A Reform UK councillor has resigned from his role less than a fortnight after he was elected, because of abuse he was receiving over a social media post.
Wayne Titley was one of 49 Reform candidates voted to Staffordshire County Council at this month’s local elections, as the party won a landslide victory in the area.
He had been elected as councillor in the Eccleshall & Gnosall seat, where he won a narrow race against sitting Tory councillor Jeremy Pert, beating him by just 27 votes, the Stoke Sentinel reports.
However, Titley has now stepped down from his position “for personal reasons”, Staffordshire County Council announced. Reform said Titley and his family had been receiving abuse online for controversial social media posts he had made in the past.
This included one post where Titley called for the Royal Navy to stop small boats crossing the Channel by launching a “volley of gun fire aimed at sinking them.”
Sharing the post in March, Titley had said illegal crossings were a “full blown invasion,” adding: “Why they don’t position the navy so as the big boats leave the shoreline they intercept them and thunder them back using a volley of gun fire aimed at sinking them?”
A Reform UK spokesman said: “It’s disappointing that the level of abuse Wayne and his family have been receiving has meant that he is no longer able to carry on as a councillor.
“Wayne would have made an excellent champion for the people of Eccleshall and Gnosall and we wish him well for the future.
“We are now getting ready to contest the by-election and ensure local people have a strong Reform voice to represent them.”
Before the local elections, there it was reported that a number of Reform candidates had posted racist and Islamophobic content on social media.
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