Last week, the Spectator reported a new triumph for Reform in its quest to supplant the Conservative Party nationwide. Having eaten the Tories’ lunch at the local elections, Reform was now gobbling up its clubs too: a former Conservative Club in Blackpool was now bedecked in Reform’s sky blue livery and inviting party members and activists to join them.
QUOTE: “First we replaced the Tories last week at the local elections, now we are replacing their clubs too.”
– Reform UK spokesperson
However, there were some details that did not make it into print and which put Reform’s takeover of this club into a new perspective.
The club in question, The Talbot Social Club in Blackpool, was indeed a Conservative Club at one point – but not since 2012. It has long since been rebranded, and in recent years has been far more notable as a willing host to the extreme right.
Barely a year has gone by since 2014 without the owner of The Talbot inviting neo-Nazis to host their concerts and conferences at his venue, only occasionally cancelling them after pressure from HOPE not hate and media interest.
After grudgingly cancelling one of these events in 2018, the venue’s owner complained that he had lost money and that the event was “not racist”, despite the exclusively neo-Nazi roster of speakers:
QUOTE: “Every year people slag us off on Facebook saying it’s a Nazi event, but it’s not. I’m not racist. If somebody wants to book my room and I’m going to make money off it I’m going to do it. It’s not against the law.”
Nick Lowe, co-owner of Talbot Club
The insistence that these events were not racist was somewhat undermined by the later prosecutions of three of the listed speakers for incitement to racial hatred: Jeremy “Jez” Turner was jailed later that year for calling on “soldiers” to “free England from Jewish control”, while Alison Chabloz and James Costello were convicted of the same charge in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
The club has also been host to the ‘Real Rebellion’ gigs, an annual neo-Nazi music event organised by veteran Nazi organiser Chad Barrow (AKA Chad Charles) that is timed to coincide with the non-political Rebellion rock festival that takes place in Blackpool every year.
A planned 2024 event was only cancelled after a campaign from HOPE not hate. Among those due to appear was Canadian band Battlefront, which describes itself as a “nationalist skinhead” group and has produced tracks including “Aryan Soldiers”, “Pride is our Will” and “String ‘em Up”.
So while “former Conservative Club defects to Reform” might be a more convenient gloss, perhaps the endorsement of the Talbot Club’s owners is not such a political coup after all…
Prefer to listen? Click the play button to hear the audio version. Harry Shukman Reform UK is staffed by oddballs and enigmas, but none odder…
