3 resultsfor “Reform UK candidate controversy explained”
explains, the seeds had been sown for some time. The party had been in power in Cardiff for 27 years, and the “incumbency problem” was starting to show. Despite channelling significant funding into
controversies](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/10/reform-uk-local-election-candidate-was-twice-disciplined-by-tories-over-alleged-racist-comments) about some of its candidates in the local elections in England on 7 May, as well as some people standing for the [Scottish](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/20/reform-uk-suspends-scottish-candidate-stuart-niven) and [Welsh parliaments](https://www.theguardian.com
controversial or offensive views allegedly held by Green candidates. The Mail on Sunday ran a spread that revealed one had described the justice secretary, David Lammy, and the former home secretary Priti Patel as “coconuts