Police in Oxfordshire in the UK are investigating a local council candidate’s political leaflet after a complaint was made about the anti-LGBTQ+, anti-migrant and ableist language it contained.

David Roy Cox is set to stand as an independent candidate for Burford and Carterton West in Oxfordshire County Council’s election on 1 May, having previously stood – and come in last place – at previous elections for the right-wing populist Heritage Party.

In his leaflet David Roy Cox wrote that he stands for “Christian teachings, values and traditions” and wants to bring back “conservatism and common sense”.

“I stand for putting an end to the milksop, lily livered woke nonsense including the dreadful DEI and it is vital to protect children and their unseasoned minds from the wicked indoctrination of the mentally ill LBTQ [sic] fanatics and their pride flags”.

He also called for an end to migration, writing that “many parts of our country are unrecognisable today and are looking more like the r******d backwaters of the middle east or impoverished north African slums with English being spoken as a second language.”

Election Update: County Council Election Thursday 1st May 2025. To all the good people of Burford & Carterton West I am standing as an Independent candidate. If you feel, unheard, ignored and completely let down by the uni-party and their disastrous politics who are running our… pic.twitter.com/BIQBR1h8S8

— David Roy Cox (@DavidRoyCox) April 5, 2025

The leaflet was reported to Thames Valley Police, as well as West Oxfordshire District Council and the Electoral Commission, by resident Nikita Haddington-Milner who had the leaflet pushed through the door of her home in Burford.

Sharing an image of her holding up the leaflet in front of her front door – which features a Pride flag – on Facebook, Haddington-Milner said she was “livid” and condemned Cox’s language as “dangerous and divisive”.

“This isn’t ‘free speech.’ It’s dangerous rhetoric that costs lives,” she wrote.

“This is poison, not politics”

Speaking to the local press about receiving the leaflet, she said: “I feel violated that they have knowingly put this through the door. It speaks volumes.

“I’m upset at the fact that these outdated views are continuing to this day, even though there are laws to protect against this.

“Everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs, but this is the deliberate stirring of hatred.

“This is in my mind stirring hatred to multiple vulnerable communities and disseminating information door to door, knowing it causes upset and hate.

“It’s not about free speech, this is poison, not politics.

“This is dangerous rhetoric.”

A Thames Valley Police (TVP) spokesperson confirmed they have received a complaint and officers are currently assessing if Cox’s leaflet constitutes a hate crime.

David Roy Cox, however, told the BBC he “stood by everything” printed on his leaflet and said that if Haddington-Milner was offended by the content that it was “her problem” rather than his.

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