Newly elected Reform councillor resigns after social media claims

Stuart Prior quits as scrutiny grows of new councillors accused of racist, antisemitic or anti-Muslim remarks

A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”.

Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex county council last Thursday, winning 2,404 votes, the highest total of any candidate in the ward.