Reform councillor quits over racism claims - just as party vows to loosen vetting rules

Reform last month told its members it was introducing a less stringent “common sense” vetting system for would-be candidates after complaints the previous checks were too strict in keeping out crackpots. “If you have previously failed vetting, you are strongly encouraged to reapply under the new standards,” members were told. So how goes it with candidates who passed the previous apparently rigorous process?

Robert Bloom, elected to represent Lloyds and Corby Old Village on North Northamptonshire Council in May, has just stepped down after allegations he used racial slurs, including the n-word, towards a neighbouring family.

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The family told the Northamptonshire Telegraph that Bloom shouted the n-word at her repeatedly, said he would set the far right (and now defunct) English Defence League on her and told her there would be “black body bags”. They reported the allegations to the council and Bloom has now resigned and triggered a by-election which will cost the taxpayer about £27,000.

According to the Northamptonshire Telegraph the family, of West Indian origin, tried to “kill [Bloom] with kindness” by inviting him to dinner, only for the councillor to apparently object to their playing of Bob Marley’s music, tell them to “go back to where they came from” and oddly threaten to use his position to block any unspecified “applications” they might submit to the council. Recordings of the comments were passed on to both the council and newspaper.

A “representative” of Bloom declined to deny the allegations on his behalf but told the paper that “It has obviously all got a bit too much for him” and Bloom’s page on the council’s website, just three months after he was elected promising to be “a strong and effective voice for our community”, now reads “Error – page unavailable”. What a time for Nigel Farage’s party to announce it is loosening vetting procedures for its wannabe representatives!