the 14th March at 21.30, armed police arrived at my home unannounced – three vehicles, with four armed officers. The previous day, I had arranged with the police to voluntarily give up my guns. So as you can imagine, to have armed police suddenly arrive on my doorstep late at night was a deeply stressful situation. I am a farmer. Farmers have guns, all entirely legally. There is nothing unusual about it.
“The officers stayed until 23.38. They confiscated my guns and left. I have a large collection, so it took some time – a wheelbarrow was required. I of course fully cooperated, and now that the investigation has been dropped I look forward to having my guns promptly returned. I do not blame the officers involved, I blame Reform – their disgusting weaponisation of the criminal justice system had very real life consequences, for me and my family.
“So when people tell me to ‘move on’, the answer is no. Try having armed police arrive at your home unannounced late on a Friday evening. It is not a pleasant experience. The evil behaviour from the Reform leadership must be called out.”
Private Eye
Private Eye Magazine shared the post and wrote: “Two of the charming Reform candidates the Eye featured last issue won seats in the local elections: Ronald Firman in West Northants, who had joked about being in the Ku Klux Klan and throwing refugees out of planes, and Luke Parker in Lancashire, who made a false claim that a care home scheduled for closure was be used to house asylum seekers.”
Related:Watch: Reform’s big promise unravels in car crash TV interview
