Shock Poll of Reform Members Raises Questions for Weston-super-Mare

Most Reform members believe non-white UK citizens born abroad should be forced or encouraged to leave a poll finds.

The bombshell new poll has laid bare the hardline views held by many members of Reform UK — and the findings could spark fresh debate in communities like Weston-super-Mare.

Research by Survation for the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate found that 54% of Reform members think non-white British citizens born abroad should be deported or encouraged to leave the UK.

Even more controversially, 22% backed similar action against non-white citizens born in Britain to immigrant parents, the survey reported.

Critics say the figures expose what they describe as increasingly extreme attitudes inside the party’s grassroots — a claim Reform strongly disputes

Why Weston-super-Mare Is Part of the Picture

The issue isn’t just a Westminster issue - it could have real resonance in Weston-super-Mare, a town of around 82,418 people on the Somerset coast.

Local demographics show that around 95% of Weston residents identify as white and about 89% were born in the UK.

In wider North Somerset, the area has historically had lower ethnic diversity than the England average, with roughly 97% of residents recorded as white in earlier census comparisons.

For political strategists, towns with these profiles are often key battlegrounds for insurgent parties targeting voters frustrated over immigration, housing and public services.

Reform’s Growing Footprint — But Not Yet Dominant

Recent modelling suggests Reform support is present but far from overwhelming locally. In comparable Somerset-area voting data, Reform polled about 17% of votes across Somerset in the 2024 general election, but the party won no seats in the county.

Analysts say this shows potential momentum — but also limits to the party’s reach in the South West.

Weston Already Saw Migration Row Turn Ugly

The town has already experienced how heated the debate can become.

A previous plan for Weston to become a “council of sanctuary” for refugees was dropped after a backlash fuelled by misinformation campaigns linked to Reform activists. The episode triggered protests and local division — a warning of how quickly national rhetoric can spill onto local streets.

Hope Not Hate says the new polling points to the creeping normalisation of what it calls “ethnic-nationalist thinking” within parts of Reform’s base.

Campaigners warn that in towns like Weston-super-Mare — where communities are smaller and less diverse — such rhetoric can have an outsized impact on local tensions.

Reform UK has been trying to broaden its appeal nationally and has not proposed deporting British citizens.

However, the party continues to campaign on sharply reducing immigration and tightening border controls — positions that remain popular with a slice of coastal and working-class voters.

What Happens Next in Weston?

With elections just over a year away, residents in Weston-super-Mare are likely to see from Reform tougher local messaging on immigration, an renewed rows over housing and public services

Whether this poll dents Reform’s momentum — or hardens support among disillusioned voters locally — is likely to become clearer in the year ahead.