Corby Reform councillor resigns over serious racism allegations

Cllr Bloom (Lloyds and Corby Old Village) has today left his role following accusations he used the ‘n’ word against a black family who live close by to him.

He had been in post for just under four months after he was part of Reform’s council-winning team in May’s local elections.

A neighbour told this newspaper that he shouted the word ‘n*****’ at her repeatedly, said he would set the far-right English Defence League on her and told her there’d be ‘black body bags’

The woman reported her concerns to the council and today (Tuesday, August 26) Cllr Bloom has resigned from the party and triggered a by-election, which will cost the taxpayer about £27,000.

The neighbour, who we are choosing not to name to protect her from online abuse, said that her family moved from the south of England into a house near Cllr Bloom in July, and he immediately targeted them.

The British family, who describe their heritage as African West Indian, were asked by Cllr Bloom if they believe in borders, and in reparations for slavery.

They told Cllr Bloom that they were not interested in politics but he proceeded to describe his views on a range of nationalities.

The neighbour told our reporter: “He told me that ‘we’ (African people) wanted to be civilised and the British went in and conquered you. We sold ourselves into slavery.

“I looked into his face and said ‘you’re a racist’ and walked away.”

The neighbours attempted to improve relations with Cllr Bloom and invited him around to eat with them.

"I thought we’d kill him with kindness,” she said.

But this approach did not work, and Cllr Bloom allegedly then took offence to them playing the music of Bob Marley, repeating the racist slur several times.

Later that evening Cllr Bloom allegedly threatened to ‘set the English Defence League’ on the family.

On another occasion he told the family to ‘go back to where they came from’ and said that there would be ‘black body bags.’

He also allegedly threatened to use his position to block any ‘applications’ they submitted to the council.

"How can this man be a councillor and represent us?” said the neighbour.

So concerned was she about her safety that she recorded hours-long rants directed at her by Cllr Bloom. Those recordings have been made available to council officials as well as this newspaper.

The allegations were reported to North Northamptonshire Council’s monitoring officer and to Reform officials who pledged to investigate, prompting Cllr Bloom’s resignation.

There have previously been concerns raised over Reform’s vetting process after a series of issues, but in the summer the party loosened the restrictions, encouraging people who had previously been rejected to apply again to represent the party.

The detailed allegations have been put to Cllr Bloom’s representative who said he did not deny any of them. He said: “He is standing down as a councillor. It has obviously all got a bit too much for him.”

A Reform insider told this newspaper that the public should be reassured that Cllr Bloom had no links with the EDL, a defunct far-right Islamophobic group led by Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Cllr Bloom had no interests registered on his councillor’s declaration of interests. He described himself as retired. He previously described himself as having ‘16 years of of credible private sector experience in operational and programmatic governance in IT, big data and aerospace defence’.

Cllr Martin Griffiths, the Reform leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said this evening (Tuesday): “I fully respect Councillor Robert Bloom’s decision to resign from the council, which he has done for personal reasons.

"The role of an elected member can be very rewarding but it can also be challenging at times, particularly when balancing the demands of the role with personal commitments.

"Councillors play a vital role in the local community and residents deserve their full attention.

"It is important that the residents of Lloyds and Corby Old Village have the opportunity to elect a new representative to champion their cause and make sound decisions in the interests of all residents of North Northamptonshire.”