Reform's Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney candidate quits

Reform UK confirmed Stewart Sutherland had "sadly withdrawn his candidacy"

A Reform UK candidate is withdrawing his candidacy for the general election following claims he reposted racist content online.

Stewart Sutherland had been his party's candidate for the Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney constituency in south Wales.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said he had "tried to conduct as clean a campaign as possible but to no avail", adding, "I do not wish to say anything further at this time".

Reform UK confirmed that Mr Sutherland had "sadly withdrawn his candidacy and despite huge efforts in a very short space of time to get a replacement over the line".

The party has not commented on the reason behind his withdrawal.

A group called Reform Party UK Exposed claimed Mr Sutherland had reposted various racist content on social media.

The Times reported that he promoted a tweet by the leader of the far-right group Britain First, that said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s political success was evidence of the "Great Replacement", a racist conspiracy theory.

The candidates for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney constituency are:

Communist Party of Britain - Robert Griffiths

Conservatives - Hannah Elizabeth Jarvis

Green Party - Anne Baker

Independent - Mike Whatley

Labour - Nick Smith

Liberal Democrat - Jackie Charlton

Plaid Cymru - Niamh Salkeld

Workers Party - Yas Iqbal