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Far-right activists this week attended a free-ticketed event at the House of Lords, titled ‘The UK’s Demographic Timebomb’ hosted by Conservative peer Shaun Bailey.
Bailey spoke at the event alongside David Paton, a professor of industrial economics at Nottingham University Business School.
The event, condemned by Abortion Rights and Amnesty International, was put on by anti-abortion lobby group The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), which has received US ‘dark money’ – funding for which the true source of funds is obscured.
Lord Bailey, who hosted the event in the House of Lords, is a former special advisor to David Cameron, and the Conservative Party’s candidate for Mayor of London in 2021. He entered the House of Lords in 2023 after receiving a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours.
Among those in attendance at his event on Tuesday were far-right activists and ethnonationalists, who were given a platform to air their opinions. Bailey denied inviting them or knowing who they were.
They included Callum Barker, a founding alumnus of the fascist and ethnonationalist Homeland Party and former member of Patriotic Alternative, the largest neo-Nazi group in the UK. Barker is one of a growing crop of ethnonationalist influencers also known for his role in the anti-migrant actions in Epping last year, which became the scene of violent far-right protests after an asylum seeker living in a hotel there sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and woman.
Barker claimed on X that he attended the House of Lords event and told those present:
… we should stop importing an invasive foreign serf class to subsidise pensions and the falling birthrates, and instead build a system that prioritises us, makes homeownership affordable, encourages motherhood, and boosts Britain’s native birthrate.
Conservatives Hosting the Far-Right
Barker, described by campaign group Stand Up To Racism as a “hardened neo-Nazi”, quit Homeland after complaining of lack of support from its leader, former British National Party member Kenny Smith, during the protests in Epping.
Also present at the Lords event was Gregory Moffitt (AKA Young Bob), a self-styled Christian nationalist who describes himself on X as a “pro-life remigration activist”, and who has campaigned for Disciples of Christ – a Christian activist group influenced by UKIP leader Nick Tenconi. He was previously involved with Turning Point UK and worked as a journalist for the far-right media outlet Vox Populi.
Remigration is a far-right concept calling for ethnic cleansing via forced mass deportations of non-white, particularly immigrant, populations.
Moffit is currently the CEO of the Christian nationalist group ‘Project Britannia’, which calls for abortion to be banned for creating “the greatest genocide in human history” – claiming that “if you don’t want children, don’t have sex”.
David Paton, who sat on the panel alongside Lord Bailey, sits on the academic review board of the Family Education Trust, which campaigns against LGBTQ+ rights. Its leadership has praised former president of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, while its events have featured far-right activist Connor Tomlinson and preacher Calvin Robinson, who has since promoted antisemitic claims about Jews collectively exercising control and pressuring others to silence opponents.
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Anti-Abortion Lobbying
The topic of discussion at the panel hosted by Lord Bailey was “falling birth rates and what this means for the future of the UK”, with the event page stating “Birth rates across the UK are crashing to historic lows, threatening life as we know it”, and that “for decades, anti-life narratives have pushed the myth of overpopulation to justify abortion and anti-family rhetoric and policy”.
Lord Bailey has previously described himself as “pro choice”, but favoured reducing abortion time limits from 24 weeks, stating: “Unless there were mitigating circumstances, I would reduce it to 22 weeks”. He has also previously said children are “using abortion as contraceptive”, in remarks brought to light when standing as London mayoral candidate.
A spokesperson for Lord Bailey told Byline Times: “The event was organised by SPUC and was open to members of the public. Lord Bailey had no involvement in advertising it or issuing tickets. He did not invite, does not know and has had no contact with either of the individuals named and categorically rejects their political views.
“Lord Bailey’s participation should not be interpreted as endorsing the views of every person who attended or statements they may have made elsewhere. He rejects fascism and ethnonationalism and does not support a policy of remigration.”
The Conservative Party did not respond to request for comment.
The SPUC, which organised the event hosted by Lord Bailey, is an extreme right-wing lobby group campaigning to ban abortion, as well as opposing assisted suicide, emergency contraception, birth control, and buffer-zone safe-spaces created for women being intimidated outside of abortion clinics – which the groups claims violates free speech and freedom of religion.
It was among a number of groups that previously tried to influence anti-protest legislation to end buffer zones by writing to MPs and submitting evidence to parliament. Secret recordings revealed that the organisation misinformed parents, pupils and staff about the effects of abortion.
The group celebrated the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V Wade, a move which dismantled abortion rights for women in the United States. It also has a history of promoting misinformation about abortion in schools.
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Dark Money
Between 2020 and 2022, the SPUC received anonymous funding via NPT Transatlantic – an affiliate of the US-based National Philanthropic Trust which frequently finances right wing causes – including the Heritage Foundation which architected Project 2025 (the Trump administration’s authoritarian transition blueprint to reshape the federal government).
NPT Transatlantic has also channelled more than £1.5 million to think tanks in the UK-based Tufton Street network. It provides a vehicle for US and UK taxpayers to donate to organisations across the Atlantic, while obscuring the true source of the income.
A spokesperson for SPUC said that they were “extremely grateful to Lord Bailey for hosting this event… As an open event, members of the public were not screened, but had to adhere to the rules associated with attending any event in Parliament. We do not know the individuals mentioned and they have no connection with our organisation.”
Revealed: The ‘Right-Wing Arms Race’ to Deport Non-White Britons – Backed By the Tufton Street Brexit Lobby
EXCLUSIVE: A dark money lobbying network backed by a Reform UK donor is hosting figures pushing for the forced removal of millions of ethnic-minority citizens from the UK, reports Nafeez Ahmed
Speaking to Byline Times, Kerry Abel, Chair of Abortion Rights, described the event as “a stark reminder that attacks on abortion rights do not happen in isolation. They are increasingly part of a broader political project that seeks to control women’s choices, restrict bodily autonomy and push women back into narrowly defined social roles…
“What is especially concerning now is the growing overlap between that agenda and wider hard-right and racist politics. Women’s rights cannot be treated as collateral in debates about population, family or national identity. Decisions about pregnancy belong to the person who is pregnant, not to politicians, campaign groups or ideological movements.”
Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty International’s Head of Policy and Research added that the same groups calling for “remigration and promoting racist conspiracy theories of population replacement” are using the “very real issue of violence against women and girls to drive a racist agenda but there is clearly no genuine commitment to women’s rights – quite the opposite. Their vision is for a world where women can’t make choices about our own bodies”.
This is not the first time members of the far-right have attended parliament. A 2025 investigation by HOPE not hate revealed that Conservative peer Lord Moylan, a former advisor to Boris Johnson, hosted far-right activists Charlie Downes and Jake Scott at a panel event.
Former Homeland organiser and ethnonationalist Steve Laws, who runs the ‘Remigration Now’ pressure group, has also boasted about “meeting with two members of the [House of Lords]… to discuss remigration”, claiming that “We’re gaining ground”.