{"id":25010,"date":"2026-04-29T14:38:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/25010\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:38:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:38:48","slug":"the-extremist-and-offensive-posts-linked-to-greater-manchester-reform-candidates-and-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/25010\/","title":{"rendered":"The extremist and offensive posts linked to Greater Manchester Reform candidates and agents"},"content":{"rendered":"

With two by-election victories in as many weeks in Salford and Bury<\/a>, Reform UK are expected to make major gains across Greater Manchester in the May 7 local elections.<\/p>\n

The party spearheaded by Nigel Farage is fielding candidates in every ward in Greater Manchester for the first time this year, alongside the Conservatives<\/a>, Green Party, Labour<\/a> and Lib Dems<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It means voting for a new council representative could see ballots split in tight five-way races – or more in areas with established independent candidates.<\/p>\n

WARNING: This article contains offensive images and comments.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for the latest on Greater Manchester’s politics in our newsletter<\/p>\n

All ten councils in Greater Manchester will hold elections for a third of all council seats this year. But the rush to find so many candidates has led some to question how thorough Reform UK\u2019s vetting process has been.<\/p>\n

Several Reform candidates and campaigners across Greater Manchester have been accused of sharing xenophobic, Islamophobic, or Anti-Semitic views, or circulating conspiracy theories on social media.<\/p>\n

The Manchester Evening News has seen posts including from a candidate who described an Orthodox Jewish community as a \u2018demonic social structure\u2019, an election agent who mused whether Enoch Powell – an inciter of racial hatred with his 1968 \u2018rivers of blood\u2019 speech – was \u2018right\u2019, and a nominee who appeared to have shared Covid-19<\/a> conspiracies.<\/p>\n

A Reform UK spokesman said: \u201cThe allegations and posts are being thoroughly investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of Reform nominees alleged to have posted or liked \u2018controversial\u2019 content has not been lost on Labour, who are facing tough competition in many of the region\u2019s traditionally \u2018safe\u2019 seats.<\/p>\n

Last week, the Labour Party<\/a> released a dossier pointing at a number of Reform candidates across the country who have what they describe as \u2018dangerous and extreme views\u2019.<\/p>\n

Steve Reed MP, Labour\u2019s Communities Secretary, said: \u201cThe idea that Nigel Farage thinks these candidates pushing vile racism, misogyny and conspiracy theories are suitable, is frankly staggering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an insult to the public that Farage put these people forwards to stand in the first place, but it\u2019s a dereliction of duty that he hasn\u2019t condemned them nor pulled his support for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Greater Manchester members of Reform UK have hit back at the dossier as a \u2018politically motivated attack\u2019. Nigel Farage has repeatedly promised to improve the Reform candidate vetting process, admitting in the past it was not up to scratch.<\/p>\n

He defended the current measures following a series of controversial incidents involving candidates by stating that ‘sometimes people lie’.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The X account of Reform election agent Dave Pinfold in Stockport (Image: X)<\/p>\n

Reform election agent says posts were shared for ‘freedom of speech’<\/p>\n

In Stockport<\/a>, the council is under no overall control, so councillors of all political colours are able to influence decisions made in the town hall.<\/p>\n

The Edgeley ward, based just outside Stockport town centre, is held by three councillors from the Edgeley Community Association. The group was formed by ex-Labour councillor Matt Wynne in 2022<\/a> after a fallout with his former party. Reform\u2019s candidate in Edgeley is Peter Marsh, supported by his election agent Dave Pinfold.<\/p>\n

Posts shared on Pinfold\u2019s X account have recently surfaced. It includes a post exclaiming that \u2018Allah is Satan\u2019, a call to \u2018close all mosques\u2019 in the UK, and a post showing a picture of a masked man with a pig outside a halal butchers. Most of these posts were shared by Pinfold in the last few months.<\/p>\n

Pinfold was criticised for sharing the posts by Councillor Asa Caton from the Edgeley Community Association, who claimed that there appeared to be a \u2018vetting gap\u2019 in Reform.<\/p>\n

Coun Caton highlighted a number of X posts which Pinfold shared, including one asking whether \u2018Enoch Powell [was] right?\u2019 and another which appeared to show an image of a crusader under the caption: \u2018all united against Islam\u2019.<\/p>\n

Speaking outside his home in Edgeley, Pinfold said: “I did mention to the candidate that some of the social media posts I’ve shared were controversial. I asked if I needed to go through vetting but was told it wasn’t needed because I’m an agent. The thing I’ll say is they’re not my posts, they’re shared from accounts that I follow.”<\/p>\n

Asked whether he now regrets sharing the posts, Pinfold said: “We have freedom of speech and in hardline Islamic countries Christians are not allowed to practise their religion, that’s the point I would make.” Mr Pinfold has made his X account private.<\/p>\n

Reform UK\u2019s Stockport branch was approached for comment but has not responded. The party\u2019s candidate in Edgeley, Peter Marsh, was contacted on social media but has not replied.<\/p>\n

