A former deputy leader of Britain First, a man accused of posting about "stoning" migrants and another who allegedly shared a violent racist comment are up for election on Thursday thanks to the Tories.
The Mirror has identified 12 controversial candidates originally put forward by the Conservatives - including a former doctor sacked for performing surgery with unsterilised scissors and a teen who voiced support for misogynist Andrew Tate.
Some have since been suspended or kicked out by the party, but will still appear on ballot papers and will sit as independents if they do win.
The Tory local election campaign has been rocked by a number of allegations of troubling behaviour. The cases raise questions about vetting processes ahead of the vote.
A Labour source told The Mirror: "What does it say about Rishi Sunak, that his Conservative party have allowed such a rogue's gallery to be nominated as Tory candidates.
"The Tories have been in power for 13 years and these are the people it has to offer the country on the big issues like the cost of living, the NHS or crime. The rot starts from the head, and it has reached the bottom.”
A Tory Party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party has fielded over 7,000 candidates for these local elections – more than any other party.
“In the small percentage of cases where issues with candidates have been identified we have reacted swiftly with suspensions and expulsions where necessary.
“We continue to take our complaints process seriously and investigate all issues in accordance with that.”
Here we look at some of the controversial cases.
Andrew McBride (Bracknell Town Council)
The Tories sparked outrage after it emerged they had selected a former deputy leader of Britain First and former BNP activist as a candidate in Bracknell.
Andrew McBride was suspended after his past was revealed, the Bracknell News reported, but it was too late for his name to be taken off the candidates' list.
Fellow Conservative Councillor Marc Brunel-Walker wrote: "I cannot begin to describe how angry, disgusted and appalled many Conservatives in Bracknell are."
He added: "He should never have been approved to stand Bracknell Conservatives.”
Derek Bullock (Bolton Council)
Mr Bullock was last month kicked out of the party over claims he posted a racist message on Facebook.
Following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, an account in Mr Bullock’s name commented on a news article: “Shoot the P***s on the spot.”
Mr Bullock was chosen by the party to stand again in the Hulton ward, where he has been a councillor since 2019, even though he was previously suspended amid claims of Islamophobia.
In March 2020, he faced the disciplinary action after it was alleged an article from an anti-Muslim activist’s “JihadWatch” had been posted on his Facebook.
Shakeel Hussain (Stockton-on-Tees Council)
A candidate blocked by Labour after allegations of anti-semitic posts online has instead been put forward by the Tories in Stockton.
Shakeel Hussain was permitted to stand despite an alleged string of online remarks, Jewish News reports.
These included Rothschild conspiracy theories and claims about governments being “controlled by Zionist money”.
The Mirror has contacted the Stockton Conservative group for comment.
Jonathan Dulston (Darlington Council)
Councillor Dulston is defending his seat at Darlington Council, having been convicted of being drunk and disorderly in a pub fracas.
As The Mirror reported previously, Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court heard in 2017 that police were called when he repeatedly refused to move away, telling bouncers he was a police officer and had his warrant card.
He was fined £120 with £85 in costs and a £30 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to being drunk and disorderly and obstructing police over a pub disturbance.
Dulston told the Mirror he had been “very transparent” with the selection panel and owned up to his conviction.
And he claimed the fracas meant he was a candidate who “represents reality” and has “life experience”.
Stuart Peach (Ashfield District Council)
As The Mirror reported last month, Mr Peach was suspended after it emerged he had allegedly written on Facebook about “stoning” migrants who cross the Channel.
Stuart Peach is standing in Ashfield, where Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson is the MP.
In offensive 2021 posts on Facebook, Mr Peach speculated about people using violence to stop those arriving in this country in small boats.
He questioned what would happen if “the English started to take the law into their own hands” to deal with the issue. “What would happen if 200,000 Englishmen marched down to Dover and started stoning the migrants?” he added.
It is too late to remove him from the ballot paper where he will be listed as standing for the Conservatives.
The party initially declined to say whether Mr Peach would face disciplinary action. But it then announced: “Officers of the federation have decided to suspend Stuart Peach pending an investigation."
