'I said I was Reform and was called a fascist and almost pushed over'

A Preston councillor has revealed he was almost pushed to the floor by a resident whose door he had knocked on during campaigning for a by-election.

- by Paul Faulkner

Nigel Farage, Clacton MP and leader of Reform UK, was in Preston in June last year to meet his party's councillors on Lancashire County Council, which Reform gained control of in May's local polls

Stephen Thompson - the only Reform UK member of Preston City Council - said he was shoved in the back as he walked away from a householder who had called him a “fascist pig” when he declared which party he was from.

The incident happened in the run-up to the poll in the Ashton ward back in October when Coun Thompson was canvassing on behalf of the Reform candidate.

A suspect in the case was dealt with via a 'community resolution' brokered by Lancashire Police, which means no formal action was taken against him.

Coun Thompson said in spite of the verbal vitriol from the prospective voter during their brief exchange, the escalation of the encounter to a physical assault was “totally unexpected”.

He added he had never experienced anything like it in more than 15 years as an elected politician.

He told the Post: "I knocked on this door... and I said [to the] guy [who answered], 'Oh, do you support our Reform candidate for the local election?'

"[And he] shouts, 'Fascist pig - get off my property.' So I thought, well, I don't mind being [shouted] at - that's not the first time it's happened.