I was expelled from Reform three months after I quit, says ex-Walsall councillor

Graham Eardley, who became Reform UK’s first councillor in Walsall following a surprise by-election win in September last year, resigned from the party in March following an altercation with a fellow party member at an event in the Black Country.

Mr Eardley resigned his membership of Reform the day after being informed of his suspension on March 4. His letter was acknowledged with an email thanking him for his support for the party.

But last week he was sent a letter setting out the findings of an emergency disciplinary panel, telling him that as he had failed to provide an explanation, he was expelled from the party.

Mr Eardley, who is now a member of rival party Restore Britain, described the decision as ‘a joke’.

“How can they expel me from a party I left three months ago?” he said.

“The whole thing’s a joke, they sent me a letter thanking me for all my support immediately after they suspended me.”

The letter was also addressed to ‘Councillor Graham Eardley’, despite him losing his seat at last month’s elections.

A spokesman for Reform UK said that once a member had been suspended, the party was obliged to follow through with a disciplinary hearing even if the individual had since left the party.

The committee said that Mr Eardley was suspended following a complaint that he acted aggressively towards a female volunteer at a campaign launch event, with security for deputy party leader Richard Tice having to escort him away.

The letter said: “The allegation concerned conduct at a party event, in close proximity to senior party figures and journalists, and involved behaviour which, if established, was plainly damaging to the party’s interests.”

It said Mr Eardley did not respond to the suspension notice, offering no denial, explanation or mitigation.

“The complaint itself is clear and detailed,” the statement continued. “It describes shouting, finger-jabbing, the volunteer not responding aggressively, and security physically intervening to separate and remove Mr Eardley. The committee is entitled to treat that account as reliable in the absence of any contrary account.”

Mr Eardley said his suspension related to an argument about clipboards at a party event in Kingswinford last month where Reform deputy leader Richard Tice was special guest.

Councillor Eardley said that a fellow party member had accused him of ‘misappropriating branch assets' after losing track of six clipboards which had been purchased for his by-election campaign.

"During the event I was showing these text messages to a fellow party member, when the lady who had sent these messages overheard and started shouting," he said.

"I shouted back 'you're a disgrace to Reform UK', and a diminutive female security guard politely asked me to go into a different room. When we were in there, I showed her the texts, explaining what it was about.

"She said 'they've gone now, you can go back in', but I decided to go home."

Reform took control of Walsall Council following a landslide win in May’s local elections. Mr Eardley stood as an independent in Pelsall ward, losing out to Reform candidates Ann Ault and Jim Parsons, and Conservative Rose Martin, who were all elected.