1 in 3 Reform UK voters has a positive view of Tommy Robinson

Tommy Robinson, the far-right figure who led an anti-immigration march through London on Saturday, is unpopular in Britain, except among Reform voters.

A poll by Public First for POLITICO has found that 36% of Reform voters have a “very” or “somewhat” positive view of Robinson.

The poll, which questioned over 2,000 people, found that 31% of Reform supporters had a negative view of Robinson. 

Among those who voted Reform in the 2024 general election, that figure was even higher, with 41% saying that they had a favourable opinion of Robinson.  

Among British voters at large, Robinson is seen negatively by 47% of people. By comparison, only 17% of voters said they have a positive opinion of him. 

Head of polling at Public First, Seb Wride, told POLITICO: “Robinson has historically been a fringe figure in British politics, and that hasn’t changed. 

“What has changed is that his supporters have, for the first time, coalesced around a party with a real shot at power.”

Wride added: “Half of those with positive views of Robinson would now vote Reform, and they make up roughly a third of Reform’s base.”

“If Reform achieves the political power its recent electoral performance suggests, a substantial chunk of its coalition will sit at the edge of what many voters consider acceptable politics, with real sway over who the party has to court to hold itself together.”

Reform voters’ support for Robinson comes despite Nigel Farage trying to distance his party from the far-right figure.

Not only is Robinson popular among supporters of Farage’s party. Several Reform candidates have expressed admiration for Yaxley-Lennon, with one former Reform councillor calling for there to be a statue of him in every town square.

In 2018, Farage quit UKIP stating he no longer “recognised” the party and citing its “obsession” with Robinson as the reason for his departure.

In January 2025, Elon Musk backed Tommy Robinson, who Musk claimed was in prison for telling the truth about rape gangs and said should be freed.

Farage responded to Musk’s comments saying that the far-right campaigner was in jail for contempt of court. 

“He has a criminal record, a list as long as your arm, violence, violence against women,” Farage told LBC. 

He also said of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon: “We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. He’s not what we need.”

Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally on Saturday featured Islamophobic and ethnonationalist messaging, with flyers promoting “a future for white people” distributed among the crowds. 

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward