Nigel Farage names 29 councillors joining Reform as he tries to move on from rifts

The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, left, and thhe Reform chair, Zia Yusuf, right, with the councillors who have joined the party. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Nigel Farage has presented 29 councillors who have joined Reform UK as he tries to move his party on from a damaging rift surrounding the suspension of one of its MPs, Rupert Lowe.

However, the Reform UK leader also hit out at what he described as “online abuse” and “outright racism” directed recently at Reform’s chair, Zia Yusuf, as divisions within the party over Lowe’s suspension boiled over.