Reform UK candidate joins Restore Britain after suspension

Taylor Smith, who unsuccessfully ran to represent South Oxhey on Three Rivers District Council on May 7, shared a video last week stating that he had officially become a member of Restore Britain.

He said Rupert Lowe's party “more closely aligns with the direction I believe the country and politics more broadly should be heading”.

However, Reform UK South West Hertfordshire branch chairman Keith Steers said that, while the video “implies he was walking away”, he had been suspended from the party pending investigation by Reform head office.

This related to behaviour at the vote count on May 8, after allegations the candidate called a councillor in a mobility scooter a "cripple” and a “gobs****” before being “forcibly removed” from the building.

Mr Smith denies using any offensive language towards the councillor or making the alleged remarks and believes his removal was potentially unlawful.

Asked about the timing of the announcement, he confirmed that it came after the suspension but shared screenshots of messages showing he had indicated his intention to leave the party prior to the election.

Taylor Smith (Image: Taylor Smith)

This was partly due to problems he had with the management of the local branch, with particular issues during the election period tipping him from being 70 per cent sure he should change party to being "100 per cent".

There is no existing Restore apparatus in the area and the difficulties that presented, alongside initial uncertainty over whether it was the right move, stopped him acting earlier. Once the election papers were in, Mr Taylor says he had no choice but to stick with Reform despite new concerns and he apparently told some voters at the doorstep he was really closer to his new party.

If he had won the election, which was lost by just 83 votes to Conservative Cllr Kavan Trivedi, he says he would have spoken with residents and likely held a public meeting before making a final decision on defection.

“You are elected to represent the people that have put you in," he explained. "Your boss isn’t a party, your boss is the people that put you in that position.

“If I was to defect as an elected individual, then before doing that I would still have to speak to residents and go, 'look, I'm thinking about doing this'.”

Alongside a team of around 12 people, Mr Smith is now working to set up a Restore Britain presence in South West Hertfordshire.