Nigel Farage’s attempts to appeal to centre-ground voters may cause tension in his party, according to Hope Not Hate

More than half of Reform UK members believe non-white British citizens born abroad should be deported or encouraged to leave, according to the first publicly available poll of those in Nigel Farage’s party.

The findings come as the Reform leader attempts to court centre-ground voters while facing pressure from his right flank, including a hardline new party launched by Rupert Lowe, who left Reform after falling out with Farage.

According to the research published by the anti-racism group, Hope Not Hate (HnH), 54% of Reform members thought non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, while one in five (22%) also supported it for non-white citizens whose parents were born in the UK.

Survation, a respected polling company, surveyed 629 Reform members between 29 January and 16 February. Reform said in December that it had about 270,000 paid-up members.