In yet another triumph for Reform UK’s “common sense” vetting procedure – which the party’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf has described as “the best” in the country – HOPE not hate can reveal that Reform candidates in Norwich and Norfolk have voiced support for the anti-Muslim extremist Tommy Robinson, peddled dangerous conspiracy theories, and promoted far-right content online.
One even said that “it is predominantly” the black community “which is causing the issues but we’re frightened to do anything” in a racist comment on YouTube.
Reform’s candidates for Norwich City and Norfolk County Council include:
Jason Patchett, who is standing for the party in Hoveton and the chair of Reform’s North Norfolk branch, wrote on YouTube in 2022: “Constant kow-towing to the black community is not doing us any favours. It is predominantly that demographic which is causing the issues but we’re frightened to do anything. A bankers [sic] period to be alive in.”
Patchett made this comment on a since-deleted YouTube account, which has been archived by HOPE not hate.
Karl Catchpole, standing for Reform in Long Stratton, has voiced far-right views and conspiracy theories on X (formerly Twitter).
He has, for instance, called Enoch Powell – most well-known today for his racist 1968 ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech – “one of the greatest visionaries of the last 50yrs”, praised Tommy Robinson as “a caring family man”, and shared a post by the far-right influencer Carl Benjamin (aka Sargon of Akkad) which said of David Lammy: “Like some corrupt African official, he’s looting us for his own tribe, in broad daylight. It’s insane.”
In August 2024, Catchpole responded to a post by the far-right commentator and evangelical priest Calvin Robinson, which claimed that “we are now fast approaching becoming an Islamic caliphate”, by writing: “This is unreal… wtf is going on in my County?!” Additionally, in November 2025, he responded to a post about Asda having a section for halal meat, by saying: “Owned by Muslim brothers. Slowly, slowly infiltrating the UK with their ways…”
Another Reform candidate and Tommy Robinson fan is Richard Eminson, who is standing for election in both Norwich and Norfolk.
In a Facebook post on 14 February, he described Robinson – as well as Donald Trump and Lucy Connolly, who was jailed in the aftermath of the 2024 summer riots after calling for arson on asylum-seeker hotels – as “icons”, questioning why they’re called “far right extremists”.
Eminson has since deleted his Facebook account.
Julian Kirk, Reform’s candidate for the Marshland North ward on Norfolk County Council, is another who appears to have a positive view of Tommy Robinson. In January 2025, for instance, he shared a post by Elon Musk which read: “Free Tommy Robinson!”
Kirk also promoted a post in March this year, which declared, “There is no negotiation with Islam. You either resist or submit,” and contained a video of a retired colonel saying: “No prospective government of the UK has the guts to stop it. If they want to take strong action to prevent the Islamification of the UK then it’s going to mean big trouble for them. They don’t want trouble, they look four years ahead, they will kick the can down the road to somebody else. And I think the end result of all of that is very likely to be civil war in Britain.”
Mark Tucker has promoted and voiced conspiracy theories regarding climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic on X.
As well as having referred to “the obscene climate scam” on X, he has shared numerous posts referring to climate change in conspiratorial terms, such as one which declared: “The whole thing is a money making SCAM whilst simultaneously surrendering individual freedoms & rights at the altar of the Climate Cult.”
Tucker has also written that the reaction to Covid “was a crime against humanity” and responded, “Short & sweet, excellent summary,” to a video by the conspiracy theorist GB News presenter Neil Oliver, in which he said: “Everything about Covid was a lie… They lied about facemasks, they lied about protecting granny, saving our NHS. They lied about the gunk they pushed as vaccines… they weren’t even vaccines, they were and are gene therapies.”
Kabeer Kher is another climate change conspiracy theorist standing for Reform in Norfolk.
On X, he has pronounced that the “truth about the climate scam is emerging” and written: “You mean to tell me that global climate financing is a corruption scam? Well I am shocked. Truly shocked.”
Kher has also shared posts claiming that the BBC promotes “the Climate Change Scam Agenda” and that “CO2 is GOOD for the environment we need MORE of it not less…. It is NOT the cause of warming”.
Ben Miles, standing for Reform in Cromer, appears to be a fan of the violent misogynist Andrew Tate, having shared his content on numerous occasions.
In one post promoted by Miles, for instance, Tate asserted that he and his brother Tristan – who face serious criminal charges including human trafficking and rape in both Romania and the UK – “have always been innocent”, while in another Tate urged his followers to “RESIST THE SLAVE MIND”.
Miles also responded, “Correcto,” to someone who said Donald Trump is a “good man” and “was appointed the President for a reason by Jesus Christ”.
After the 2024 general election, Nigel Farage pledged that “bad apples” would be gone from his party. But with Reform continuing to put so many up for election, the only conclusion is that the party is rotten to the core.
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