The Government Bans ‘Far-Right Agitators’ from Entering the UK

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

15 May 2026

Ahead of the Unite the Kingdom rally, the Labour Government has closed the border to commentators with conservative views.

The Government has moved to ban several "far-right" commentators from entering the UK, claiming their presence is "not conducive to the public good". Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has barred these so-called "agitators" — all outspoken on immigration — from entering the country ahead of Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally on Saturday, despite a number of them having previously attended similar events in the UK without incident.

This comes as the Government reels from a dire set of local election results and Keir Starmer fights to retain the keys to Downing Street. In a reset speech on Monday, the Prime Minister announced the crackdown on conservative voices and criticised the Unite the Kingdom rally, claiming it was designed to "confront and intimidate this diverse city and this diverse country".

He continued: "This is why this Labour Government will block far-right agitators from travelling to Britain for that event. Because we will not allow people to come to the UK and spread hate on our streets."

The Free Speech Union’s position is clear: American conservatives should no more be banned from entering Britain than British socialists should be banned from entering the United States. The Government should be prepared to defend its policies in the face of criticism from conservative voices — domestic and foreign alike — rather than banning critics from entering the country.

It is also worth noting that the Labour Party raised no objection to its own staffers travelling to the United States to campaign for Kamala Harris.

This is a poor decision.

Read more in The Telegraph.