Christian Groups 'Annoyed' At Reform Conference Held In Church House
27 February 2026
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Catherine WyattBBC spiritual affairs
A variety of Christian groups have actually spoken of their "shock and dissatisfaction" that Reform UK was allowed to use the Church of England's head office for an .
They said the party's migration policies were opposed to Church beliefs and teachings.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage revealed his new leading group at an interview in the Assembly Hall at Church House in Westminster recently.
The celebration said the criticism was "little more than a cheap political stunt".
Church House, whose lettings policy states it does not accept bookings from groups which "promote racial prejudice", said it ran on a business basis, and was not part of the Church of England.
Christians for a Welcoming Britain said it was "outraged" that Church House had permitted Reform UK to utilize the location, and that it created the impression the Church gave its "true blessing" to "hostile policies and divisive rhetoric".
Other organisations and celebrations - consisting of the Conservatives and Labour - have actually formerly used the place, as have Reform multiple 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 most significant 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 planner of Christians Against the Far Right, composed that the location had actually been "used as a moral background for policies that contradict the very heart of the Christian faith".
He composed: "Church House has provided 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 decline to let the architecture of our faith be utilized to back 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 occasion, Zia Yusuf was revealed as the celebration's lead on home affairs, with a focus on cutting legal and illegal immigration.
The party has actually considering that announced plans to create a "UK Deportation Command", a new firm to bring out mass deportations of unlawful migrants.
It was not the very first time Church House had actually come under fire for its use by external organisations.
In late 2020, the venue hosted 2 boxing battles sponsored by online gambling company 32Red.
At the time, critics argued that betting addiction was harmful, and ought to not be seen to be promoted by the Church.
Campaigners have likewise formerly opposed Royal United Services Institute (Rusi)'s annual Land Warfare Conference being hosted at the place.
In a statement to the BBC, Church House stated it accepted "reservations from organisations that satisfy our ethical lettings policy, subject to availability".
The policy specifies that bookings might 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 declaration from time to time, such as groups which promote racial bias".
A Reform UK representative informed the BBC: "This is bit more than a cheap political stunt by a group that is totally out of touch with the British public.
"Poll after survey shows migration is a leading concern for citizens. Attempting to close down dispute on a subject close to citizens' hearts is both un-Christian and authoritarian."