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IMPACT UPDATE: Byline Times investigations have forced the suspension of two Conservative local election candidates after revealing their far-right extremist posts, and our investigation into Reform’s connections to THE COMPANY JCB cited by the Guardian. 05/05/26
Caspar Thomas, who was until recently Reform UK’s candidate for Hill End in St Albans, made a series of racist comments about Jewish people, black people, Muslims and Indians.
Byline Times and HOPE not hate can reveal that Thomas is also an activist for Restore Britain, the rival far-right political party led by Rupert Lowe. HOPE not hate calls the scandal “another victory for Reform UK’s ‘common sense’ vetting procedure.”
The Reform Party press office has confirmed that “Mr Thomas has already been expelled”, when evidence of his campaigning for Restore was presented to the party, though he is still listed as a candidate in the area at time of writing. He will remain on the ballot regardless as a Reform UK candidate. It is not clear, if elected, if he would then officially defect to Restore Britain.
Reform UK did not comment to Byline Times regarding the far-right social media output of another candidate still standing in the same area.
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Last month, Thomas’s account posted on X (formerly Twitter) that we should “kick Muslims out of our country” and used a highly offensive racist slur in a post which claimed misinformation is “what… Jews do”.
The account has also referred to the war in Gaza as “simply pest control”, described Palestinians as “Subhumans”, and said “we need to get women back in the kitchen”.
The former Reform candidate has been particularly vicious towards the British Muslim MP Zarah Sultana, calling for her to be deported and saying about her on X: “We should arrest you and send you to a black site for the rest of your life and let the cia have fun”.
Thomas has displayed similar bigotry in YouTube comments, where an account understood to be his wrote that “Black peoples have such a cringe victim complex”, said “Indians are nasty”, and called for people to “leave the politics to the middle class and upper class boys”.
Despite standing for Reform, earlier this month Thomas travelled to Great Yarmouth to campaign for Restore Britain, writing on X: “cracking day out canvassing with Restore Britain. Lovely weather for it!!”.
Restore is a party to the right of Reform which wants to deport millions of people and is backed by neo-Nazis, fascists and ethnonationalists.
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As recently reported by Byline Times, a number of Restore Britain members have been standing as independents in local areas, in some instances expressing their intention to immediately defect to the far-right party if elected.
Restore Britain and Caspar Thomas did not respond to requests for comment.
Not the Only One
Thomas isn’t the only Reform candidate in St Albans with concerning views. Eleanor Jackson – interim branch chair of the local party and Reform’s candidate for the London Colney ward – has advocated for “remigration”, a far-right concept of ethnic cleansing.
Writing on X last year, she asserted that “we need immediate remigration”, said “net NEGATIVE immigration” is necessary “if we are to salvage what is left of our country”, and declared: “The English need to return to Christ and defend their country from imported thugs who seek only to conquer it.”
This would involve the mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of people, likely including many people with the legal right to stay in the UK.
Additionally, Jackson shared a post by Charlie Downes – the campaigns director of Restore Britain who desires “an ethnically homogenous Christian Britain” – in which he said that a “policy of remigration must be on the manifesto of every major party by the next election”. Last June, she reposted Rupert Lowe pronouncing that “we need a ‘none in, two million out’ policy”.
In January, Nigel Farage admitted his party’s vetting has been “pisspoor” in the past. Readers will decide whether there has been much improvement.
Reform UK, Caspar Thomas and Restore Britain were contacted for comment.
Published jointly with HOPE not hate.
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