Farage says liking Tommy Robinson posts will not automatically bar Reform candidates
The Reform UK leader said the content of a post would matter when judging a candidate’s online support for Robinson, as the party faces scrutiny over vetting.
Nigel Farage said on 27 October that Reform UK would not automatically bar a candidate for liking a social media post by Tommy Robinson, according to POLITICO Europe’s account of his BBC Radio 4 Today interview. The party leader said a post’s content could still warrant action, making the distinction relevant to people seeking to stand for Reform in Britain.
Farage said he ‘wouldn’t ban anybody for liking someone like Tommy Robinson’, although such support ‘wouldn’t be my cup of tea’, POLITICO reported. He said he did not want a party rule forbidding people from discussing particular figures, arguing that he did not want to enter what he called a world of ‘cancel culture’. His comments address how candidates’ online activity should be judged during vetting.
How Farage says Reform would judge individual posts
Asked whether support for any of Robinson’s posts could merit a sanction, Farage said it ‘depends what the post is to a large extent’. He added that he would act if somebody supported something ‘outright wrong’, and said Reform had to be sensible about vetting. He did not identify a particular post that would cross that line; the approach he described leaves a decision about its content to the party.
Farage claimed Reform vets its council candidates ‘to a much higher level than any other political party’. POLITICO reported that the party has faced criticism of its vetting since he returned as leader in 2024. Metro separately reported scrutiny of Reform’s candidate selection, including an ITV undercover recording of an aspiring MP making a call for Britain to build concentration camps. That account adds context to the scrutiny of who can represent the party.
Why Reform’s vetting is under scrutiny
POLITICO reported that an ITV undercover documentary found Reform’s vetting process encouraged prospective candidates to delete social media accounts that included support for Robinson before applying. Farage’s comments set out a different test for a candidate’s visible online activity: the significance of a like would depend on the post itself. He did not set out how Reform would apply that judgment in an individual candidate’s case.
Robinson is on trial on two counts of harassment causing fear of violence towards two journalists, POLITICO reported. He denies the charges. The case forms part of the context for Farage’s remarks about support for Robinson, while the decision Farage described concerns eligibility to stand for Reform.
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Sources and context
- Nigel Farage says Reform candidates won’t be banned for backing Tommy Robinson onlinePOLITICO Europe
- Nigel Farage lashes out at Reform 'incompetence' after speech in half-empty hallMetro
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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