A Reform UK candidate exposed for spreading racist bile has swept to a double victory in Nigel Farage's backyard. Stuart Prior, who apparently celebrated Punjabi and Sikh women being raped, has won county and district council seats in Essex. His sickening comments were revealed in a joint investigation by the Mirror with anti-racism group Hope Not Hate.
Double Election Victory
Reform has ended the Conservative Party's quarter-century control of Essex County Council, with Prior among those elected. The 54-year-old property director also won a seat on Rochford District Council, securing 911 votes to take the Sweyne Park and Grange ward. Prior separately stood in Rayleigh West for a county council seat, winning with 2,404 votes.
Party Under Pressure
Reform said last week it was 'looking into' Prior's posts, with the party facing pressure to take action. Labour MP Zarah Sultana asked Farage: 'Will you immediately suspend him from your party?' Hope Not Hate's Director of Campaigns Georgie Laming stated: 'Among all the Reform UK candidates we have exposed, Stuart Prior's language was some of the most horrifically racist. He should have been swiftly expelled from the party.'
Prior's Denials
When confronted by the Mirror, Prior denied being racist. On his 'master race' tweet, he claimed: 'I don't recall that at all, blimey.' Read back his tweet saying 'good' and 'reap it' in reference to women being raped, Prior said: 'No, this isn't me.' His X account is thought to have been deleted earlier this year. Prior told the Mirror: 'This looks likely something that's been kind of created against me.'
Racist Comments Exposed
In December, Prior responded to a tweet questioning whether white women should be allowed to wear braids, writing: 'As the master race, they can do as they please.' In October, he reposted a tweet about a Punjabi woman and a Sikh woman being raped in racist attacks, adding: 'good.reap it'.
Cross-Party Condemnation
Four Labour MPs in the West Midlands wrote to Reform's leader in Sandwell, condemning Prior's celebration of the attacks. Sarah Coombes, Antonia Bance, Gurinder Singh Josan, and Alex Ballinger said: 'The community in Sandwell was shaken to its core... It has now emerged that a Reform candidate in Essex, Stuart Prior, has celebrated this attack.' They demanded Prior be withdrawn as a candidate. After Prior's district council win, Coombes wrote to Farage on X: 'Will you immediately suspend him from your party?'
Prior also referred to immigrants as a 'cancer' in another tweet. Reform has been contacted for comment over Prior's election victories.
