UK lawmaker from Farage's Reform removes himself from the party
FILE PHOTO: A Reform UK party poster is seen outside a house ahead of the forthcoming Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary by-election in Frodsham, Britain, April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
LONDON - A British lawmaker from Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, James McMurdock, has removed himself from the party pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations relating to his business propriety, the right-wing party said on Saturday.
McMurdock, one of five Reform lawmakers elected to join the UK's 650-strong parliament in the 2024 general election, will now sit as an independent, according to a statement on social media platform X from Reform's main enforcer of party discipline Lee Anderson.
While the party - led by prominent Brexit campaigner Farage - has only a handful of lawmakers compared to the governing Labour Party's 403, it leads national opinion polls and gained noticeable ground from Labour in the local elections in May.
"The allegations relate to business propriety during the pandemic and before (McMurdock) became an MP (Member of Parliament)," Anderson said in the statement. "At Reform UK we take these matters very seriously."
McMurdock did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Reform statement said he has agreed to cooperate with any investigation following allegations which are likely to be published by a national newspaper. REUTERS
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