FARAGE REJECTS BAN ON REFORM CANDIDATES WHO LIKE ROBINSON POSTS

Nigel Farage said Reform UK would not bar candidates solely for liking social media posts by Tommy Robinson. The Reform UK leader said the content of a post would matter when deciding whether support warranted action. “I wouldn’t ban anybody for liking someone like Tommy Robinson,” he said on Tuesday. Farage added that he would act if somebody supported “something that was outright wrong”.

Farage said he did not want Reform UK to enter “a world of cancel culture”. He also said the party needed to vet candidates sensibly and claimed it vetted council candidates more thoroughly than other political parties. An undercover documentary found that Reform UK’s vetting process encouraged prospective candidates to delete social media accounts containing support for Robinson before applying. Reform UK has faced criticism over candidate vetting since Farage returned as leader in 2024.

Robinson faces two harassment charges involving journalists who, the charges state, feared violence. The accounts of his case differ on its status: one describes an ongoing trial and says Robinson denies the charges, while another describes a conviction. The account describing a conviction says he could face up to 10 years in prison. Farage said Reform UK would assess support for a post according to what the post said, rather than prohibit candidates from discussing Robinson altogether.