Last week, Nigel Farage, honorary president of Reform UK, triumphantly declared:
“I’ve seen the party grow, I’ve seen the calibre of people improve, we’ve professionalised the way we operate.”
It was a message intended to reassure voters that Reform UK has matured from its UKIP roots into a credible political force. But behind the curtain of electoral success lies a disturbing truth: Reform UK may have grown, but what it has nurtured is not professionalism — it is extremism, hate, and a toxic culture of bigotry.
A detailed investigation into the party’s new councillors reveals a deeply concerning trend. Across the country, Reform UK has fielded and elected candidates who have publicly espoused racist, Islamophobic, misogynistic, and antisemitic views. The idea that the party has raised its standards is not just laughable — it is dangerous.
Islamophobia Normalised
Islamophobia appears not only tolerated but normalised within Reform UK ranks. Steve Biggs, now a councillor for Pelton in County Durham, has openly called for Muslims to be exterminated using nuclear weapons. “Islam has no place on this earth,” he posted online — a genocidal statement by any definition. Just last month, he shared content warning of the “Islamic colonisation” of the West, a trope borrowed directly from the white nationalist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory.
This is not idle online rhetoric from years ago. Biggs is currently listed as the branch officer for North Durham — meaning he is actively organising and representing the party’s local operations. In any serious political party, these views would result in immediate expulsion. In Reform UK, there appears to be no barrier to leadership.
Fascist Memes and Neo-Nazi Sympathies
In Doncaster, Reform UK boasts several councillors with equally vile records. Mark Broadhurst, elected in Hatfield ward, has circulated memes featuring Adolf Hitler lamenting his failure to choose Muslims as allies. The meme, captioned “For fuck’s sake, if I had chosen Muslims I would have been a fucking legend [sic],” is not just tasteless — it nods directly to Nazi ideology with an Islamophobic twist.
In another post, Broadhurst shared an image titled “How to Make a Muslim,” which shows a human head being emptied of its brain and filled with faeces. Such imagery is designed to dehumanise — it reflects an unhinged and hateful mindset unfit for public office.
HOPE not hate has identified at least seven Reform UK councillors in Doncaster alone who have shared or expressed racist, antisemitic, or Islamophobic content. Some have promoted far-right extremists like Tommy Robinson, convicted of violent crimes and known for inciting racial hatred. Others have publicly endorsed Andrew Tate, the misogynist influencer charged with rape and human trafficking.
Misogyny Is Part of the Platform
Reform UK’s bigotry is not limited to race and religion. Sexism, too, runs rampant.
Mark Wade, elected in Chorley Rural West, has built his public persona on bitterness and bile. In his book, The Rantings of a Normal Man, Wade writes that he would never hire a woman who might have children because of potential maternity leave costs. He describes women as irrational and unstable due to hormonal cycles, undermining decades of hard-won gender equality in the workplace.
Wade doesn’t stop there. He openly wonders why white people can’t use racial slurs:
“How come a Black bunch of rappers can call themselves N*ggers, but I can’t?”
This isn’t just outdated language, it’s the language of white grievance and racial entitlement. That such a man now holds elected office should send shivers down the spine of anyone who values equality.
A Culture of Hate
Reform UK presents itself as a party of “common sense” and “free speech,” but scratch the surface, and what emerges is a thinly veiled cult of resentment, defined by who they hate rather than what they stand for.
Numerous Reform candidates have shared posts from Britain First, a white nationalist party banned from Facebook for hate speech. Others have repeated the falsehood that the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic was a “plandemic” orchestrated by Jewish elites — another echo of far-right conspiracy theories. There is no serious attempt at vetting candidates. On the contrary, the party appears to provide a home for those pushed out of more mainstream parties due to unacceptable views.
Far from cleaning up its act, Reform UK has simply refined its recruitment of the aggrieved, the bitter, and the extreme.
And do not forget the campaign of hate that occurred when Bibby Stockholm was moored in Dorset:
Farage’s Legacy: Hate in a Smart Suit
Nigel Farage is no stranger to stoking division. From Brexit to immigration, his career has been built on scapegoating and fear. But what Reform UK is becoming under his tutelage is even darker: a vessel for every disaffected bigot with a Facebook account and a grudge.
His claim that the party has “professionalised” is absurd. This is not professionalisation — it is weaponised prejudice in a blazer.
While Reform UK continues to gain ground in local councils, its rise is not a sign of democratic renewal. It is a warning sign — a bright red flare over British politics.
The party may be growing, but so is the extreme danger it poses.
References:
- HOPE not hate: Bigotry & Chaos: Why Reform Is Not Election Ready
- The Guardian: Reform UK councillors face allegations of sharing far-right and Islamophobic content
- The Times: Reform council leader claimed circumcision leads to transgenderism
- Jewish News: New Reform councillors shared Hitler memes and neo-Nazi content
