CLA · On the Record
Nathaniel Menday
Role: Independent councillor for Woodhouse, Sheffield City Council; elected for Reform UK in May 2026
“I don’t think that you are English just because you are born here.”
What was said
In an interview published by The Star on 23 September 2026, Nathaniel Menday said: “I don’t think that you are English just because you are born here.” He said that British and English culture can be acquired without English ancestry, but also that “culture is downstream from ethnicity”.
The interview also addressed deleted posts in which Menday had described a “sub-human underclass” in the UK and called for an ethnostate. When the interviewer put those posts to him, Menday said: “Those weren’t jokes.” He said the ethnostate comments had been made in summer 2024, around the time of disorder in Rotherham.
Separately, The Times reported in April 2026 that a 2023 post said “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they experienced because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”, adding: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.” The exact posting day was not published in the sources reviewed by CLA.
Context, response and correction
Menday told The Star that he was no longer an ethnonationalist and that his views were now “more complex”. He said he was not concerned with a person’s ethnic background and that somebody could be culturally English or British without English ancestry.
On the “sub-human underclass” wording, he said he had used social media to vent while in a bad mood, apologised and added: “it’s a slippery slope when you start dehumanizing people.” He described many Nazi-related posts as edgy jokes, denied Nazi sympathies and said regimes that murder people because of their background are abhorrent.
In April, before the local election, Menday told The Times that he was not antisemitic, had flirted with far-right ideology but rejected its core tenets, and was motivated by love of country rather than hate.
Evidence trail
- The Star, 23 September 2026 — direct interview covering the posts, Menday’s acknowledgements, apology and current explanation.
- The Times, 22 April 2026 — reports the deleted posts, quoted wording and Menday’s response before the election.
- ITV News Calendar, 20 May 2026 — records the suspension, Reform’s stated reason and Menday’s initial response.
- Sheffield City Council councillor listing — lists Menday as the Independent councillor for Woodhouse.
Evidence status
Direct interview and contemporaneous reporting of deleted posts. The September interview contains Menday’s own recorded explanation and acknowledgement that the ethnostate and “sub-human underclass” posts were not jokes. Earlier reporting reproduces further wording from the deleted account. The original X account was no longer available when CLA reviewed the record.
Legal and party status
Reform UK investigated the pre-election posts and suspended Menday shortly after he was elected on 7 May 2026. By 23 September he had been removed from Reform and was sitting as an Independent. Reform said he had brought the party into disrepute.
Sheffield City Council said its standards regime did not apply to the reported posts because they pre-dated Menday becoming a councillor. That is not a council finding on the substance of the statements. CLA identified no arrest, criminal charge, conviction or court judgment concerning these remarks.
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026
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