A NEW far-right political party has had its official launch event cancelled by a council-owned hotel.
Led by former Reform UK deputy Ben Habib and backed by the likes of Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk, Advance UK was due to hold its first conference in an undisclosed hotel in Newcastle on Saturday.
As reported by the Independent, it’s believed that the venue in question was the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The booking was cancelled “on health and safety grounds” following online backlash.
Newcastle City Council took over the venue in March this year, though its operations are run by a third party.
A council spokesperson told the Independent: “We are aware that hotel management has taken the decision to cancel a forthcoming event scheduled for Saturday September 27 on health and safety grounds.
“As the owner of the hotel, we absolutely support their decision to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff members, guests and visitors to the hotel.
“As in any situation, the safety of all those in our city is our absolute priority.”
Newcastle Unites, an activist group based in the city, reportedly asked the council to axe the booking, and a series of protests were planned outside the venue on the day of the launch event.
Council leader Karen Kilgour panned the “language and rhetoric” used by anti-immigration protesters who had staged demonstrations around other hotels in the city.
“Anyone who wants to make a meaningful difference in our city will always be more welcome than those who wish to spread hate and cause division; they do not represent the Newcastle we all know and love, and they are not welcome here”, she said.
The party said on social media when the launch event was announced that they had chosen Newcastle as it was “the symbolic heart of Brexit”.
Advance UK was officially launched in June, with Habib previously laying out plans to form a party further right than Reform UK after his departure.
The party promised to “fight unapologetically for sovereignty, free speech, and restoring pride in our nation” and invoke “Liz Truss style” tax cuts.
Right-wing agitator Robinson backed the party in August, writing on Twitter/X that he was seeking a “political home”. In response, Musk claimed Advance would “actually drive change” before calling Nigel Farage “weak sauce who will do nothing”.
The party was listed as an official sponsor of Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom”, where Musk appeared via video link and was later accused of incitement by the husband of late MP Jo Cox.
Advance UK were approached for comment.