Mr Marsh posted on Facebook on April 23 saying he was continuing his campaign \u2018despite the obvious smears from certain parties and supporters\u2019.<\/p>\n

He added in the post: \u201cI have never posted racist slurs or shared pictures or memes that some would find abusive. No amount of AI will find evidence of that because its not there, in fact you will find very different information than that which is being pushed out if you did a deep search.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘It’s clear Reform UK\u2019s vetting still isn\u2019t up to scratch’<\/p>\n

A Reform UK candidate in Waterhead, Oldham, has been slammed after xenophobic posts appeared on his Facebook account and the same account liked Islamophobic comments.<\/p>\n

Paul Taylor’s account showed a racist meme depicting Andy Burnham<\/a> with brown skin, and liked comments stating \u2018this is Great Britain not an Islamic colony for them scums\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A picture depicting Andy Burnham by Paul Taylor, Reform UK candidate in Waterhead, Oldham(Image: Facebook)<\/p>\n

Hope Not Hate called out the discriminatory posts, stating: \u201cIt\u2019s clear Reform UK\u2019s vetting still isn\u2019t up to scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Taylor was approached for comment.<\/p>\n

An Oldham<\/a> Reform Group spokesperson dismissed the allegations as \u2018a desperate political attack\u2019. The spokesperson said: \u201cDespite what the left might try and claim, opposing Sharia courts is not Islamophobic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suspended campaigner becomes election agent<\/p>\n

A Reform campaigner who was suspended during the Gorton and Denton by-election<\/a> after he was accused of making anti-semitic, misogynistic, and transphobic comments on his X account is now acting as an election agent.<\/p>\n

Adam Mitula claims the comments were \u2018taken out of context\u2019 and he is \u2018no longer suspended\u2019 from the party.<\/p>\n

He is now legally responsible for the campaigns of three Tameside<\/a> candidates: Aron Webb for Denton<\/a> North East, Audra Murray for Denton South, and Daniel Bennett for Denton West.<\/p>\n

Before his suspension in February, it was reported Mr Mitula had written posts in which he said he would ‘never touch a Jewish woman’ and claimed the Holocaust death toll had been exaggerated.<\/p>\n

He reportedly claimed 60 to 70 per cent of transgender people are paedophiles. Mr Mitula has since deleted his X account.<\/p>\n

At the time, the former interim campaign manager for Matt Goodwin told the press: \u201cI am currently suspended by Reform pending investigation, and I hope common sense prevails. I would like to apologise to anyone who felt offended by my comments, which were taken out of context.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Mitula claims he was unsuspended shortly after releasing his statement.<\/p>\n

When contacted for this piece, he said: \u201cMy only comment is that I am no longer suspended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reform candidate posted saying Covid was ‘b******s’<\/p>\n

A Reform candidate in Bolton<\/a>, Trevor Jones, has come under scrutiny for a Facebook post in which he appears to suggest the pandemic was fake.<\/p>\n

The founder of the Bolton Reform group is gunning for town hall leader, coun Nick Peel\u2019s seat in Tonge with the Haulgh.<\/p>\n

The Labour Party dossier on Reform uncovered a 2021 social media post in which Mr Jones shared a roughly drawn digital image of a Covid virus with the words \u2018ITS B******S [sic]\u2019 in the middle. Mr Jones captioned the post: \u201c1st image just released of the new Omicron Virus\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Facebook post by Trevor Jones, Reform UK candidate in Tonge with the Haulgh in Bolton(Image: Facebook)<\/p>\n

The nominee did not respond to a request for comment, but shortly after being contacted by the MEN, he posted on his Facebook page: \u201cI\u2019ve just had a call from the Manchester Evening News saying that Labour has contacted them on a fb comment I posted five years back about covid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have obviously scrolled through my fb which I leave open for anyone to view and all these panicking weasels can find is a drawing of a virus and a few choice words. Start looking for another job, Peel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candidate accused of posting racist comments<\/p>\n

Also in Bolton, a Reform UK council candidate was accused of posting racist comments<\/a> on Facebook – allegations he claims are \u2018fake\u2019.<\/p>\n

Derek Bullock, a former Conservative and Independent councillor on Bolton council, is standing as the Reform candidate for Hulton on May 7.<\/p>\n

In April 2023, Mr Bullock was nominated to stand by the Conservative party<\/a> in similar Bolton council elections. At that time, a screen-shot emerged which showed a Facebook post following the Manchester Arena<\/a> bombing in 2017, under the post an account which appears to show Mr Bullock\u2019s name and profile picture commented: \u201cShoot the P***s on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the day nomination papers for the election naming Mr Bullock as a Conservative candidate were published in 2023, party chiefs terminated his membership.<\/p>\n

Mr Bullock, who had been a councillor since 2019, remained on the ballot paper and subsequently won the election and sat as an Independent before losing his seat in the May 2024 elections.<\/p>\n

The issue of the screen-shot re-emerged in an article published in the past week by the group Hope Not Hate, after Reform UK confirmed him as its candidate for Hulton.<\/p>\n

