Radio 43 | Episode 58 | Reform can't make up their mind about solar

Organised by Stephen Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, the "Unite the Kingdom" event attracted some of the most extreme figures in the British far right. Although the event was nominally concerned with “unity, boldness and truth”, it was marred by far-right campaigners expressing the belief that Britain is being invaded by Islam. 

While Reform UK wants to present itself as a respectable party, HOPE not hate can reveal that one of its staffers has promoted extreme far-right figures and racist views on social media.“We are going to professionalise the party,” pledged Reform UK leader Nigel Farage after last July’s general election, in which his party stood racist, anti-Muslim and antisemitic candidates. “Those few ‘bad apples’ that have crept in will be gone, will be long gone and we will never have any of their type back in our organisation. You have a 100 percent promise on that.”Alas, since then, numerous so-called “bad apples” have been selected as Reform candidates and some have been given senior positions in the party. Marking another blow to Farage’s promise, HOPE not hate can reveal that Reform’s recently-appointed “donor manager”, James Catton, has a shocking history of promoting extreme and racist content on social media. 

On both social and traditional media it’s easy to find commentary claiming that Nigel Farage’s extreme deportations policy and the recent series of anti-migrant protests represent the will of the British people.The lessons of the past two decades across Europe are clear. Social democratic parties that shift rightwards to head off a threat from the radical or far right end up losing. If Labour continues to try and occupy Reform’s space with ever more right-wing rhetoric on immigration and asylum seekers, this will only serve to legitimise Reform’s politics, increase their salience and ultimately boost its electoral success. None of this is to downplay the very real danger currently posed by the far right. It is growing in both number and strength. We saw the horrifying power of the politics of hatred last year when Britain erupted in the most widespread period of far-right violence of the whole postwar period. Street protests are growing in number and Reform, a populist radical right party, is topping the latest polls. However, it is possible to sound the alarm about its threat without simultaneously framing the far right as the voice of a “silent majority”. They are not, and doing so will only accelerate its rise.

As sure as the rising sun, bitter public recriminations have once again broken out among the UK’s fascist fringe. A rebel faction in the Homeland Party, Britain’s largest fascist political party, has demanded the ejection of its fractious chairman Kenny Smith and led an exodus of the party membership.

Is Reform UK as tough on crime as it claims to be, or are Nigel Farage and co hypocrites when it comes to just who is breaking the law?If their own record is anything to go by, Reform will only crack down on their opponents and they will be happy to bend the law for their friends.

One year ago, the horrific murders of Alice, Elsie and Bebe took place in Southport. While many mourned, Britain’s far right twisted the tragedy, sparking the biggest outbreak of far-right rioting in post-war Britain. Far-right actors seized the moment, spreading lies, stoking anger and unleashing seven days of unrest that left the country reeling. We look at how it unfolded, and why the conditions that led to it still matter. 

Reform UK has received millions of pounds in donations from climate deniers and fossil fuel sources, so it is not a surprise that Nigel Farage wants to make net zero the “next Brexit”.Which makes it all a bit embarrassing that on Monday, two of Reform’s top councillors missed an important council date to discuss a new solar panel project.

“Do I want to be an MP? Do I want to spend every Friday for the next five years in Clacton?” Thus spoke Nigel Farage in an interview with The Times in February 2024, about which the reporter wrote: “His expression suggests not.”Just months later Farage joined Reform UK as leader and decided he did want to be a MP after all - even if he still wasn’t planning on spending much time in the constituency, Clacton-on-Sea, which elected him on 4 July 2024.One year on from his election, Farage’s report card has come in. And it’s not looking good for the Reform UK leader… 

While the involvement of Lords, former MPs and councillors in the Great British PAC might give it a respectable appearance, HOPE not hate analysis shows the pressure group is packed with extremists, with thirteen members of its team having promoted far right views online, including one who shared pro-Hitler and antisemitic content and another who posted racist comments about the IQ of ethnic minorities.You can read the full report as well as our other work in combating extremism by visiting www.hopenothate.org.uk

The Basketweavers could be the most important far-right network you have never heard of. Operating in the shadows, it is an interconnected group of extremists who want to build their own society away from the mainstream.HOPE not hate sent an undercover reporter into the Basketweavers in 2022-2023. This is the report, featuring an eyewitness account from our undercover reporter.To read the full report, as well as learn about our other work opposing the far right, you can visit www.hopenothate.org.uk.