Newcastle’s Labour-led council has once again shown its contempt for democracy, free speech and the British public – this time by cancelling the planned launch of Ben Habib’s new political party, Advance UK.
The launch, scheduled for this Saturday at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Newcastle, was abruptly cancelled after hotel management, under the ownership of Newcastle City Council since March, pulled the plug, citing the flimsy excuse of “health and safety.”
Advance UK, founded by former Reform deputy leader and Great British PAC Chairman Ben Habib, has rapidly gained momentum in recent months, with support ranging from ordinary working people across the country to influential figures like Elon Musk. The party says it promises a patriotic, common-sense alternative to the tired, failed establishment that has run Britain into the ground.
But Newcastle’s Labour council seems determined to suppress this message before people can even hear it.
Kilgour’s Hollow Rhetoric
Labour Council leader Karen Kilgour attempted to justify the cancellation with a predictable tirade about “hate” and “division.” In the same breath, she claimed Newcastle “welcomes diversity” and is a “City of Sanctuary” – while shutting down an entirely lawful political gathering of British citizens.
It is the height of hypocrisy. While the council bends over backwards to house asylum seekers in hotels paid for by taxpayers, it blocks British patriots from hiring a hotel conference room to launch a democratic party.
Kilgour insists Newcastle is a city that “celebrates inclusivity” – except, it seems, for anyone who dares to question Labour’s open-border dogma or stand up for Britain’s interests. For her, diversity of opinion is clearly not welcome.
Habib: “Anti-British Forces Will Not Silence Us”
Ben Habib responded robustly to the cancellation, calling out Labour’s authoritarian tactics:
“I am attacked from the anti-British, anti-democratic, anti-free speech totalitarian left for being ‘far right.’ Stupid rhetoric. Members in Advance UK and I are just British citizens who love our country.”
Far from being deterred, Habib has promised the Advance launch will go ahead in Newcastle this Saturday, “come hell or high water.”
An Advance UK member told The Post: “This is more than just a fight about a venue. It is a fight about who gets to speak in modern Britain. Labour councils across the country are increasingly acting like thought-police, deciding which views are acceptable and which must be stamped out. But Advance UK represents a growing movement of people who refuse to be silenced.”
The Real Message
The cancellation may backfire badly on Labour. By trying to ban Habib’s party from meeting, critics suggest Kilgour has simply exposed her own intolerance and deep fear of open debate.
Newcastle residents, and the British public more broadly, will see this for what it is: an establishment desperate to cling onto power by suppressing opposition. But the truth is clear. Advance UK is rising, Labour is floundering, and no amount of backroom cancellations will stop the patriotic majority from making its voice heard.
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