About 120 people turned up to hear Pauline Hanson speak at a conference in London on Saturday morning. The hall could have held far more. By the time the One Nation leader took the stage at the InterContinental Hotel’s Arora Ballroom, fewer than a quarter of the seats were filled.
She spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in an address titled The Australian Fight Back. It began about 15 minutes late. At least a dozen journalists were watching, the ABC reported.
Hanson told the audience Australia had “gone woke.” She complained about immigration levels at home and said the government was putting too much weight on environmental policies. London got no better review. Britain has many beautiful areas, she said, but its capital is not one of them.
“London, no thank you,” she said, pointing to the city’s multicultural communities as a major concern. She added that she thought Australia was “about five to 10 years behind England, in where we are headed.”
“I’m not going to allow it to happen,” she said. “I’m going to keep fighting this.”
When she finished, the audience gave her a standing ovation.
A trip with side stops
The speech ended close to two weeks in Britain and Europe that Hanson, who is 72, has called a “fact-finding mission.” The night before, she had addressed a gala dinner at the conference. It was better attended, but media were not invited.
Nigel Farage spoke before that dinner and praised her for One Nation’s rise in the polls. His own Reform UK party has also seen its popularity climb over the past 12 months. Deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie was due to speak later on Saturday. This was the first time the UK had staged a CPAC event.
Elsewhere on the trip, Hanson went to a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Sicily with her friend and political benefactor Gina Rinehart. The two were also seen by a hotel pool in the town of Taormina, where rooms can cost more than $5,000 a night.
Hanson would not answer ABC questions about who paid for that part of the trip. In a video on social media she said it cost taxpayers nothing. A spokesperson said all taxpayer-funded travel would be disclosed publicly under parliamentary rules.
She also met performer-turned-activist Holly Vallance and former British prime minister Liz Truss. Her decision to record a podcast with Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, drew criticism. Robinson has been jailed five times for offences including fraud and assault. Hanson is expected back in Australia soon.
