New Lincolnshire County Councillor for Hough criticised for ‘racist discussion’ by Reform UK Exposed

A newly elected Lincolnshire county councillor has come under fire over historic tweets, including a post that campaigners branded "racist".

Reform UK’s Ken Bamford was elected as the new councillor for the Hough division following the May 1 election.

A social media account called Reform Party UK Exposed then posted screenshots of a discussion in February about a video showing a gathering in the Indian community in Southall.

Brexit activist James Goddard wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “It’s hard to distinguish whether this video was filmed in India or Mini India, otherwise known as Southall.” Coun Bamford replied: “Just watching this gave me the s***s.”

Reform Party UK Exposed labelled this a ‘racist discussion’.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted Coun Bamford for an explanation for the posts but has not received a response. He appears to have recently deleted both his personal and campaign accounts on X.

In a separate post, also highlighted by Reform Party UK Exposed, the newly elected councillor wrote: “Since 2019, the only media sources I trust are Tucker Carlson News and Talk TV.”

The posts drew criticism online, with one commenter calling Bamford’s remarks “disgusting” and others questioning the party’s vetting process for candidates.

Nationally, the party has faced scrutiny over its selection procedures, after extreme posts by new councillors have emerged. This is despite leader Nigel Farage previously claiming the process had improved and was now “as good if not better” than other parties.

However, LBC has reported on additional social media posts by Reform UK councillors across the country, which campaigners say undermine those claims.

Reform UK secured 44 of 70 available seats in the recent county elections, including all seats in East Lindsey, Boston, and all but one in South Holland.