Vetting candidates is a tricky process but Reform can’t seem to get it right

Charges against party members and off-piste remarks highlight problems brought about by rapid expansion

Speaking to reporters after unveiling his new defence spokesperson this week, Nigel Farage’s jovial and upbeat mood suddenly switched. Why, he was asked, was a Reform UK councillor who was arrested in January over multiple alleged sexual offences still in his role nearly 10 months later?

“I have no idea,” Farage replied icily. “I was told yesterday, and I wasn’t very happy.”

A later question about Reform’s misfiring processes for vetting candidates did nothing to improve the mood. Why, Farage asked, was wrongdoing in other parties barely covered, when the news that the arrested Reform councillor had been charged prompted a BBC News alert?