Banned from Reform's conference (again)... It seems the self proclaimed "defenders of free speech" aren't fans of free speech. For the second year in a row, I have been banned from Reform UK's conference. I applied for accreditation and was told that it had been rejected. It’s worth noting that I regularly report from Conservative, Labour, Plaid, Green and Lib Dem conferences. I was actually given a press pass for the Reform conference in Wales in the autumn of 2024. While there I interviewed Nigel Farage. Just before the interview one of his long-time inner circle came up to me and whispered “I have never worked with you before, and whether we work together again will depend on what happens next”. It seems I failed the test. The ability of journalists to question, scrutinise and report on the actions of politicians is one of the absolutely fundamental cornerstones of any functioning democracy. The banning of reporters they don’t like is, in my view, a clear indication of where the party really stands on free speech as well as how they would behave if they were to hold the full power of government including the police, armed forces and security services. If you want to support my journalist consider subscribing using the link in the pinned tweet.