Vicious row as Tory chairman compares Nigel Farage’s Reform UK to Nazis

Kevin Hollinrake posted a picture of Adolf Hitler’s Golden Party Badge in response to a tweet by Nigel Farage that included a golden Reform UK logo – sparking a furious backlash

A vicious spat has broken after the Tory Party chairman likened Nigel Farage’s Reform to the Nazis.

Kevin Hollinrake shared a picture of a Swastika badge in response to a post by the Reform chief. Although he quickly deleted the post, he later doubled down by posting a link to a page about the badge instead.

Mr Hollinrake, who has held the party post since July, posted a picture of a badge awarded to the first 100,000 members of Adolf Hitler’s party in 1933. It was in resconse to a post by Mr Farage stating “coming soon”, along with a gold Reform logo.

Kevin Hollinrake shared a picture of the badge before deleting it(Image: X/@kevinhollinrake)

Kevin Hollinrake has been criticised for the post

Despite deleting the image, Mr Hollinrake went on to post a link to the Wikipedia page about the badge. He accompanied it with an “eyes” emoji. The incendiary post sparked fury in Reform circles.

Mr Farage hit back: “This is why they are on course to win 14 seats at the next election.” It refers to leaked polling from Tory HQ suggesting party chiefs are predicting a near-whitewash if there was a general election now.

Reform advisor Alan Mendoza, a recent Tory defector, posted: “Is Kevin Hollinrake out of his mind? Making a comparison between Reform and Nigel Farage to the Nazis is not only a disgraceful slur but also lazy and weak.”

The Mirror has contacted Conservative Party headquarters for comment. A Reform source said: “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.”

Mr Hollinrake posted a link to a page about the Golden Party Badge. This was an award authorised by Hitler to acknowledge the first wave of members, with over 20,000 men and 1,795 awarded the badge.

It was also awarded at Hitler’s discretion to those who merited special treatment. Reform policy chief Zia Yusuf told GB News: “Kevin Hollinrake has destroyed any chance of Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick keeping their seats.

“This will be on leaflets and ad vans to the point of saturation, so every single one of their constituents knows: the Tories think that if you support Reform, you’re a Nazi.”