Does Reform have a vetting process?
Reform UK has selected a candidate for the Bishop Auckland county council election in May this year who reportedly quit the party over Nigel Farage distancing himself from convicted criminal Tommy Robinson.
The ex-UKIP supporter, Alan Breeze, reportedly left Reform over Farage “throwing Tommy Robinson under the bus” but has since rejoined and was announced as Reform UK’s county council candidate in Bishop Auckland, Durham on the local Facebook page.
Breeze said in a post on X: “Was deeply disappointed to see Nigel Farage throw Tommy Robinson under the bus”.
He added: “Why did Nigel Farage try to pass on the blame for the riots when all Tommy Robinson has done is call for non-violence at all times?”.
This is despite Robinson having regularly published videos during the riots, describing the disorder as a result of “legitimate concerns” and calling for “mass deportations”.
Farage has been clear that he didn’t want Robinson to join UKIP and he doesn’t want him to join Reform either, and said “he won’t be [joining]”.
There are screenshots on X of Breeze supporting conspiracy theories, including the theory that Bovaer, the feed additive given to cows, is part of a “depopulation” plot by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
This is despite Bovaer stating that Gates is not involved in the development of the product.
Breeze has also promoted far-right and conspiracy commentators including Tommy Robinson, Peter Sweden, Katie Hopkins, Laurence Fox, James Melville and Liz Churchill on social media.
He has also posted racist and Islamophobic tweets, calling for the deportation of Black people and Muslims.
Before the July 2024 General Election, it was revealed that nearly one in ten of the party’s candidates have links to a fascist leader while one candidate claimed that the UK should have remained neutral in the fight against the Nazis.
Farage blamed a vetting company, which he did not name, for his party’s failure to prevent candidates with extreme and offensive views from standing.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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