Reform candidate resigns over previous comments urging people to 'vote BNP'
StClair-Armstrong was forced to resign from the party after it emerged he previously urged people to vote for the BNP.
Reform UK candidate Grant StClair-Armstrong has resigned from the party after it emerged he previously urged people to vote for the BNP.
The 71-year-old, who is challenging business secretary Kemi Badenoch in constituency of North West Essex, posted on a blog called the Joli Triste in 2010: “I could weep now, every time I pick up a British newspaper and read the latest about the state of the UK," The Times reports.
“No doubt, Enoch Powell would be doing the same if he was alive. My solution … vote BNP!” he added.
Speaking after the news emerged, StClair-Armstrong told The Times: “I’ve got no excuses for that. I think they’re a disgusting party. I don’t like the English Defence League. I don’t like them.”
He added he that he did not “really see any alternative” to tendering his resignation.
His comments were found in an archived version of the Joli Triste website, which has since been changed.
According to The Times, other blog posts included racial slurs and a joke about “female hormones”.
StClair-Armstrong told BBC News said the comment was posted some time between 2004 and 2007 and that he was an “angry man” at the time.
“I have never supported the BNP. I think they are a disgusting organisation,” he told the broadcaster.
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Asked by the outlet whether he had chosen to step down, he said the party had forced him to, the BBC reports.
A spokesperson for Reform UK told The Times: “Mr StClair-Armstrong has tendered his resignation as a member of Reform UK due to the revelation of unacceptable historic social media comments and we have accepted his resignation.”
StClair-Armstrong will still appear on the ballot in the seat as Reform UK's candidate as the deadline for nominations has expired, but would be an independent if elected.
A source close to Badenoch told the newspaper: “It says a lot about Reform that they chose to stand someone with these abhorrent views against the only female, black cabinet minister.”
