For years, Alison Sheridan has been a familiar figure on Exeter’s political fringe, first as a UKIP organiser and later with the Brexit Party.
Known as a prominent right-wing activist, she has built a reputation on strident opposition to asylum seekers, foreigners, and left-wing politics – a stance somewhat at odds with Exeter’s vibrant, multiracial community, home to a university with 30,000 students and a thriving international population.
Sheridan has been a key local conduit for far-right figures, organising events for Nigel Farage and ‘Hatie’ Katie Hopkins.
Hopkins, the failed reality TV star known for her bigoted rhetoric, recently spoke at Tommy Robinson’s “Unite the Right” rally in London. Sheridan counts Hopkins as a close friend.
Until this week, despite this background, Sheridan sat as a Conservative Councillor for the St Loyes ward on Exeter City Council. In a move that has surprised few, she has now defected to Reform UK, citing immigration as her primary motivation.
Why the lack of surprise? Well…
- She recently caused controversy by wearing her official Council lanyard while attending an anti-asylum seeker event, where she was photographed standing close to Britain First fascist Nigel Murfin.
- She publicly defended the local monument to General Redvers Buller – a figure implicated in the racist, imperialist burning of Kumase, Ghana’s second city, in the 19th century.
- From city centre events featuring Katie Hopkins to fostering connections with far-right personalities, Sheridan has become the “go-to” organiser for local right-wingers, seen by them as a spokesperson for their views.
Alison Sheridan’s political journey, from UKIP, through a stint as a Conservative councillor, to joining Reform UK, illustrates a consistent ideology that stands in stark contrast to Exeter’s diverse and generally cohesive community.
For the residents of St Loyes, the question remains: having defected to a party her electorate didn’t vote for, will she do the honourable thing and put herself up for re-election..?
