Lucy Connolly tells Reform UK conference she would “love” to work with the party

Lucy Connolly, who was released from prison last month after serving part of a sentence for stirring up racial hatred, told the Reform UK conference she would “love” to work with the party in the future.

Connolly, a former childminder from Northampton and the wife of a Conservative councillor, was introduced on stage in Birmingham as a “living symbol of two-tier Britain” and “Britain’s favourite political prisoner.” She received cheers from the audience as she walked on.

She had been sentenced last year to 31 months in custody following comments about asylum seekers in the aftermath of the Southport murders, but was released from HMP Peterborough to serve the remainder of her term in the community.

Asked from the main stage what she wanted to do in the future, Connolly said: “I’d really love to use my experience to work with, hopefully, Reform in the future.”

Prison experience and justice system

Connolly said she had never imagined she would go to prison, calling the experience “horrifying” but also “a lesson.”

“Of course, never in a million years did I ever think I was going to end up in prison,” she said. “I saw things you’ve never seen in any other walk of life and I really hope I can change some things I saw in there because it really is such a broken system. The whole system just needs completely reforming.”

Her comments come as debate continues over the state of Britain’s prisons, with the Prison Reform Trust highlighting chronic overcrowding and pressure on rehabilitation services.

During the same interview, Connolly commented on the case of Labour councillor Ricky Jones, who was cleared at Snaresbrook Crown Court of encouraging violent disorder after calling for far-right activists’ throats to be cut at an anti-racism rally following the Southport murders.

“You know what? He was an idiot. He was an idiot and I was an idiot,” Connolly said. “Doesn’t make him a criminal any more than it makes me a criminal. He was just acting out of emotion. I don’t want to live in a country where they’re arresting people for having an opinion online and using ‘hurty words’ — that’s not a priority.”

Support from Reform UK

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice, speaking immediately after Connolly’s appearance, welcomed her return.

“It’s wonderful to see her back with us and to hear her direct telling her story. I think that she has a huge opportunity to help Reform and help the cause of free speech,” he said.

In May, Connolly lost a legal challenge against the length of her sentence. Lord Justice Holroyde dismissed her appeal, ruling: “There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive.”

Connolly also claimed there had been a “distortion of police evidence” in her case, referencing a statement passed to prosecutors which said she “doesn’t like immigrants, she thinks they’re a danger to children.”

She argued her concerns were about “illegal, unchecked immigration,” recalling an incident in Liverpool when she and a friend were approached by two men outside a hotel.

Her remarks echo broader debates on immigration, with the Migration Observatory at Oxford University noting the challenges faced by policymakers in balancing security, community cohesion, and asylum rights.

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