Reform UK's only black branch chair quits over party's migration stance

The only black branch chair of Reform UK has left the rightwing populist party, saying the tone of Britain's migration debate is "doing more harm than good".

- Chris Osuh Community affairs correspondent

Neville Watson, from north London, told the Guardian he had not experienced any racism in Reform, where there were “a lot of good people”. However, the former leader of the party’s Enfield branch said he was alarmed by the growing influence of Christian nationalism - a hard-right movement that blends politics with fundamentalism.

Watson added that he was dismayed by rising levels of Islamophobia, feared some people within the party were “sympathetic” to the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, and was concerned that British politics was “losing its compassion” as parties vied to compete with Reform. The son of Jamaican, Windrush-generation parents, Watson, whose professional background is in social enterprise, youth work and special educational needs, played a key role in welcoming voters from London’s diverse communities into the party.

Under his stewardship, branch meetings in Enfield attracted new members from Nigerian, Sikh and Turkish backgrounds who were disillusioned with mainstream politics.