The hard right's commitment to women's safety is contradicted by its tolerance for domestic abusers within its ranks, as highlighted by recent events involving Reform UK and the Patriot Platform. During a weekend of protests, Reform delegates physically attacked a female protester, while Patriot Platform, led by Danny Tommo (real name Daniel Thomas), staged demonstrations in Dover and Portsmouth dressed in balaclavas. No arrests were made in Dover, leading Thomas to declare, “A message was sent! Now imagine how powerful the next message will be.” In Portsmouth, police issued a dispersal order after windscreens of police cars were smashed, and locals were advised to avoid the area.
Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric and Women's Safety
The “stop the boats” narrative, central to Reform's anti-immigrant rhetoric, is increasingly framed as a concern for the safety of women and children. Robert Jenrick vaguely suggested he doesn't want his daughters sharing a neighbourhood with men “who broke into the country illegally, about whom we know next to nothing.” Zia Yusuf more explicitly complained that the nation is prepared to “sacrifice British women and girls on the altar of diversity.” Protesters outside hotels housing asylum seekers draw their righteous wrath from the perceived danger posed by foreign nationals. Thomas posted on Instagram, “Protect our country! And more importantly our women and children! This is our warning!”
Observers note that over 90% of perpetrators of rape and sexual assault in the UK are known to their victims, arguing that a genuine concern for women's safety would not start with refugees. However, the Home Office's literature on consent for recent arrivals is used by the hard right as an “implicit admission” of threat, as Yusuf stated.
Statistics vs. Strategic Cynicism
Battling this narrative with statistics is futile, as it is cynical and strategic rather than a mistaken viewpoint. The high tolerance for domestic abusers within these movements is telling. After the 2024 Southport riots, 41% of nearly 900 arrested had been reported for intimate partner violence, with one police force reporting 68%. In Patriot Platform's ranks, Thomas has served prison time for a botched kidnapping, Kevin Jones of Thanet Patriots pleaded guilty to wounding and assault of his partner and her mother, and Adrian Clark, also of Thanet, gave a speech in August culminating in, “We've all done stupid shit, but if any of these other people want to sit out there and say 'Oh you're a domestic abuser', what do you think these people on the boats have a better criminal record than me? You having a laugh?”
Only one of these lieutenants has been convicted of violence against women; some are merely violent towards other men. At Reform's conference, no arrests were made despite footage of a man grabbing a woman by the neck and another attempting to hit her with his crutch. West Midlands police have appealed for the woman to come forward.
Laundering Thuggery
Danny Tommo is right that Patriot Platform is sending a message, and Zia Yusuf is right that people should be terrified. The message is that “Anyone taking our commitment to women's safety seriously is a mug.” The real threat is the laundering of thuggery by a mainstream political party. The article concludes that the hard right's actions reveal a disregard for the very women they claim to protect, undermining their stated mission.
