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

27 February 2026
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Catherine WyattBBC religious affairs


A variety of Christian groups have spoken of their "shock and disappointment" that Reform UK was enabled to use the Church of England's head office for an interview.


They stated the party's immigration policies were opposed to Church beliefs and mentors.


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


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


Church House, whose lettings policy says it does decline 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 stated it was "annoyed" that Church House had allowed Reform UK to use the venue, which it produced the impression the Church provided its "blessing" to "hostile policies and divisive rhetoric".


Other organisations and celebrations - including the Conservatives and Labour - have actually formerly used the place, as have Reform several times.


But it was their latest occasion, hosted inside the chamber where the Church of England had just 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 complain.


In his letter, Reverend Keith Brindle, a Church of England priest in Frome, and coordinator of Christians Against the Far Right, wrote that the venue had actually been "utilized as a moral background for policies that contradict the very heart of the Christian faith".


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


"As followers of Jesus, we need to refuse to let the architecture of our faith be utilized to endorse the dehumanisation of our neighbours.


"The Church needs to 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 illegal migration.


The celebration has actually because revealed plans to produce a "UK Deportation Command", a brand-new agency to bring out mass deportations of .


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


In late 2020, the venue hosted two boxing fights sponsored by online gambling firm 32Red.


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


Campaigners have actually also formerly opposed Royal United Services Institute (Rusi)'s yearly Land Warfare Conference being hosted at the place.


In a statement to the BBC, Church House stated it accepted "reservations from organisations that meet our ethical lettings policy, based on availability".


The policy specifies that reservations may be rejected if "the hirer promotes views which are anathema to the mentors of the Church of England, as might be verified by its Synodical or Episcopal statement from time to time, such as groups which promote racial bias".


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


"Poll after poll reveals immigration is a top concern for voters. Attempting to close down dispute on a subject close to voters' hearts is both un-Christian and authoritarian."