Inside the extreme far-right plot to infiltrate Reform UK
Extreme far-right party Patriotic Alternative (PA) and Unity News Network (UNN) – one of the most popular sources of information for the far right in the UK, which is run by a Scot – have signed a joint declaration encouraging supporters to support and infiltrate Nigel Farage's party.
'We encourage all of our supporters to become active organisers and members of Reform and seek candidacy to become MP's [sic], mayors, councillors, police commissioners, MSPs, researchers, party staffers,' the document – which was published in both the PA and UNN Telegram groups – reads.
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'Our combined support will be able to exert a significant level of influence on the direction of Reform and eventually within the corridors of power in this nation,' the statement went on.
(Image: Telegram)
Mark Collett, the founder of PA, later clarified the group are not 'directly campaigning' for Reform UK.
'They are not strong enough on issues such as mass immigration and the deportations that would be necessary to prevent the indigenous people of the British Isles from becoming a minority,' he wrote.
Collett then suggested, however, that the party can be influenced from within.
'We suggest those who wish to stand as candidates do so covertly under the Reform banner,' he said.
(Image: Telegram)
'By existing on the edge of Reform and using our combined power to help change the outcome of elections, we can interact with Reform members and supporters – taking our message to them and pulling the Reform Party in our direction.
'We have seen massive shifts in the Overton Window in recent years, and we have already shifted the political discourse dramatically.'
A former leading member of the British National Party (BNP), Collett has repeatedly recommended Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf to his audience, according to advocacy group HOPE not hate, and in 2019 described Hitler as a 'simple, humble painter'.
More recently, he has defended keeping Kanye West's new song, Heil Hitler, along with its companion title, WW3, which similarly glorifies Hitler, on music streaming platforms.
Once the UK's largest fascist organisation according to anti-racism charity HOPE not hate, PA has since splintered.
The group was previously involved in anti-migrant protests in Erskine and unfurled a 'white lives matter' banner at the top of Ben Nevis in 2021.
At the heart of its ideology is the 'White Genocide' myth, with the group actively campaigning for the mass deportation of immigrants.
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UNN, meanwhile, is run by former Scottish Conservative and Labour councillor David Clews.
The channel was created in 2018, also with former leader of UKIP's youth wing Carl Pearson.
UNN's Facebook page has 105,000 followers and 21,000 subscribers on Telegram, and helped to actively spread misinformation about the far-right riots seen in England and Northern Ireland last year.
On Thursday, a few days after posting the declaration, another post from UNN on Telegram said the 'ultimate aim' was to be positioned in order to 'seize control by the early 2030s'.
'Our Strategic Plan has 3 main stages but all are equally important and now in play,' the message reads.
'The ultimate aim is to be positioned in order to seize control by the early 2030s. This isn't a game. This isn't about being 'honourable' and other such weaknesses. This is about the cold, ruthless and calculated accumulation of strength leading to supreme power.
'If not, what's the point?'
The message was followed by several antisemitic messages from followers.
'There is no benefit in everything you do without eliminating the Jews and removing them,' said one.
The far-right declaration between PA and UNN also claimed that 'thousands' of the group's supporters are already members of Reform UK and 'occupy positions of power' – but argued that more support was needed to exert influence and ensure the party enters into government.
A recent investigation by anti-racism charity HOPE Not Hate revealed that seven Reform UK candidates standing in Doncaster in the local elections – six of whom were elected – had previously posted antisemitic conspiracy theories, neo-Nazi material, and extreme anti-Muslim content.
One of them, Steve Plater, shared articles from PA, including claims of 'a multicultural and anti-White tyranny'. He also wrote that Muslims 'can't wash off the smell of donkeys' and 'cook over burning camel shit'.
Momentum with Reform UK
(Image: PA)
THE declaration comes swiftly off the heels of Reform UK sweeping to victory across more than half a dozen English councils earlier this month, as Farage said his party had eaten 'Labour for lunch' and 'wiped out' the Conservatives in parts of England.
The party took control of seven local councils, winning hundreds of seats across localities from Durham to Kent and toppled a 14,000-strong Labour majority in a parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby – winning by a very slim six votes.
Polls have also been suggesting voters across the UK are flocking to the populist far-right party. Last week, three Westminster polls in less than 24 hours gave the party a significant lead over Labour.
The leads range from five points to 13, suggesting Reform UK are on track to replace Labour in power at Westminster come the next General Election.
It's a prospect that is certainly exciting for extreme far-right groups such as PA and UNN.
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But these extreme groups are not all in agreement. The far-right Homeland party has kept quiet while the extreme National Rebirth Party has hit out at the declaration, calling it a 'pitiful display of weakness and self-interest'.
Polls suggest Reform UK are also on the rise in Scotland, with the party even beating Scottish Labour to take second place in a by-election in West Dunbartonshire on Friday.
Clews took to Telegram to celebrate the result.
He said: 'Reform's just a juggernaut now, right? And here's the thing, it's got nothing to do with Reform, it's got nothing to do with Farage, it's got nothing to do with me, it's got nothing to do with Rupert Lowe. It's to do with the British public having had enough.
'They came a close second in Clydebank. Clydebank! Singer factory, unions, Upper Clyde shipbuilders, decades of Labour. I mean that's just incredible.'
He added: 'Now, clearly the media are pushing reform, and that has to make us slightly sceptical of it, which I understand, but we need to ride this train.'
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP (above) said this should be a 'clear warning about the danger Reform represents'.
'I know many people are sick of the dominant parties right now, and are looking for an alternative, but I am convinced most voters will reject the hateful extremism of the far right, and the more people who see that's what Reform truly are, the more people will reject them,' he told the Sunday National.
'The country does need change; a change from governments that serve the interests of the super rich while punching down against the most vulnerable, ignoring the environmental crisis, and cutting services and social security. The Greens will stand for the change we need, on our track record of making it happen, while Reform will keep peddling the politics of hate.'
A PA spokesperson, meanwhile, said: "Our FAQ posted on our website is very clear. We are not supporting Reform, instead we are campaigning against both Labour and Conservatives in order to allow Reform to break the anti-democratic two-party system and to push the political narrative in a pro-White direction."
Reform UK and UNN have been approached for comment.
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