A married Reform UK councillor has resigned just one week after being elected, following the discovery that he also operates a gay pornographic OnlyFans account. Stephen Mousdell was elected to represent the Haydock Ward in last week's local elections. However, an investigation by LBC uncovered that Mousdell has appeared in explicit videos published on the subscription-based platform OnlyFans.
On May 15, Mousdell announced his resignation, stating that the media scrutiny over his side hustle has caused his partner, Kevin Lee, significant distress. He expressed regret in a statement, saying he was stepping down due to immense pressure from the media, individuals within the town hall, and certain parties who were not elected as councillors, citing a conflict of interest between being a public figure and engaging in adult work.
Mousdell revealed that his mental health has suffered, with depression and anxiety worsening because of the situation, and that his relationship with Kevin has been severely damaged. He emphasized that his partner has been his rock throughout the ordeal and that he cannot put him through more pain. Under the alias LachlanTaylorUK, Mousdell's OnlyFans account describes him as a gay pornstar and DJ. His profile picture on X, now set to private, shows him in military attire, and his bio mentions his height, shoe size, and other personal details. He also lists interests in certain types of men, using slang terms for hairy, larger queer individuals.
Mousdell had previously stated on Facebook that he has always been transparent and unashamed about being an adult content creator, noting that he and others in the industry have full-time jobs and abide by all EU and UK laws. He won the Haydock Ward seat with 1,331 votes. Reform UK commented on the situation, calling it a sad state of affairs that a media witch hunt forced an elected official out of office due to his private life, and suggested that ordinary working people are deterred from seeking public office as a result.
This resignation follows another recent departure from Reform UK: a councillor accused of making racist social media posts resigned days after being elected. Stuart Prior, elected to Essex County Council, was expelled for allegedly describing white people as the master race. Additionally, another councillor, Nathaniel Menday, was suspended for failing to declare social media posts praising Nazis as visionaries.