This week, Mr Bullock said he believes the screenshot had been faked.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Reform UK said: \u201cMr Bullock has always strongly maintained that this image is fake and has reported this resurfaced material to the police. It is also incorrect to claim that Mr Bullock was expelled from the Conservative Party for this post.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Bullock is a valued member of his community and is currently a trustee of the Asian Elders\u2019 Resource Centre in Bolton.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously, in March 2020, Coun Bullock faced disciplinary action from the Tories after it was alleged an article from an anti-Muslim activist\u2019s \u201cJihadWatch\u201d had been posted on his Facebook.<\/p>\n

In response to an article about former party chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, he reportedly added: \u201cShe\u2019s been a cuckoo in the nest!\u201d<\/p>\n

And in another post, from February 2015, he was alleged to have shared a news article with the headline \u2018Number of Muslim children in England and Wales doubles in a decade\u2019, adding the comment \u2018the clock is ticking\u2019.<\/p>\n

Greater Manchester Police<\/a> were contacted regarding Mr Bullock\u2019s assertion that he had informed them of the alleged fake post.<\/p>\n

Salford’s first Reform councillor comes under spotlight<\/p>\n

Michael Felse was elected as Reform UK\u2019s first councillor in Salford last week<\/a> in the Barton<\/a> and Winton by-election.<\/p>\n

He edged the race by just 33 votes ahead of Labour, but he has since faced criticism for comments made online in the past.<\/p>\n

He commented below a Salford<\/a> Star article in 2016 about UKIP\u2019s candidate in that year\u2019s election for Salford mayor.<\/p>\n

Felse appeared to write below the article: \u201cJust what Salford need. I see a honest man. Speaking his mind. Willing to listen. Open to new ideas. I would be a goonies n****g not to vote for this inspirationally talented man.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for the Labour Party’s hate for our Jewish community, I say send Livingstone to Auswitch – I visits 8 years ago and am still haunted by the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not see one once of hate in UKIP’s Owen Hammond. Just a honest man that I truely am pleased to have forgone my election place to have him become Salford’s City Mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Felse at the Barton and Winton by-election count in Salford on April 22, 2026(Image: Declan Carey \/ Local Democracy Reporting Service)<\/p>\n

A Reform UK spokesman said: \u201cMichael may have used some coarse language some ten years ago however, the voters of Salford had the opportunity to pass judgment on his track record and chose to elect him as their Councillor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councillor shares regret over past comments<\/p>\n

A Reform UK councillor in Bury<\/a> expressed regret over comments he made in the past describing a community in the orthodox Jewish population as a \u2018demonic social structure\u2019 and comparing it to Al Qaeda and Isis.<\/p>\n

Dr Shadman Zaman, the candidate for Pilkington Park, published a series of blog posts in 2020 after aborting a conversion to Haredi Judaism, a strictly religious community that lives in North Manchester and parts of Bury.<\/p>\n

Dr Zaman accused the group of \u2018shallowness and hypocrisy\u2019.<\/p>\n

He stated: \u201cI tried to be the best version of what the Torah said, but the Haredis have created a demonic social structure in the name of Hashem and Torah to which I refused to subscribe.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumanity is lucky that most Jews in the world are not religious as we would not have been blessed with Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, he compared the Haredi community directly to terrorist groups Al Qaeda and Isis.<\/p>\n

Asked about his posts, Dr Zaman said: \u201cThe posts you are referring to were made several years ago during a very personal and difficult period in my life, when I was going through an ultimately unsuccessful stage within an Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish conversion process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was an emotional time, and I expressed myself in ways that, with hindsight, I would not use today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat matters is how I have conducted myself since. I have consistently stood against antisemitism and in support of the Jewish community and Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough my experiences and continued engagement, I have developed a deep respect for the diversity within Jewish life and identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be clear: I reject antisemitism in all its forms, and I do not support or endorse language that generalises or demeans any part of the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Zaman describes himself as a \u2018Zionist, politician, NHS<\/a>, journalist\u2019.<\/p>\n

Manchester Reform candidate makes ‘terrorist’ Facebook post<\/p>\n

David McCullough is standing as Reform UK\u2019s candidate in Sharston in Manchester.<\/p>\n

A post on Facebook from 2018 has surfaced showing a person wearing a headscarf and an unknown object strapped to their body, with the caption: \u2018You think I\u2019m a terrorist, but I identify as a firework.\u2019<\/p>\n

McCullough commented in the post: \u2018Freedom of choice.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Reform candidate\u2019s Facebook account shows his election poster for the Sharston ward as the cover image.<\/p>\n

Manchester\u2019s Reform branch was contacted for comment, and Mr McCullough was also approached directly on Facebook, but neither have responded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With two by-election victories in as many weeks in Salford and Bury, Reform UK are expected to make…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3211,1328,1074,465,14,63,3624,10140,5,6,3180],"class_list":{"0":"post-25010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-bolton","9":"tag-bury","10":"tag-manchester","11":"tag-oldham","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-salford","14":"tag-stockport","15":"tag-tameside","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unmissable"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116488510127591616","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}