Christian Groups 'Outraged' At Reform Conference Held In Church House

27 February 2026
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Catherine WyattBBC religious affairs


A number of Christian groups have spoken of their "shock and frustration" that Reform UK was allowed to utilize the Church of England's head office for an interview.


They stated the party's migration policies were opposed to Church beliefs and teachings.


Reform UK leader Nigel Farage revealed his brand-new leading group at a press conference in the Assembly Hall at Church House in Westminster last week.


The party said the criticism was "bit more than a low-cost political stunt".


Church House, whose lettings policy states it does not accept bookings from groups which "promote racial prejudice", stated it operated on an industrial basis, and was not part of the Church of England.


Christians for a Welcoming Britain said it was "outraged" that Church House had actually allowed Reform UK to use the location, and that it created the impression the Church gave its "true blessing" to "hostile policies and divisive rhetoric".


Other organisations and parties - including the Conservatives and Labour - have formerly utilized the location, as have Reform several times.


But it was their most current occasion, hosted inside the chamber where the Church of England had only the week before held its nationwide assembly, General Synod, which triggered the biggest stir.


Christians from the groups Better Story, Christians Against the Far Right and Christians for a Welcoming Britain, have written to Church House to grumble.


In his letter, Reverend Keith Brindle, a Church of England priest in Frome, and coordinator of Christians Against the Far Right, composed that the venue had been "used as a moral backdrop for policies that oppose the very heart of the Christian faith".


He composed: "Church House has supplied a veneer of spiritual authenticity to Reform's anti-migrant and anti-Muslim politics, and their negative scapegoating.


"As followers of Jesus, we must decline to let the architecture of our faith be utilized to back the dehumanisation of our neighbours.


"The Church should be a sanctuary for the displaced, not a platform for their expulsion."


At Reform UK's event, Zia Yusuf was announced as the party's lead on home affairs, with a concentrate on cutting legal and prohibited migration.


The celebration has actually since revealed strategies to develop a "UK Deportation Command", a brand-new firm to carry out of illegal migrants.


It was not the very first time Church House had come under fire for its usage by external organisations.


In late 2020, the place hosted 2 boxing battles sponsored by online betting firm 32Red.


At the time, critics argued that betting dependency was destructive, and ought to not be seen to be promoted by the Church.


Campaigners have likewise previously opposed Royal United Services Institute (Rusi)'s annual Land Warfare Conference being hosted at the place.


In a declaration to the BBC, Church House said it accepted "reservations from organisations that meet our ethical lettings policy, based on schedule".


The policy mentions that bookings may be rejected if "the hirer promotes views which are anathema to the teachings of the Church of England, as may be affirmed by its Synodical or Episcopal declaration from time to time, such as groups which promote racial prejudice".


A Reform UK representative told the BBC: "This is bit more than a cheap political stunt by a group that is entirely out of touch with the British public.


"Poll after survey reveals migration is a leading concern for voters. Attempting to close down argument on a topic near citizens' hearts is both un-Christian and authoritarian."