Blackpool councillor apologises for 'provocative' post comparing Reform UK to Nazis
PLUS: The states of trees across the county after a number of deaths in the last 12 months
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
We report today on a councillor who has offered an apology after a Facebook post that showed Adolf Hitler dressed in the Reform UK football-kit-style piece of merch.
He said he did so with a particular eye on the violence those in the political world have faced, citing Charlie Kirk, Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, the latter being murdered MPs.
And while Reform UK policies should be open to scrutiny - particularly given their popularity in the polls - Cllr Adrian Hoyle has said his post was foolish and provocative.
As I write this edition of The Blackpool Lead, we sit under a yellow weather warning for rain and the expectation that it’s going to be a grim day.
Blackpool, being coastal, often sees the worst of that weather and the death of a homeless man at the start of this week - not the first or even the second death caused by a falling tree in the wider Lancashire area in the last year - means attention has turned to the condition of trees across the area.
We also have an exclusive invitation to The Blackpool Lead readers to join to an event taking place at the upcoming Labour Party Conference which focuses on the fight against the far right along with exclusive unseen footage from a powerful documentary.
Concern over political violence leads to apology from Labour councillor after ‘foolish’ Facebook post
By Luke Beardsworth
A councillor in Blackpool has apologised after mocked up social media post that compared Reform UK to Adolf Hitler.
Labour’s Cllr Adrian Hoyle posted a now-deleted image of the Nazi leader wearing a Reform top, appearing to compare the Reform UK policies to that regime.
Blackpool Council’s Reform UK members Jim O’Neill and Emma Ellison saw the post and responded by calling for Cllr Hoyle’s resignation.
He has since done that - citing high profile instances of political violence for why he believes he needed to do so.
He said: “I write this statement after careful consideration, concerning the Facebook post sent out on my personal account on the September 6 2025.
“The post featured an image of Adolf Hitler dressed in a Reform UK football shirt, the implication being that the two are common bedfellows.
“On reflection, and after the post was highlighted to me by Blackpool Councillor and fellow veteran Cllr Jim O’Neill of Marton Ward, leader of the Blackpool Council Reform UK group, I unreservedly apologise for any offence I have caused, and wish to offer my personal apology to Cllr Jim, his colleague Cllr Emma Ellison and to all the supporters of Reform UK in Blackpool for any distress they have suffered.
“To imply that Reform UK are linked in any way to neo-Nazism was a simplistic attempt at humour. In addition, and given the appalling murder of Charlie Kirk in the United States recently and those perpetrated on Jo Cox MP and Sir David Amess MP, I understand the danger that foolish and provocative social media posts can have, especially to those in PublicService, recognise the concern and potential consequences, and wish to express my deep regret and once again apologise unreservedly for having done so.
“I sincerely hope that we can move on from this moment and work together in our respective roles, despite our ideological differences, in the common goal of representing the people of our constituencies.
“I look forward to continuing to serve with Cllr O’Neill on the Climate Change and Environment Scrutiny Committee, to ensure we both help to deliver the best lives and outcomes possible for the people of Blackpool.”
What it seems unlikely to do is dissuade Cllr Hoyle from warning of the consequences should Reform UK remain popular in the polls.
Posts since 6 September on his personal account show Cllr Hoyle is likely to continue to be critical of Reform UK’s national leadership in milder terms.
One post points out that Nigel Farage, as one of the architects of Brexit, helped to bring about the so-called small boats crisis.
According to The Migration Observatory, which is research carried out by the University of Oxford, 1,982 people had arrived by small boat in the 365 days before 31 January 2020 - the day Brexit officially took place.
By 31 January 2021, that number was 8,592 and by the same date in 2022 it was 29,641.
And Cllr Hoyle later posted a case study from the US where a mother was forced to declare bankruptcy after an emergency C-section during childbirth resulted in a bill of $30,000.
He said: “This is what is coming if we don’t stop them.”
Reform UK has broadly distanced itself from the idea that the NHS funding model will change and said that it is committed to keeping it free at the point of delivery.
However, Nigel Farage himself has said the NHS’s funding model is not working and reiterated this year that he hasn’t changed his position on that. He hasn’t, however, publicly advocated for insurance-based healthcare since 2015.
Exclusive invitation: Join the fight against the far right at Labour Party Conference
For readers of The Blackpool Lead we have the opportunity to join a powerful Labour Party Conference fringe event (no pass is required to access) with Britain’s leading anti-fascist organisation HOPE not hate.
Hosted by Tigerlily Productions and Marking Films Ltd - creators of the BAFTA-nominated documentary UNDERCOVER: Exposing the Far Right - the event will expose the tactics of far right campaigners and explore what can be done to fight back.
Southport MP Patrick Hurley, who witnessed first-hand the unrest sparked by far right mobilisation during last summer’s riots, will also join the panel to reflect on the lessons learnt for communities and campaigners across the UK.
The event Exposing the far right: using the media to counter hate and disinformation takes place on Monday 29 September from 12pm-1pm at Camp and Furnace, 67 Greenland Street, Liverpool, L1 0BY.
During the event, exclusive clips and insights from UNDERCOVER, a documentary so powerful it was pulled from the London Film Festival over safety concerns, will be shared as it follows HOPE not hate’s undercover investigations into far-right extremist networks. You can discover more about the documentary with The Lead’s interview with director Havana Marking who joins the panel, chaired by The Lead’s Zoë Grünewald, along with Director of research at HOPE not hate, Joe Mulhall.
Secure your exclusive place by registering on this link.
No plans to change policy on trees after three high-profile deaths inside 12 months
By Paul Faulkner
No issues had previously been identified with a tree in Blackpool which killed a homeless man after one of its branches fell on his tent during high winds.
The as-yet-unnamed rough sleeper, who was in his 40s, was pronounced dead after being discovered in Revoe Park shortly before 5am on Monday.
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