A scandal hit Love Island star has made the surprise announcement he is running to be a councillor for Reform UK. Ollie Williams, 29, appeared on the sixth season on the hit ITV dating show back in 2020, where he racked up thousands of Ofcom complaints.
Brushing off any backlash, he has now revealed he is making a career change into politics and is running for a seat on Cornwall Council. The TV star claimed freedom of speech had been “eroded for far too long” as he announced he is joining Nigel Farage’s party.
Ollie said: “I am proud to announce I will be running in May’s local elections for the Reform Party in Lostwithiel and Lanreath. Our freedom of speech and society has been eroded for far too long and it’s time to act.
“I am not prepared to standby and hope someone else sorts it out while I watch it all burn – so I’m taking my first baby steps into politics.”
The ex TV star added: “If you’ve followed me thus far I hope you’ll trust my judgement, when I say I believe this to be the best course of action for the protection of your free way of life.
“If you support Reform and our beliefs then please make sure you get down to the polls or apply for a postal or proxy vote and….vote for Reform UK.”
Ollie is hoping to win a seat in the rural region of Lostwithiel and Lanreath at the local election taking place on May 1. All 87 of Cornwall Council’s seats are being contested this year.
His campaign poster was also unveiled alongside the announcement, as Ollie describes himself as a “countryside steward and farmer” who will “focus on community led projects”.
He sat on a muddy track wearing a pair of wellies as he claims the “mission to fix broken Britain starts local”. Ollie had a very short stint on Love Island five years ago as he left after just three days.
He decided to quit the show after admitted he still had feelings for someone else. Ollie was coupled up with Paige Turley at the time, who later went on to win the series with Finn Tapp.
It is not the first time Ollie has sparked controversy, as he was heavily criticised for posing with animals he had killed. Ofcom received 231 complaints after the pictures began being spotted online.
A petition to remove him from the show was signed by more than 38,000 people at the time the news of his departure was confirmed.
Amid the backlash, Ollie insisted he left the show due to personal issues instead. In his first statement since quitting, Ollie said: “I have to be honest with myself, and everyone, that I do still love someone else… I have to follow my heart in this scenario and it would be wrong for me to ignore these feelings.
“At the end of the day, this is Love Island and it’s about finding love. If I carried on anything with Paige, or any other girl that might come into the villa, it wouldn’t be fair on them.”
Ollie, who is the son and heir of Andrew Williams, Viscount Clifden, the Lord of the Manor of the Lanhydrock Estate, in Cornwall, brushed off any criticism as he posed with dead animals again.
The scandal didn’t deter Ollie from hunting as he took to Instagram to show that he’d killed deers while on a trip to Cornwall. In the caption he defended his actions, saying “hunting is conservation”.
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