Paris Coulson (Erewash Council)
The 19-year-old Tory candidate was suspended last week after social media posts emerged of him supporting toxic influencers like Andrew Tate.
As The Mirror reported, the teenager was axed by the party just days before polling day.
His social media accounts had liked tweets by Tate, who is currently under house arrest in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking and organised crime.
He also defended YouTuber Hamza Ahmed, who offers a £400 online course promising to help men feel “ready to dominate”
And in December he posted a false conspiracy theory suggesting the Covid-19 vaccine had caused a string of “sudden deaths”.
Chris Higgitt (Blackpool Council)
Mr Higgitt is accused of making inaccurate claims about the council housing illegal immigrants in Blackpool's Metropole Hotel - when they are asylum seekers who have been put in accommodation by the Home Office.
Councillor Tony Williams, leader of the Conservative group on the council, branded the video inaccurate, Lancs Live reported in February.
He said Mr Higgitt’s views were not shared by current Conservative councillors.
It comes amid questions about the local party's selection process.
In February, would-be candidate Carl Mather was dropped not long after being announced after a catalogue of racist and offensive Facebook posts were highlighted. These included calling civil service workers 'pedos' and comparison US President Joe Biden with Jimmy Savile.
Madan Samuel (Cotswold District Council)
A Conservative candidate in the Cotswolds is a surgeon who was sacked after using unsterilised scissors and causing a HIV scare that affected more than 100 children.
Madan Samuel who is standing for election to represent the Bourton Village ward on Cotswold District Council was sacked by Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in 2011.
It was found at the time that he failed to sterilise his scissors while carrying out operations, Gloucestershire Live reports.
The mistake led to 121 children being tested for HIV. Dr Samuel confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service he used unsterile scissors to perform a “minor outpatient clinical procedure tongue tie release”. “I was cleared by the General Medical Council (GMC). I never lost my licence to practise," he said.
Ashley Sykes (North Lincolnshire Council)
Ashley Sykes was suspended by the Tories after it was claimed he had shared jokes about the Holocaust on Facebook.
Mr Sykes, whose name will still appear on the polls in the Ashby Lakeside ward, also shared racist and homophobic memes.
The party said it "acted swiftly" after the posts - dating back to 2016 - came to light.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: "Having become aware of these historic posts from when he was in his early 20s, which are completely unacceptable and inappropriate, we have acted swiftly and suspended him from the Conservative Party."
Stanley Murphy (South Hams District Council)
Would-be Tory councillor Mr Murphy suggested the Holocaust would have been less likely if more Jews had guns.
He was suspended after the comments, made on his Facebook page in 2021, came to light.
Mr Murphy also argued the the Covid vaccination programme was an experiment on the population and some equality programmes in schools are “communism”, Plymouth Live reports.
Despite the suspension, he will remain on the ballot for Thursday's local elections.
Richard Parr (East Devon District Council)
Mr Parr claimed in a campaign leaflet that environmental issues will be a priority.
In 2021, Mr Parr was found by the Environment Agency to have run a waste operation without an Environmental Permit at Higher Bagmores Farm in Woodbury between June 2016, and March 2018.
To settle the case, he agreed to pay £82,000 to North Devon Biosphere Foundation, Devon Live reports.
In a statement to the i, he said: "I applied for planning permission, again to make improvements to the farm and on this being approved, I mistakenly took in stone without ensuring my waste competent manager had completed the recovery plan for the capacity on the waste exemption for this new area.
"Since this incident, we have taken guidance from the Environment Agency as to how we can enhance the farms improvements further."
Luv Datta (Bromsgrove District Council)
Mr Datta was selected as a Tory candidate, but was forced to resign after it emerged he had failed to disclose a conviction for supplying class A drugs.
He will now stand as an independent in Thursday's poll.
Bromsgrove Conservatives said in a statement to the BBC: "Mr Datta has accepted that he failed to disclose all relevant information in his application to stand as a Conservative candidate."
He said: "I've made a severe mistake and I've paid my penance for it I can't change what happened, but I can try to change others."
