LOCAL groups are uniting for a protest to stop Nigel Farage from speaking at Reform UK’s Cornwall conference at the Carn Brea Leisure Centre on Monday, February 24.

The conference will gather key Reform UK figures, including Ann Widdecombe and Matt Goodwin among others, who will be speaking at the event in front of members and supporters of Reform UK.

The protest, which is being coordinated by Cornwall Resists, will start at 3.30pm and will run until the early evening. The group have said that they want to stop Farage by shutting down the conference, as well as calling on people to politely contact the leisure centre to encourage them to cancel the booking.

Groups in support of the protest include the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union, Radical Pride, Falmouth and Penryn Acorn, All Under One Banner Kernow, Youth Demand Falmouth and the Kernow Antifascist Network.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Resists said: “It's amazing to see so many groups mobilise against the far-right in Cornwall. We know that to beat Reform we need to do more than organise against one conference - and this is ongoing work. But when fascists try to speak and mobilise in our communities, local people can and will respond.

“When fascists tried to target refugees at the Beresford hotel (in Newquay) two years ago, local people shut them down. We are proud of our heritage, proud that our patron saint was a refugee, and we will let Farage and Reform know that there is no place for hatred and racism in Cornwall. Kernow is antifascist!”

The conference will take place from 6pm until 8pm, with doors opening from 4.30pm.