Nigel Farage ‘runs Reform UK like dictatorship’ as Tommy Robinson sparks ‘deep’ divisions

A former insider has spoken out after quitting , claiming that runs it like a “dictatorship”, and does not “allow people to think”.

Divisions have reportedly emerged among supporters of the party and its leadership over far-right activist , whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Earlier this month, tech billionaire signalled his support for the co-founder of the English Defence League (EDL) and called for him to be released from prison.

Robinson admitted in October to by repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee. Judge Mr Justice Johnson said at the time that his actions were not “accidental, negligent or merely reckless”.

Despite Mr Musk and Mr Farage seemingly enjoying a good relationship up to that moment, the Reform UK leader said Robinson is “not what we need”, and he would not be allowed into the party. Mr Farage said in early January: “He [Mr Musk] sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs. But of course the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court.”

Now, Howard Cox, who was Reform UK’s candidate for London’s mayoralty last year, as well as the Parliamentary pick in Dover at the general election, has said that his inbox is “full” of people supporting Robinson, and claimed that his “background” is “irrelevant for what he’s trying to do”.

Mr Cox also alleged that a “very senior” member of the party recently sent him a text saying that if he did not stop talking about Robinson, he would be expelled. He therefore quit, but says he still supports the party.

The campaigner insisted that he is not a supporter of Robinson, even though he plans to visit him in prison.

Mr Cox, told : “When the general election was over, the writing was on the wall. I saw it happening regarding my future with the party. Zia Yusuf became Chairman. I met him in the early days at a Sunday curry lunch thanking the Reform people in London. It was quite a nice lunch, everyone was there, except Nigel, that mattered.

“I shook his hand, and he’d already made quite an inspirational speech. I thought, ‘Oh, this looks good.’ Well, that’s the last time I spoke to him, and it’s the last time that anyone in the headquarters of Reform had spoken to me.”

It was a hard decision to resign his membership, Mr Cox added, as he had given the party much of his time and commitment. He said: “I thought, ‘Hang on, what’s going on here?’ I’m 70 years of age now, and I gave up two years of my life – and bear in mind that FairFuelUK was my main reason for campaigning, and that suffered a bit because of what I was doing.”

He added that Reform UK has “gone from strength to strength”, with a YouGov poll earlier this month suggesting it is now a close contest between Labour (26%) and Reform UK (25%).

However, he added, the party has a “big problem” – its stance on Tommy Robinson.

Mr Cox said: “I was approached by several people, and my inbox is full of it, regarding Tommy Robinson. And Tommy Robinson, I didn’t know from Adam to be honest. I didn’t know who he was. I’ve never met him. I don’t know him. I don’t support him.

“But what I do support is what he’s trying to do in actually raising the profile of all of those, the grooming gangs, sorry, the rape gangs – I’m going to go straight to the point – right across the country.”

At least 1,400 children were subjected to sexual exploitation in Rotherham, one of multiple towns affected, between 1997 and 2013, according to a 2014 report by Professor Alexis Jay.

Police define grooming as group-based child sexual exploitation. There were 717 such offences reported to police in 2023 and 572 in the first nine months of 2024.

Group-based child sexual exploitation made up 17% of group-based child sexual offences and 3.7% of total child sexual abuse cases in 2023. The majority of grooming offences reported to police – 70% in 2023 and 63% in the first nine months of 2024 – were carried out by white perpetrators.

Previously unreleased figures from all 43 forces in England and Wales showed that Pakistanis are up to four times more likely to be responsible for child sex grooming offences reported to police when compared to the general population.

Mr Cox went on to say: “And I applauded, you know, everything he did trying to bring that to the attention of all of us. I don’t know about his background, I didn’t know about his background. I’ve since, obviously, learned about his background. But I think it’s irrelevant for what he’s trying to do.

“And I think he has become a political prisoner, and that’s where, unfortunately, the Reform leadership and myself part ways.”

Mr Cox went on to claim: “I was sent, by a very senior person in Reform UK, only about a week and a half ago, a text. ‘If you continue to talk about Tommy Robinson, and support him, you risk being expelled.’ And I went back to that person, and it’s a very senior person, and I said, ‘Why can’t I talk about someone who’s actually protecting our children, bringing the issue to the forefront and since actually supported by ?’

“And that person said, ‘It’s not relevant now to us. We don’t want anything to do with him. So please cease talking about it.'”

After being asked if he thinks this instruction could have come from the very top – Mr Farage himself – Mr Cox said: “It can only have come from there. But it went via someone else also quite senior.”

He then reiterated: “I do not support Tommy Robinson. I support what he’s trying to do.” Mr Cox added that Robinson had been “put in prison for contempt of court for showing a film that explains the issue to everyone”, which is “totally and utterly wrong”.

When challenged on the fact that Robinson was in prison for contempt of court, Mr Cox said: “Yes, I agree with that. But the issue is, I think, he should have a brace on his ankle and done community service.”

“There’s some deep-seated differences,” Mr Cox added, and the party has “got rid of some very loyal people” who got the party moving. Since leaving the party, he claims to have received nearly 1,000 messages in support, but “one message out of 20 is actually quite aggressive towards me”.

He continued: “Now there’s what I call a dictatorship, and you can quote me on that. I believe Reform UK is a dictatorship, and it doesn’t allow people to think.”

Mr Cox also claimed that Mr Farage is “worshipping” , a convicted felon. “From my point of view, I’m not suggesting that he’s an innocent person in anything in life, but on this particular issue, I support him totally.”

When asked if Robinson could prove to be a thorn in Mr Farage’s side when he is released, Mr Cox said: “I suspect he could be, but, both of them, my recommendation is go and have a beer together somewhere quietly. If you could get somewhere quiet, where the two of you can sit down and sort this one out.”

At the suggestion that Mr Musk could join them, he added: “That’s a good one, yeah. He might be in a jet flying across the Atlantic, who knows? I don’t know where Tommy’s going go. As I say, I’m not a fan of him personally. I’m totally and utterly behind what he’s trying to do.”

On why he plans to visit Robinson in prison, Mr Cox said: “I want to hear both sides of the story… I’m going to ask him a question: ‘Why is there so much vitriol coming from Reform towards you? Can I hear it from you, the horse’s mouth, so I fully understand it?'”

“If he doesn’t convince me,” he continued, “then I won’t continue on this.”

The majority of UK voters do not support Robinson, with favourability analysis, which “mirrors the demographics of Great Britain and is weighted to be nationally representative”, suggesting that he has a popularity rating of 21%. A poll carried out this month found that half of Britons say that he should not be allowed to join Reform UK.

His approval rating, More in Common found, stands at -34 and only 12% of voters said it was the wrong decision not to allow Robinson to join Reform UK. This was compared to 50% who say it was the right one.

Challenged with these figures, Mr Cox said: “They don’t have to talk about Tommy Robinson. What they mustn’t do is to rubbish him. That’s my point. He doesn’t want to be part of Reform.

“He doesn’t want in any way to be part of Reform whatsoever. He just wants to be recognised that he’s actually trying to fight on this particular issue. And do you know what? If I’m I’d say, ‘Tommy Robinson’s doing the good job, and he shouldn’t be in prison. He’s nothing to do with Reform, but we do support his objectives to try and bring this issue to wider popular opinion.”

A Reform UK spokesman said: “ is the most popular party leader in Britain. Reform UK are fully focussed on winning elections and saving Britain.”