United Reformed Church magazine changes name after readers get ‘fed up’ with link to Reform UK
A Protestant church magazine has been rebranded Reform with Reform after readers became “fed up” with its name being confused with Reform UK.
The United Reformed Church (URC) announced the change to its national publication following a poll in which 86 percent of readers supported a new name.
The magazine’s editor, Stephen Tomkins, said: “We had been talking about changing the name for a few years, with Reform UK coming to the fore. But at first it was ‘It was our name first!’ We adopted the view.”
“Readers began telling us that the name was causing confusion and consternation in local churches,” he added.
Mr Tomkins said the URC was “not affiliated with any political party and does not want the name of its magazine to imply that it is”.
“The URC General Assembly has taken positions on public issues that conflict with Reform UK policy, such as immigration and asylum, but Reform UK is not the only UK party for which this is true.”
The URC has approximately 44,000 members in approximately 1,250 congregations across the UK.
UK Reform Leader Nigel Farage has previously clashed with Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who accused him of an “isolationist, short-term mindless” response to the small boat crisis.
Mr Farage, who has promised mass deportations, has not offered a solution to the “big problems” that are driving people to risk crossing the Channel, the senior Church of England bishop said.
He argued that Reformation’s radical proposals to “send them all back”, which included returning immigrants to war, violence and persecution, were contrary to the “British way”.
He warned that this country “cannot just close the door”, adding that providing “compassion and understanding” to those in need was a long-standing principle in the UK.
Mr Farage had previously planned to remove up to 600,000 people from the country if he formed the next government.
In March, he said he would “hold firm to the Judeo-Christian principles on which our nation was founded” while calling for an end to all mass religious observances.
Polls taken in mid-2025 showed rising support for the Reformation among Christians in the UK. Only 15 per cent of Anglicans voted for Reform in 2024, but by mid-2025 38 per cent said they were likely to vote for the party.
