In a surprising turn of events, a former Brexit Party candidate accused of Islamophobia in 2019 is now running for Reform UK under a different name. Dionne Moore Cocozza, now known as Dionne Moore, is vying for a seat in Glasgow West, using her middle name as a surname to distance herself from past controversies.
During the 2019 election, Ms. Cocozza, then known as Dionne Cocozza, ran for the Brexit Party in Glasgow North and received 320 votes. However, her candidacy drew attention after reports from the University of Glasgow’s student newspaper and Hope Not Hate highlighted her social media posts, including one where she claimed that Muslims wanted to institute Sharia law.
According to Hope Not Hate, Ms. Cocozza has also made controversial statements on social media, including suggesting that “you can’t say anything if you’re white” and accusing Labour’s David Lammy of stoking racism with “anti-white tweets.” She also shared a post claiming that Muslims planned to “slowly takeover” if elected.
Reform UK’s regional manager for Scotland has confirmed that Dionne Moore is indeed the same person who ran in 2019. The party is now considering legal action against the company it hired to vet candidates, as they feel they were not provided with thorough background checks, particularly on social media.
Despite the controversy surrounding Ms. Cocozza, Reform UK maintains that the majority of candidates targeted by the media for their social media posts have not done anything wrong. In addition to Dionne Moore, several other candidates are running in Glasgow West, including representatives from the Liberal Democrats, Christian Party, Labour, Conservative, SNP, and Scottish Greens.