Kemi Badenoch breaks silence after Tory chairman compares Reform logo to Nazi Swastika

The Conservative chairman took to social media on Sunday evening in response to a post from Reform leader Nigel Farage, after he unveiled what appeared to be a new party logo.

The design, depicting a gold circular badge imprinted with the Reform UK logo, was posted to X by Farage over the weekend.

Accompanied by the caption 'coming soon' and an emoji featuring a pair of eyes, the post quickly caught the attention of the Tory MP.

Replying to Mr Farage's message in a now-deleted tweet, Mr Hollinrake shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a Wikipedia article depicting the Nazi badge.

But Mrs Badenoch brushed off the row.

She said: “Kevin Hollinrake made a joke. Reform spend a lot of time online abusing other politicians.”

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Pointing to the 10-and-a-half-year sentence handed to Reform’s former leader in Wales Nathan Gill for bribery over pro-Russian speeches, she said: “I think they have much bigger problems.”

But Mr Hollinrake’s social media activity revealed unease about how to respond to Mr Farage’s threat to the Tories.

Reform’s policy chief Zia Yusuf said: “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.”

The image featured a golden Swastika - known as 'The Golden Party Badge' - a design awarded to the first 100,000 members of the Nazi Party in Germany in 1933.

The recipient's party number was inscribed on the back of each badge, with a total of 20,487 men and 1,795 women awarded the golden symbol by Aldolf Hitler.

In response to Mr Hollinrake's post, Mr Farage hinted at the Conservatives' current projected polling figures, insisting: “This is why they are on course to win 14 seats at the next election.”

It also saw a response from Reform member Zia Yusuf, who hit back: "So, @kevinhollinrake has destroyed any chance of @KemiBadenoch or @RobertJenrick keeping their seats."

Tory former home secretary Suella Braverman said the comparison was “wrong, irresponsible and highly counter-productive”.

Mrs Braverman said: “I expect this from Labour, not the Conservatives.“Let’s raise the level of debate: criticise the policies, even challenge the people or their actions.“

But comparing Reform and their supporters to Nazis is wrong, irresponsible and highly counter-productive “Kevin does not speak for me.”

The post also triggered a response from Reform adviser Alan Mendoza, who is a recent Conservative defector.

“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,” he wrote.

The post also triggered a slew of responses from Mr Farage's followers, with fellow Reform member Rupert Lowe writing: "Nobody gives a sh*t about this Farage. You’re leading the polls. Act like it. Be the opposition.

"Britain’s falling apart. We don’t need more tacky Reform cr*p.

"It follows a previous post by Hollinrake, who accused Farage of “Putin apologism” over the Ukraine war earlier this year.