Graham Eardley #

Introduction #

Graham Eardley is a British local politician who served as a councillor for the Pelsall ward on Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council. He won the seat at a by-election in September 2025, becoming Reform UK’s first councillor on Walsall Council. His tenure lasted roughly eight months: in March 2026 Reform UK suspended him with immediate effect pending an investigation into a complaint that he had acted aggressively towards a female volunteer at a party campaign event. Eardley disputed the party’s account, resigned from Reform UK the following day, and joined Restore Britain, a party founded by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe. Although he was no longer a member, Reform UK’s emergency disciplinary panel expelled him about three months later for failing to respond to the suspension notice. He lost his council seat at the all-out Walsall elections in May 2026, standing as an independent.

Background Information #

Eardley won the Pelsall ward seat in a by-election on 12 September 2025, a surprise result that gave Reform UK its first representation on Walsall Council. At the time of his selection he was a party member in the Black Country area. The victory came as Reform UK was targeting gains from the Conservative-run authority ahead of the all-out elections scheduled for May 2026, in which every council seat would be contested.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

On 4 March 2026, Reform UK suspended Eardley with immediate effect pending an investigation. A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Graham Eardley has been suspended from Reform UK with immediate effect, pending investigation.” According to the party, the suspension followed a complaint that he acted aggressively towards a female volunteer at a campaign launch event, with security for deputy party leader Richard Tice having to escort him away.

Eardley disputed the party’s version of events. He said the incident occurred at an event in Kingswinford where Tice was the special guest, and that it stemmed from an argument about clipboards: a fellow party member had accused him of misappropriating branch assets after he lost track of six clipboards purchased for his by-election campaign. Eardley said that when he was showing text messages about the matter to another member, the volunteer who had sent them overheard and began shouting at him. “She came over to me and started shouting at me and I shouted back saying that she was a disgrace and a disgrace to the party,” he told the BBC. He said a security guard asked him to move to a different room, and that he subsequently decided to go home.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Eardley resigned his Reform UK membership the day after being informed of the suspension. His resignation letter was acknowledged with an email thanking him for his support for the party. He told the BBC he had joined Restore Britain, a party set up by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, and said he would likely contest his seat as an independent candidate in May’s election.

Reform UK nevertheless proceeded with a disciplinary process. A spokesman said that once a member had been suspended, the party was obliged to follow through with a disciplinary hearing even if the individual had since left. In June 2026 an emergency disciplinary panel sent Eardley a letter stating that, as he had failed to provide an explanation, he was expelled from the party. Per the panel’s findings, Eardley did not respond to the suspension notice, offering no denial, explanation or mitigation. The panel’s letter said the allegation concerned conduct at a party event in close proximity to senior party figures and journalists, and involved behaviour which, if established, was plainly damaging to the party’s interests. A Reform UK statement said: “The complaint itself is clear and detailed,” it continued. “It describes shouting, finger-jabbing, the volunteer not responding aggressively, and security physically intervening to separate and remove Mr Eardley. The committee is entitled to treat that account as reliable in the absence of any contrary account.”

Eardley described the expulsion as “a joke”, saying: “How can they expel me from a party I left three months ago?” He noted that the letter had been addressed to “Councillor Graham Eardley” despite him having lost his seat at the elections the previous month. A Reform UK spokesman maintained the party had been following procedure.

At the all-out Walsall elections in May 2026, Eardley stood as an independent in the Pelsall ward and lost. Reform UK took control of Walsall Council with a landslide win; Reform candidates Ann Ault and Jim Parsons and Conservative Rose Martin were elected in Pelsall.

Current Status #

As of the most recent reporting, Eardley is no longer a member of any mainstream party position in Walsall: he was expelled from Reform UK in June 2026, a party he had already resigned from in March, and lost his Pelsall council seat at the May 2026 all-out elections. He is a member of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe’s party. The underlying conduct alleged in the complaint remains disputed: Reform UK’s panel treated the complaint’s account as reliable in his absence, while Eardley maintains the incident was an argument about clipboards in which he says he was shouted at first. No further developments were reported in the available sources.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The events of March to June 2026 ended Eardley’s tenure as Reform UK’s first and only Walsall councillor and cost him his council seat entirely, as his independent candidacy in Pelsall was defeated. Within roughly eight months of his surprise by-election victory, he had gone from being his party’s sole representative on the council to a former councillor expelled from that party, belonging instead to a newly formed rival party. His own account of the events, and his bemusement at being expelled from a party he had already left — “How can they expel me from a party I left three months ago?” — formed the public epitaph of his Reform UK career. The May 2026 election result in Walsall, in which Reform UK swept to control of the council, underscored how fully the party had moved on from its first Walsall councillor.