Ian Cooper #
Introduction #
Ian Cooper was the Reform UK leader of Staffordshire County Council whose membership of the party was revoked and who then resigned as council leader after an investigation into his social media use. The complaints that led to his removal centred on a post about then foreign secretary David Lammy, on an X account claimed to be linked to him that the activist group Hope Not Hate said contained racist posts, and on his alleged activity on Facebook. His departure came in the wake of Reform UK’s victory at the May 2025 local elections, when the party won control of the council from the Conservatives.
Background Information #
Cooper took charge of Staffordshire County Council after the May 2025 local elections, when his party won control of the authority from the Conservatives. The BBC reported that it had approached Cooper for comment. After he quit as leader, the report noted that Cooper would remain an independent councillor for Tamworth.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
The case against Cooper rested on a number of social media posts and on the behaviour of accounts said to be connected to him. One post at the centre of the complaints made reference to then foreign secretary David Lammy and stated that “no foreign national or first generation migrant should be allowed to sit in Parliament.” The activist group Hope Not Hate claimed to have found racist posts on an X account that was claimed to be linked to the council leader. His alleged activity on Facebook also came under scrutiny after the Reform UK Exposed X account claimed that he was a top fan of a Facebook page called The European Race, which promotes white supremacy. The BBC noted that a top fan is someone who has high engagement with a Facebook page. The post about Lammy and the activity of the accounts were, as the BBC put it, “at the centre of complaints” about Cooper rather than independently verified material.
Public Reaction and Consequences #
Reform UK revoked Cooper’s membership after its national leader, Nigel Farage, had said that the party’s investigation did “not look good” for the council leader. His removal followed Hope Not Hate’s claim to have found racist posts on the X account claimed to be linked to him. A spokesperson for the Conservative opposition on the council said that “Ian Cooper’s resignation on its own does nothing to address the issues with racism and bigotry in Reform UK’s Staffordshire branch,” and that the new interim leader Martin Murray “must clear out any other councillors with similar views, starting with Peter Mason,” the cabinet member for highways who had apologised the previous month for his choice of words over posts he wrote about black women and the police.
Cooper’s deputy, Martin Murray, assumed the leadership role on an interim basis. Murray said he recognised that “these are challenging circumstances and the strength of feeling surrounding recent events,” and that his “first and foremost priority is to ensure that Staffordshire County Council services continue without hinderance and to showcase Staffordshire as a fantastic county to live, visit and invest.”
Current Status #
As of the reporting, Cooper had quit as council leader and was no longer a member of Reform UK, but he remained an independent councillor for Tamworth. Martin Murray stood in as leader on an interim basis, and it was expected that the authority would choose a new permanent leader at a full council meeting in the new year. The BBC approached Cooper for comment, and the report did not independently authenticate the X account or the Facebook engagement attributed to him.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
Cooper’s time leading Staffordshire County Council, an office he had gained only after Reform UK took control of the authority from the Conservatives at the May 2025 elections, ended within months of his taking charge. His case was explicitly not the first of a wave of scrutiny over the social media activity of the county’s Reform councillors: the BBC reported that cabinet member for highways Peter Mason had apologised the previous month for his choice of words over posts he wrote about black women and the police. The episode illustrated how a council leader’s pre-existing social media footprint could be used to unseat him from a seat his party had only just won.