Reform UK is under pressure across England and Wales after ITV News aired undercover footage on Tuesday night showing councillors and candidates using racist, violent and sexist language, forcing Nigel Farage’s party to announce investigations and suspend several figures hours before the broadcast ended.
The documentary drew on more than a year of reporting inside Reform campaigns, including local elections in May and four parliamentary by-elections. ITV said reporters captured eight people in Reform roles making remarks that included abuse aimed at migrants and Muslims, threats of violence, and misogynistic comments. The BBC reported that Reform said every person filmed was already under investigation and had resigned or been suspended.
Party response and political fallout
A Reform spokesman said the party had strengthened vetting but acknowledged that “from time to time, a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through.” The statement insisted there was “no room for racism” in Reform. Conservative chairmen said the footage showed Farage had failed to make the party “ready for government,” while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called the scenes “chilling.”
Green Party officials argued that vilifying migrants and Muslims had been central to Reform’s pitch, saying the language in the film reflected policy choices rather than isolated slips. Farage himself did not appear in the excerpts broadcast before the watershed, but he has staked Reform’s growth on hard-line immigration messaging, making the reputational damage a test of whether the party can broaden its appeal beyond protest voters.
Named councillors and resignations
Among those identified in follow-up coverage was a Reform councillor in the West Midlands filmed making racist comments about a local mayor. ITV reported that the councillor had “mutually agreed” to resign from Reform on Monday evening, citing personal reasons, and would continue as an independent on the council. The broadcaster said it had sought comment from every person shown; the BBC noted it did not know how many Reform figures ITV contacted overall.
Reform officials said suspensions were in place while internal probes continued, but opposition parties demanded stronger action, including reviews of Reform’s access to short-money funding and council committee roles. Welsh and English local government associations have previously warned about intimidation in town halls; Tuesday’s film revived questions about whether parties can screen thousands of new activists quickly enough when surging membership outpaces staff-led vetting.
What voters see next
Parliament returns with Reform MPs seeking to frame themselves as a disciplined alternative to the Conservatives, yet the ITV footage gives opponents a fresh line of attack in media interviews and campaign leaflets. For voters in areas where filmed councillors still hold seats as independents, the immediate issue is whether local services are affected by disrupted party groups on councils Reform once controlled.
Broadcast regulators are unlikely to intervene in the journalism itself, but Ofcom rules on harm and offence will shape how clips are replayed on social platforms. Reform’s challenge is to convince wavering supporters that the filmed remarks are exceptional, while rivals argue the undercover tapes reveal the tone of a movement that has relied on anti-immigration rhetoric to fuel its rise.