A Reform UK candidate standing for two Essex council seats next week has been exposed for posting a series of deeply racist messages online, including referring to white people as the “master race,” making pseudoscientific claims linking race to brain size and calling for a “purge” of what he termed “third world invaders.”
Stuart Prior, 54, a property director, is contesting seats on both Essex County Council and Rochford District Council in the 7 May elections. A joint investigation by the Daily Mirror and HOPE not Hate identified posts from a now-deleted X account under his name, dating from late 2025, that included a series of extreme racist statements.
Among the posts uncovered were a comment describing white people as “the master race” in response to a tweet about white women wearing braided hairstyles, in which Prior allegedly wrote: “As the master race, they can do as they please.” Other posts included racist pseudoscientific claims linking brain size to race, anti-Muslim rhetoric including the statements “Muslims are dirt” and “There cannot be a genocide against Muslims. It’s only ever self defence against those rats,” as well as apparent calls for a “purge” of immigrants. Further posts allegedly included the use of racial slurs, suggestions that Black people should be segregated and apparent dismissal of complaints about the slave trade.
When confronted by journalists on his doorstep with archived evidence — including a photograph of his dog that linked the account to him — Prior repeatedly denied the posts were his, calling them fabrications. “Goodness me, that is not me, 100% not,” he said on multiple occasions.
Reform UK said it was “looking into” the matter but had taken no public action as of Saturday, with Prior still listed as a candidate ahead of polling day.
The case is the latest in a series of candidate vetting failures to hit Reform ahead of the elections. HOPE not Hate has documented a pattern of candidates with links to the BNP, expressions of support for Tommy Robinson or extreme anti-Muslim views slipping through the party’s screening process. Reform’s rapid recruitment drive to fill hundreds of council seats across the country has drawn repeated criticism for producing inadequate candidate checks. Nigel Farage has publicly committed to removing racist candidates, but incidents have continued to surface.
Reform UK was approached for further comment.
