Owain Clatworthy was selected for sixth place on the list in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg, and had been elected as a councillor in Bridgend last year.<\/p>\n
But he announced he was leaving Reform in a post on social media, telling readers that “recent events, including poor internal decision making, a lack of discipline and serious concerns around candidate selection, have made it clear to me that Reform UK is no longer operating in a way that reflects the standards I believe the public deserve”.<\/p>\n
He accused the party of selecting individuals “with little or no connection to the communities they seek to represent”.<\/p>\n
Speaking to BBC Wales, Clatworthy said: “The country is in a mess and it’s easy to complain and I thought Reform were the answer.<\/p>\n
“From day one, up until now, the way I have been treated, and members and other councillors have been treated by the leadership team, is not good.”<\/p>\n
He alleged that the party had poorly vetted candidates – adding the picture of Edwards “really did it for me. I can’t support a party that would be happy to back something like that”.<\/p>\n
“It sends the wrong message and it became a distraction,” he said, adding that he had not cared about his sixth place selection and had been happy to support the party.<\/p>\n