Reform insiders fear links to extreme figures such as Andrew Tate will scare off voters | Reform UK

Reform insiders are increasingly uncomfortable with the party’s relationship with Andrew Tate and other extreme online celebrities whose views are too toxic for the mainstream voters Nigel Farage needs to win.

Insiders have revealed that, as Reform prepares to take power, they are seeking to end relationships with more controversial figures on the right, such as Tate, whose extreme and misogynistic content could damage the party’s credibility.

Their leader Farage, who has been struggling to gain online popularity ahead of the party’s rise in the polls, appeared wary of criticizing the online “manosphere” influencer. Tate He faces 21 charges If he returns to the UK for crimes including human trafficking.

Farage said in online interviews in 2024 that Tate was an “important voice” for the “emasculated” and gave boys “maybe a bit of confidence at school”. Tate is better known among mainstream voters as her behavior has been featured in programs such as Louis Theroux’s recent Netflix documentary Inside the Manosphere.

Public disgust with Tate and his followers led some in Reform to warn that associating themselves with such figures could undermine the party’s appeal with female voters and the wider electorate.

A source said: “Yes, I have advised Nigel and others to be more careful about who we associate with – if we want to win over a wider section of British society we cannot associate with unpopular characters or people who make unsavory comments about women.”

Another senior Reform source said of Tate: “I know him pretty well and the kind of person he is, I look at his social media. He has nothing to do with Reform. We can’t help it if people around us that we don’t particularly want support us. There have been a few examples of that.”

Reform also struggled to shake its relationship with right-wing agitators. convicted criminal Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson. Although the party has made it clear that he is not welcome as a member, Robinson recently backed Reform candidate Matthew Goodwin in the Gorton and Denton byelection.

Goodwin did not disavow Robinson, but a Reform UK spokesman said: “We have been consistently clear on this issue. He is not welcome in the party.”

Luke Tryl, who runs polling company More in Common, said his research supported the theory that relationships with extreme online personalities could turn new voters away from Reformation.

“We looked at the difference between Reformation’s 2024 voters, hard voters and their new voters. There’s also a big gap between Robinson and confirmation,” he said. [Elon] Musk and even Tate. “There is a big gap between 2024 voters and their new voters, and even more so for new women.”

Tryl’s research found that Tommy Robinson has a +15 approval rating among 2024 Reform voters, but new Reform voters give him a -11 approval rating, dropping to -15 among women. Andrew Tate has a negative approval rating of -34 among 2024 Reform voters, falling to -46 among new voters and -51 among women.

“The risk for Reform is that its associations with accurate figures online will alienate undecided female voters who will ultimately decide whether Reform enters government,” he said. “The type of voter who is willing to roll the dice when he feels too miserable about the current situation, but who is also worried that Reform might be too extreme.”

Tate and Robinson are just some of a wider range of controversial figures who have associated themselves with the party’s views, not always in a way that is beneficial to the party.

Another name increasingly seen at Reformation events is Lady Victoria Hervey. The socialite was in the audience at a Reform Veterans event earlier this year where Suella Braverman left the Conservatives. He was a strong campaigner for the party and was recently photographed with Farage at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

She described the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, the former lover of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as liars and prostitutes and called anyone not in the Epstein files “losers”.

He recently said: “So if you were on stage and you were strong – honestly, if you weren’t in those files it would be an insult. Because it just means you’re a bit pathetic.” Hervey, who dated Andrew in 1999, is mentioned 23 times in the Epstein files.

Another Mar-a-Lago guest, Holly Valance, also became a strong supporter of Reformation. She recently split from entrepreneur Nick Candy, who financed the party.

The former TV actress and pop star has recently attracted attention for her provocative comments, such as referring to climate campaigner Greta Thunberg as an “evil little gremlin”. He is also an associate of Robinson and takes part in the Unite the Kingdom march in London. Posing in a Mega (Make England Great Again) hat, she said: “I’m so proud and pleased with Tommy – this is his salvation.”

Few mainstream celebrities have vocally supported the party, but Reform UK has managed to attract the support of former model Caprice Bourret, who has become an enthusiastic supporter, even joining the campaign for Laila Cunningham to become the party’s candidate for mayor of London. Bourret left heart emojis on her Instagram posts, adding an enthusiastic “you will win!” wrote.