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

27 February 2026
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Catherine WyattBBC spiritual affairs


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


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


Reform UK leader Nigel Farage revealed his brand-new leading team at an interview in the Assembly Hall at Church House in Westminster recently.


The celebration said the criticism was "bit more than an inexpensive political stunt".


Church House, whose lettings policy says it does not accept bookings from groups which "promote racial prejudice", said it operated on a business basis, and was not part of the Church of England.


Christians for a Welcoming Britain said it was "annoyed" that Church House had actually allowed Reform UK to use the location, which it developed the the Church gave its "true blessing" to "hostile policies and dissentious rhetoric".


Other organisations and parties - including the Conservatives and Labour - have actually previously used the place, as have Reform multiple times.


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


Christians from the groups Better Story, Christians Against the Far Right and Christians for a Welcoming Britain, have actually composed 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 been "used as an ethical background for policies that contradict the very heart of the Christian faith".


He wrote: "Church House has actually offered 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 used to endorse the dehumanisation of our neighbours.


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


At Reform UK's occasion, Zia Yusuf was announced as the celebration's lead on home affairs, with a focus on cutting legal and illegal immigration.


The celebration has because revealed strategies to produce a "UK Deportation Command", a new agency to bring out mass deportations of illegal migrants.


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


In late 2020, the place hosted 2 boxing fights sponsored by online gaming company 32Red.


At the time, critics argued that gambling dependency was harmful, and should not be seen to be promoted by the Church.


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


In a declaration to the BBC, Church House stated it accepted "bookings from organisations that fulfill our ethical lettings policy, subject to accessibility".


The policy specifies that reservations might be rejected if "the hirer promotes views which are anathema to the mentors of the Church of England, as may be affirmed 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 little more than a low-cost political stunt by a group that is entirely out of touch with the British public.


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