Reform council group leader facing calls to resign over offensive song lyrics
Twm Owen Local Democracy Reporter
Content Warning: Offensive language throughout
A Reform Party councillor is facing calls to apologise and resign over songs with offensive lyrics credited to him.
Councillor Dave Thomas, who is the leader of the only Reform council group in Wales, is facing criticism over music he is credited with producing under an alias DJ Dowster with lyrics that include references to “bitches”, “pussy” and one song called ‘Spak Attack” which can be a derogatory term for someone with cerebral palsy.
A statement issued by Reform said the songs were not created by Cllr Thomas and the lyrics are samples taken from other songs.
Cllr Thomas declined to comment further when contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Hopes
He, and two other previously independent councillors, formed the first Reform group in Wales in August when they joined party and registered as a group on Torfaen Borough Council. All three represent the Llantarnam ward.
Reform is hoping to win its first council seat through the ballot box in Wales at a by-election to Torfaen Borough Council in the Pontypool ward of Trevethin and Penygarn this week.
Cllr Thomas has been active in campaigning in the by-election and also spoke at Reform’s Welsh conference at the Celtic Manor hotel, in Newport, in November. The party achieved second place finishes in 13 Welsh seats, including Torfaen, at the 2024 general election and is polling well ahead of the 2026 Senedd elections where the Nigel Farage led party is hoping to make a breakthrough.
Labour MP for neighbouring Monmouthshire, Catherine Fookes, said Cllr Thomas, who is also a member of Cwmbran Community Council, should resign his seat and his position as a school governor.
She said: “Against the backdrop of an epidemic of violence against women and girls, and the rise of extreme misogyny which encourages young men to hate women, those in public office should stand up and make it clear that there is no place for this kind of language when talking about women, even in song lyrics.
“Councillor Dave Thomas should resign from his positions as both a local councillor and a school governor.”
“Deeply offensive”
The Labour leader of Torfaen council, Anthony Hunt, said Cllr Thomas should apologise.
He said: “The lyrics in the songs are deeply offensive and misogynistic. It is not acceptable for this kind of language to come from a publicly elected official, and I am calling on Councillor Dave Thomas to apologise.”
Cllr Thomas was first elected as a Labour councillor and asked if the party had been aware of the songs, some of which appear to date back more than 10 years, and endorsed him as a candidate Cllr Hunt replied: “If we’d been aware we wouldn’t have done, let’s put it that way.”
Cllr Hunt also said he isn’t aware how long ago the songs were performed and said: “We are still finding out about it.”
“Samples”
A statement from Reform said: “These songs were created by Sam Tomsitt and not Cllr Thomas. All lyrics are samples from other music tracks and artists, none originate from Cllr Thomas”
“Reform UK expects and upholds the highest standards for our candidates and elected officials”.
Cllr Thomas said: “All the answers are in the statement from the party.”
Cllr Thomas’ Facebook page for DJ Dowster shows he most recently DJ’d at the White Hut, in Cwmbran, on November 9 which was billed as a “special set”.
‘Dowster’ has been listed as the artist and composer on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.
The track Spak Attack appears to date from February, 2012.
Another song called ‘Ass and ‘Titties’, includes the lyrics “stanking ass bitches that need to wash up. Don’t get mad when I don’t want to f***’.
“Stanking” is an informal term meaning smells very bad.
As Dowster, and David Thomas, the councillor is listed as the owner and founder of record label Candy Crush Music which released various ‘happy hardcore’ dance music tracks.
Cllr Thomas’ Dowster Facebook page has been largelly inactive since 2023 when it had new music to promote but otherwise doesn’t appear to have published content since 2016.
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Reform are the dregs of society.
Alumni of that old establishment Reform School…
They will take the North West down with them…
Like they did with Brexit…
If reform are willing to allow a man, convicted of assaulting his girlfriend and was sent to prison for the offence, to sit in the house of commons under the reform banner, I don’t hold out much hope of them taking action against anybody in the Reform party, who fail to meet the standards to serve on a local council.
Has The Spiv dropped off a load of old blue demob suits for his odd shaped keystone councilors, don’t they look a sight, you’ve got to feel for their mothers…
Yet not over offensive policies… still, lyrics are a good enough stick to beat him with until Reform really start showing us exactly what they are.
Lets see, possible benefactor that likes nazi salutes and runs a hate platform, abuser now an MP (bit of christian forgiveness over bruises from a kicking says tice and farage…..), supports an abuser in the US, takes his “facts” from tate, what is tate on the hook for? Had to defend/drop the fascists that tried to become MP’s until the press highlighted them. 30p tried to set the mob on a hotel because people a different colour to 30p were staying there. Wonder what they said about the Labour MP’s suspended. Lot going on in that party of a certain… Read more »
I didn’t write the lyrics, I just Sampled them.
Brilliant! 😀
Is he Hope Not Hate in disguise?
He does daft and disgusting things, to open up opportunities for Hope Not Hate’s funders and supporters to criticise him and, more importantly, Reform UK – less than 48 hours before an interesting council by-election!
So, was he always working for Hope Not Hate in the first place? In 2017 he was elected as a Labour councillor on Corbyn’s manifesto; so back then he had no issues about supporting those who also support Hope Not Hate. What has changed since 2017? Nothing? It makes you think.
Sounds on form for a far right party.
30p swapped parties until he found his safe place. Reforms owner admires tate, an avowed misogynist. Reforms owner also admires another misogynistic US leader. Reforms leader said a bit of “christian forgiveness” if you give your partner a kicking.
Ironically enough, they all screamed about the 20 zones, but strangely, every one of them looks like they slow right down by schools and parks.
Men in crap suits, says enough to me. It’s not what you wear that counts, its the quality of your humanity to serve people.
I stood for Reform in the 2024 General Election and came 2nd with 22% of the vote…I was DISGUSTED that he posted these lyrics, and in my opinion if you post something you must take the responsibility for the content!!! I posted my disgust on my Facebook page and was told to take it down by HQ or there were to be re-percussions, I resigned in my reply to them that if they supported him you are not for me!!! It beggars belief that with all that is going on in the UK they stand by someone who has NO… Read more »