Nigel Farage has claimed there was a “cover-up” in the wake of the Southport stabbing attack in 2024
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Reform UK is hoping to make significant inroads on May 1, with Nottinghamshire emerging as a major target
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A Reform UK MP has claimed a campaign sign has been torn down just weeks before a crunch set of Local Elections across England.
The sign, erected in Selston in Nottinghamshire, was left without Reform UK’s badge at its centre, leaving the message: "On Thursday, May 1 - Vote."
Ashfield MP Lee Anderson issued a fiery response after alleging the incident was an act of vandalism.
The Reform UK bigwig said: “This is in the Selston Ward where dirty political tricks are rife. You will not stop us.”
Voters across Nottinghamshire will elect 66 councillors on May 1, with Reform UK earmarking the contest as a potential political sweet-spot.
Research conducted by Electoral Calculus even suggests Reform UK could emerge as the largest party in Robin Hood Country.
Nottinghamshire returned a Conservative administration in 2021 after Boris Johnson’s popularity peaked as a result of the so-called vaccine bounce.
However, Electoral Calculus is forecasting the Conservative contingent being slashed from 37 to just 13.
Labour looks poised to receive a surprising three ward boost, taking its haul from 15 in the last election to 18.
Reform UK, who picked up one seat in as part of its defection push, could land itself 24 councillors after May 1.
However, a centre-right county hall coalition in Nottinghamshire seems beyond possibility after Farage this week rejected Kemi Badenoch's suggestion of a post-polling day alliance.
The Reform UK leader left the door open to "working relationships", making informal co-operation a much more likely outcome.
Local Labour figures also ruled out an agreement with Reform UK, with Beeston Central & Rylands Councillor Kate Foale saying: "Why would we do a deal with Reform candidates that are kind of far-right candidates that would just get the Tories back in?"
She added: "I don't want to do a deal with people that do not value public services and certainly the Conservatives and certainly Reform do not value public services."
However, Anderson's grievances about Reform UK's sign being pulled down comes just days after GB News exclusively exposed how a group of local Tories were being dragged into a "sexism and racism" row.
Tory Councillor Mike Introna had been discussing Reform candidate Andrew McCallum in a WhatsApp group chat - where he labelled him "ageist" and "anti-disabled"
Screenshots shared with the People's Channel also showed Introna saying: "She [McCallum's Thai wife] reported an empty bin on Facebook, for f***s sake. His TikTok bride."
A Reform UK spokesman told GB News: "This sexism and racism is unacceptable. The Conservative Party must take action very quickly."
Responding to the WhatsApp incident, a Conservative Party spokesman added: "The Conservative Party has an established code of conduct and formal processes where complaints can be made in confidence. This process is rightly confidential."
GB News has approached Nottinghamshire Police for comment about Reform UK's sign seemingly being damaged.
