Reform’s only Black branch chair, Neville Watson, has quit the party on the basis that their contribution towards, in particular, the current debates around immigration are doing more harm than good, espousing anti-Christian values, weaponising people’s religious faith and damaging community cohesion.
Photograph from The Guardian.
In his words:
The march in London recently, with Tommy Robinson, where the term Christian nationalism suddenly raised its head, where they were using Christian emblems to advance to me an ideology that is not Christian … I know that Nigel Farage himself has distanced himself from anything to do with the likes of Tommy Robinson, but I do know that there are still people within Reform who are quite sympathetic to his ideas.
Whether it’s Nigel banging on about the [small] boats, or Robert Jenrick talking about Handsworth, [politicians] are stoking a fire. Some might be stoking it with a smaller stick – and that type of conversation, with the boats, the [asylum] hotels, I feel it’s doing more harm than good in terms of community relations.
He himself is a Christian, but sees Reform’s sentiments and actions as being entirely anti-Christian in nature.
Politics is losing its compassion as politicians try to out-Reform Reform and I no longer feel that this is compatible with my Christian faith. I believe migration has been good for this country and that, managed properly, still could be. I’m coming from a very strong, Christian, love thy neighbour sort of perspective, and what I want to say is going to feel different from Reform.
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I don’t want to see a society where we weaponise our faith against Islam. We respect our Muslim brothers and sisters.