“I believe it”: Reform UK leader defends controversial social media posts
The new leader of Reform UK Doncaster has said he has not done anything wrong after being criticised over controversial social media posts, stating he believes everything he shares.
Councillor Howard Rimmer was chosen to lead the City of Doncaster Council’s Reform UK group at the party’s AGM on May 18, 2026, replacing his Roman Ridge ward colleague, Coun Craig Ward.
However, soon after Coun Rimmer’s appointment, criticism mounted online over controversial posts on his Facebook page.
When asked directly about the contents of some of these posts, which remain on his public profile and include phrases such as “I do not accept Islam” and “I do not accept multiculturalism” and claimed that mass immigration “legal or illegal” is the “greatest surrender our country will ever endure”, Coun Rimmer defended them.
He said: “I’m a Reformer and they are well known ideas that Reform carry… being immigration, illegal immigration.
“I haven’t put anything wrong. If I’ve posted anything, I believe it.”
Other posts on the Roman Ridge councillor’s page include praise for Tommy Robinson, a far-right campaigner who Nigel Farage MP has repeatedly said is “not welcome” in Reform UK.
Mr Farage previously quit the UK Independence Party (UKIP) over its increasing alignment with Mr Robinson.
Coun Rimmer’s Facebook page also included shared posts which claimed the UK is “importing low IQ people” and referenced “the Great Replacement”, a conspiracy theory that elites are seeking to replace the populations of western nations with immigrants.