What happened when old social media posts caught up with a Reform UK councillor?
Reform UK has suspended one of its local councillors, Dave Rowan, after old social media posts from 2019 came to light. The posts appeared to show him calling for former Commons Speaker John Bercow to be hanged, and making homophobic and Islamophobic statements. A Reform UK spokesman said: "Cllr Rowan has been suspended from Reform UK pending investigation" (BBC News).
The posts were made on X, which used to be called Twitter, in 2019. This was before Rowan became a councillor. In one post, he appeared to write "Hang the Dwarf" about John Bercow, who was the Commons Speaker at the time (BBC News). The Commons Speaker is the person who chairs debates among MPs in Parliament. The Independent newspaper reported the story using Rowan's full name, David Rowan (The Independent).
Other posts from the same period appeared to contain homophobic remarks. In one, Rowan appeared to write: "As a parent not at school.. I don't beleive gays should have kids full stop.." In another, he appeared to post: "Too many muslims mi thinks.. Make sure you take a marker pen Good luck." The spelling mistakes are reproduced as they appeared in the posts (BBC News).
A Reform spokesperson confirmed the suspension but did not say how long the investigation would take or what it would cover (BBC News).
Rowan is a councillor on Kirklees Council, which covers part of West Yorkshire. Being suspended from a political party does not automatically mean losing your council seat. Think of it like being suspended from a job by your employer: you stop representing the organisation, but you still technically hold the position unless a formal process removes you. Rowan remains a sitting councillor unless he resigns or is removed through a proper legal process.
The posts were written before Rowan held any elected office. Reform UK was also operating under different names at the time, and was not the party Rowan was elected under. The party's current leadership has said nothing beyond confirming the suspension.
This is not the first time Reform UK has faced questions about how it checks the backgrounds of its candidates. The party has suspended members over social media activity before. The pattern is familiar: once offensive material comes to light, the party announces a suspension pending investigation, with fuller disciplinary steps following.
The broader context is that all political parties now face scrutiny over how they vet candidates. Old social media posts have become a common way for damaging information about elected representatives to surface. This is especially true for newer parties, which may have less developed systems for checking candidates' backgrounds. Posts made years before someone becomes a candidate can come back to haunt them at any time.
For Reform UK, each case like this tests whether the party will follow through on its promise to discipline members whose past behaviour falls short. The Rowan case also shows that these problems extend beyond Parliament and into local councils, where checks on candidates can be even thinner.
Rowan has not publicly responded to the suspension or to the posts. The Reform UK investigation is ongoing.
