The uniparty is real. Many diehard Labour supporters are exasperated by Keir Starmer’s priorities, just as Conservative voters were by Rishi Sunak and his predecessors. This is because the major parties sing from the same hymn sheet, from Net Zero to digital tracking and from pandemic preparation to money laundering in Ukraine. But now that Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has risen to lead the national opinion polls, is there prospect of a Trumpian turning of the tables? Sadly, no.
On last week’s BBC Question Time, muy local MP Kieran Mullan (Conservative, Bexhill & Battle) was on the panel, alongside Reform chairman Zia Yusuf. Responding to a question on diversity and inclusion, Mullan confronted Yusuf, stating that Ian Gribbin, his Reform rival in the July 2024 election, had been exposed for remarking that women were a ‘sponging gender’ and that they should get less access to healthcare and other services. https://x.com/bbcquestiontime/status/1885102305382371455
Yusuf could have defended Gribbin, noting that he had helped to reduce the Tory majority from 26000 to just over 2600. Instead he posited that the candidate had been stood down, citing problems with candidates in general. But this was untrue, and when .
Mullan corrected him, Yusuf declared that ‘such candidates will never again be allowed to stand for the party’. This rich Muslim immigrant is deciding on who we are allowed to represent us.
Over the weekend Bexhill & Battle members of Reform received an email telling them that Ian Gribbin had ‘stepped down’ to pursue a business venture. This came as a surprise to many members who were expecting to attend a meeting chaired by Gribbin a week later. Indeed, Reform was gaining momentum in Bexhill with over a thousand members and growing. At a social event on 31st January, Gribbin had been looking forward to the local election, introducing candidates such as local activist and town councillor Nigel Jacklin (the May election was subsequently cancelled by the government, as a new Sussex authority will replace the local council).
Although not officially confirmed, it seems clear that Gribbin was sacked in his absence, live on television. Perhaps Yusuf was poorly briefed but there is now a pattern of bullish Reform candidates being replaced by former Conservatives who have been house-trained in polite politics. The BBC gleefully added to Yusuf’s smearing of Gribbin, posting a clip of the dialogue and highlighting his perceived unsuitability.
Reform management argue that there was insufficient time to vet candidates for a hastily arranged election. Deputy Richard Tice, following a campaign of dirt-digging by Hope Not Hate, was happy for the leftist agitators to do such screening free of charge. As someone tweeted on X, ‘you can’t judge Reform based on the last election, they literally picked candidates from the local Spoons because of time restraints’.
Here is the letter sent to Reform members by the Bexhill party chairman: –
‘Dear Reformers,
It is with great sadness that your chair Ian Gribbin has stepped down to pursuit his aim in setting up his own business. I would like to thank Ian for his contribution in getting the branch to where it is and wish him all the best in his endeavours.
Due to the change, I have been in discussions with the team, and we have decided to cancel the upcoming meeting which was to be held this Thursday.
However, I do have good news, as I would like to introduce Bernard Brown as the interim chair. You may have heard Ian’s comments regarding Bernard, as he had a significant write up when Ian circulated the minutes of your last meeting, and you may have met him at your social.
In brief, he was a highly active member of the Conservative Party before joining Reform and stood as our Parliamentary candidate for Lewes. For personal reasons, he found it necessary to stand back from an active role but remained involved in the background as shown in Ian’s note. He is now keen to re-join us on the front line. His knowledge of the political landscape across both the Constituency and the County is impressive. Very importantly as a Forensic Accountant and we have acquired a Chairperson who can skilfully expose the financial short comings of our unelected County Council over the coming two to three years. As a bonus, Bernard remains an approved candidate with access to our IT platform, and we will retain the ability to communicate with our members and supporters which will happen in due course.
In addition, we have Jeremy Eldridge joining the team. Jeremy was to be our Parliamentary Candidate before Ian but had to withdraw for professional reasons. He is now free and keen to get back on board. He will be joint Vice Chair with responsibility for political matters while Richard Callan concentrates on the branch’s administration.
In the next few days Bernard and the interim officers and prospective candidates will arrange an urgent meeting to discuss the next steps and arrange the next meeting, so please keep an eye out for an update from Bernard.
Kind regards,
Rob Stevens,
East Sussex Organiser.
So Gribbin has been replaced by a safer pair of hands. This has understandably caused discontent in the ranks. In what substantial or significant way is Reform different from the Conservative Party, or indeed the broader political mainstream?
