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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.
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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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 …