Top Conservative figure James Cleverly has distanced himself from a controversial statement made by party chairman Kevin Hollinrake, who drew a comparison between Reform UK and the Nazis led by Adolf Hitler. Despite Kemi Badenoch characterizing it as a joke, Cleverly criticized Hollinrake’s post as inappropriate, leading to public outrage. Hollinrake, who took over as party chairman in July, shared an image of a Swastika badge in response to a post by the Reform leader. Although he promptly removed the post, he later reinforced his stance by sharing a link to a page discussing the badge.
Speaking on Times Radio, Cleverly expressed his disapproval of Hollinrake’s post, stating that it did not effectively convey the intended message. He referenced a scandal involving Reform’s former leader in Wales, who was imprisoned for accepting bribes from the Russian government to promote Russian propaganda. Cleverly criticized Nigel Farage, accusing him of failing to address Russian influence within Reform, labeling it unacceptable leadership behavior.
In a separate development, Reform advisor Alan Mendoza, a recent defector from the Conservative Party, condemned Hollinrake’s comparison, describing it as a disgraceful and baseless attempt to liken Nigel Farage to the Nazis. Tory MP Suella Braverman also rebuked the comparison as incorrect, irresponsible, and counterproductive, emphasizing that Hollinrake’s views did not align with her own.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party criticized Reform for prioritizing social media engagement over addressing serious issues, such as the imprisonment of their former leader in Wales and their proposed changes to benefit policies that could increase taxpayer costs. In response, a source from Reform retaliated, highlighting the chairman’s remarks and accusing the Tories of descending into disparaging tactics.
Hollinrake’s subsequent sharing of information about the Golden Party Badge, an award bestowed by Hitler to early party members, further fueled the controversy. Zia Yusuf, Reform’s policy chief, suggested that Hollinrake’s actions had jeopardized the electoral prospects of certain Conservative incumbents, as the incident was expected to feature prominently in campaign materials, portraying Tories as equating Reform supporters with Nazis.