A Reform UK councillor in North Tyneside has apologised after sharing a homophobic video on social media, prompting opposition parties to call for his suspension.
Coun Martin Uren, who represents the Camperdown Ward, posted the video on Facebook with a caption that read: “I could write an entire essay with regards to this, the piont [sic] is made. Done”. The post, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, has since been deleted.
The video insinuated that gay men adopt boys for sexual motives and made sweeping claims that lesbian adoptive parents kill their children. Reform has said Uren disagreed with the statements made in the video.
Conservative and Labour responses
A Conservative group spokesman said: “This video promotes a deeply offensive smear against gay parents. Councillor Uren chose to share it and added a comment saying ‘the point is made’. He must explain what point he believes this video makes.
“Gay and lesbian parents deserve the same dignity and respect as every other family. Residents should be able to trust their councillors to represent them fairly, without spreading prejudice about their families or their fitness to raise children.
“Reform UK should suspend Councillor Uren while it investigates. The party must make clear whether it considers sharing this material acceptable conduct for an elected representative.
“Following ITV’s investigation, Reform cannot dismiss every new concern as an isolated incident. Its leadership faces serious questions about the character and judgement of those representing the party and what happens when unacceptable conduct comes to light.
“Reform voters deserve better. They deserve representatives who uphold decent standards and a party willing to act when those standards are breached. Reform must now give a clear answer about Councillor Uren.”
A Labour spokesman added: “I wish I was surprised, but divisive claptrap is what we've come to expect from our Reform UK councillors in the North East.
“Reform centrally need to have a root and branch review of their candidate selection processes, because something, somewhere has gone terribly wrong. The Party should suspend Coun Uren immediately.”
Background and response
Uren stood as an Independent in the race for the North Tyneside Mayoralty and became well-known after staging a stunt by swimming across the River Tyne. He stood for Reform in the 2026 local elections, gaining the seat from Labour.
An undercover investigation by ITV Exposure into Reform candidates caught multiple candidates making racist, Islamophobic, violent, and sexist remarks on camera. On Wednesday, Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said the party had reported ITV, board members and undercover reports to the police over the methods used to gather information for the story.
Responding to the criticism, a Reform UK North Tyneside spokesman said: “At no point did Councillor Uren endorse the contents of the video. He has apologised for any offence caused and clarified that he disagreed with the statements it contained.
“We would take the faux outrage from the North Tyneside Conservatives more seriously if they had condemned Kemi Badenoch’s decision to hire convicted antisemite and former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine as a senior adviser.”
Bonehill-Paine was previously imprisoned for inciting racial hatred in 2015 and racially aggravated assault in 2016, targeting Jewish former Labour MP Luciana Berger. He underwent a deradicalisation programme in prison and engaged in counter-extremism work following his release in 2018. He was selected to contest a seat in the 2027 Somerset Council elections, but following a backlash he withdrew his candidacy and was made an advisor. Party leader Kemi Badenoch defended the selection, saying the Tories 'believed in second chances'.
In a statement, Uren said: "Whilst at no point did I endorse the contents of the video, I take full responsibility for the posts on my Facebook page. I am deeply embarrassed at having posted something that I had not fully reviewed.
"I have now removed any posts that could cause further harm or distress, and I sincerely apologise for any hurt these posts may have caused."
