Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Reform, the limited company being passed off as a political party, is hoping to be out and about in New Addington tomorrow morning, promising a “VERY SPECIAL GUEST” – their choice of caps lock – as they try again to stage the walkabout stunt that collapsed in disarray last month when around a dozen members, including several election candidates, quit the party in disgust over the imposition by Farage party HQ of Ben Flook as their candidate for Mayor.
Millionaire grifter: Farage, hoping to con the Croydon public
Flook is Reform Ltd’s fourth choice of candidate to run for election as Croydon Mayor, and was a somewhat rushed choice, having been named as candidate less than 48 hours after Dan Milner-Tebbutt, until recently the chair of Croydon Reform, had been lined up for the role.
Both Milner-Tebbutt and Flook had only recently joined Reform after previously being members of the Conservative Party.
Milner-Tebbutt had also previously been an elected Labour councillor in the Midlands.
Flook, a teacher of politics at Wallington County Grammar School, was a Conservative Party candidate in the 2024 General Election. He has made no statement of how he intends to proceed if elected as executive Mayor on May 7, with his pupils in Wallington still having two months of the school year to complete.
It’s fair to say that Reform Ltd hasn’t had much luck with its candidates in Croydon: Milner-Tebbutt and Flook followed Surrey Street market trader Jose Joseph, who is thought to have paid his £1,000 candidate fee to Farage’s company before realising that he had joined a party stuffed-full with racists.
Last year Joseph paid a £40,000 Home Office fine after being caught employing an illegal immigrant on his Surrey Street stall (so he might not have survived Reform’s dodgy vetting process).
Having been rejected by Labour and opting out of Reform, Joseph is now running a campaign as an independent candidate for Croydon Mayor.
Of course, before all that, there was Sharon Carby, from Bradford, who Farage’s party HQ imposed as a mayoral candidate on Croydon Reform even though she had died the previous year.
Despite all the rancour and disarray, Reform Croydon has managed to cobble together a full slate of 70 council candidates for the May 7 local elections, though many of them, like Flook, are ex-Conservatives, including two former Tory Croydon councillors.
Ex-Tory backs ex-Tory: with an endorsement from ‘Honest Bob’, what could possibly go wrong?
Inside Croydon’s research, based on Croydon Reform’s own documents, also shows three candidates who have in the past been members of or supported far-right groups such as the BNP or Britain First, or who have attended events organised by the professional far-right provocateur, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Despite the disruption of the mass resignation of members and candidates a fortnight ago, Reform appears set to throw considerable resources at the Croydon elections.
In a message to loyal Reformists (what’s left of them, anyway), sent this week, Nik Stewert, the local party chair, wrote: “Our mayoral candidate, Ben Flook, has been out and about in New Addington, Shirley and Selsdon and has collected some serious voting intentions.”
Stewert, like Flook, is another former Conservative, having once been the chair of the Croydon Conservative Federation. Those that remember his brief time in such a significant position in the local party have described Stewert as “a bit of a nutter”. So Stewert may have found his natural political home then.
Ex-Tory: Adam Kellett
Stewert is certainly fond of his caps lock: “HELP NEEDED – URGENT”, he implores the local members.
“Adam Kellett has 1,800 letters that need to be stuffed – put into envelopes ready for delivery.” That’s a lot of envelope-stuffing that hasn’t yet been done.
Kellett is also a former Conservative. He was a Tory councillor for the old Ashburton ward until 2014. This time round, taxi driver Kellett is standing for reform in New Addington South.
Another ex-Conservative councillor in Croydon is Donald Speakman, this time standing for Reform in Selsdon Vale and Forestdale. After 16 years as a Tory councillor in Purley, Speakman quit the Tory Party in 2018 when they de-selected him as an election candidate, he said “for living too long”. Donald Speakman is standing for election for Reform aged 88.
Also on the ballot for Reform in New Addington South is Scott Holman, another former local Reform chair, and one of their parliamentary candidates in Croydon in 2024. Holman has told party colleagues that he won’t be supporting Ben Flook for Croydon Mayor because of the manner in which he was imposed by Farage HQ. Which is a bit awkward.
According to Stewert’s chivvying along messaging to members, tomorrow is “National Campaign Day – New Addington Central Parade”.
Reform stalled: ex-Tory Nik Stewert is seeking a big turnout of Reform supporters in New Addington on Saturday
Stewert says, “We will have a street stall in New Addington from 11am – 3pm and will need volunteers to man it and join us with our VERY SPECIAL GUEST arriving during the morning!
“I will be escorting them around a couple of shops, to greet candidates and volunteers on the street stall before leading some canvassing in New Addington.”
It was caps lock time again: “DO NOT MISS THIS – we expect the national press will be present.” Oooo. National press. Some people are easily impressed.
Which probably accounts for Nigel Farage’s popularity.
When Farage was last in Croydon, at the Fairfield Halls, the grifter-in-chief claimed to his adoring audience, “If you vote Reform, you get Reform.” Which isn’t really true, because if you vote Reform in Croydon, the chances are you’ll get washed-up ex-Tories.
Read more: Reform Kenley candidate’s ‘dangerous’ covid conspiracy views
Read more: It’s no Flook: dozen Reform members resign over candidate
Read more: Reform’s candidate for Mayor bottles it ahead of Farage visit
Read more: Farage party picked a dead woman to run for Croydon Mayor
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