Tories Stand By Chairman After He Likened Reform Logo To Nazi Badge On X
2 min read
The Tories have refused to condemn a social media post by their chairman, which seemingly likened a Reform UK logo to a Nazi badge.
A Conservative spokesperson said Nigel Farage's party needs to "get off social media" when asked to respond to a post by Kevin Hollinrake, party chairman and MP for Thirsk and Malton.
In a post on X on Sunday night, Hollinrake appeared to liken a new Reform logo to the Golden Party Badge, which the Nazi Party gave to members as an award for loyalty and service.
The Reform logo, golden and circular and featuring the words 'family', 'community' and 'country', was posted on X by leader Farage with the caption "coming soon".
Hollinrake deleted the initial tweet. However, he then reposted the comparison, this time with a link to the Golden Party Badge Wikipedia page. This post was still online at the time of writing.
On Monday morning, a Conservative Party spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “Reform are more interested in tweets than the shame of their leader in Wales being jailed for 10 years for being Putin’s stooge, or their plan to scrap the two-child benefit cap costing taxpayers more and more.
"Reform need to get off social media and explain why they’re so cozy with Russia and want more welfare.”
Later on Monday, leader Kemi Badenoch refused to apologise for her chairman's post. She told GB News that he "didn't actually say anything" and "just put a link to a Wikipedia page of who else had gold in historical badges".
She said that Reform's former Welsh leader being sentenced to over 10 years in prison for taking pro-Russia bribes was a "much bigger deal" than Hollinrake's tweet.
"I'm not going to apologise for a tweet that was made in jest," Badenoch added.
Reform chairman Zia Yousaf told GB News that the post was "appalling" and "deeply offensive" and risked contributing to the threat of violence facing party politicians and activists.
A Reform spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “If you vote Reform, the Chairman of the Conservative Party thinks you’re a Nazi. The Tory party somehow manages to sink further into the gutter.”
Tory MP Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, criticised her party's position, posting on X, "comparing Reform and their supporters to Nazis is wrong, irresponsible and highly counter-productive. Kevin does not speak for me".
Former Tory MP Jonathan Gullis described the comparison as "shameful".
Additional reporting by Adam Payne.
