Reclaim Party

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Reclaim Party
LeaderLaurence Fox
Founders
Founded2020
Preceded byBrexit Express
HeadquartersCarlyle House
235 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London
SW1V 1EJ
IdeologyRight-wing populism
Political positionRight-wing
Website
reclaimparty.co.uk

The Reclaim Party is a right-wing populist[1] political party in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 2020 by British actor and political activist Laurence Fox, with 100% funding from a single donor (rather than membership fees) Jeremy Hosking.[2]

History[edit]

Founding[edit]

The party was first registered on 13 March 2019 by Jeremy Hosking as Brexit Express.[3][4]

In September 2020, Fox attracted funding for a new political party, provisionally called Reclaim,[5][6] and dubbed "UKIP for culture".[7][5] In October 2020, the party changed its leader from Jeremy Hosking to Laurence Fox.[8] It emerged in the same month that the party name had yet to be successfully registered with the Electoral Commission as there was a naming conflict with the "Reclaim Project" of Manchester, an established charity giving opportunities to working-class children.[9] In February 2021, the party changed its registered name from Brexit Express to The Reclaim Party.[10][11]

In December 2021, newspapers reported that Hosking would continue to fund The Reclaim Party.[12]

Parliamentary representation[edit]

MP Andrew Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party in January 2023 for tweeting "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, [the COVID-19 vaccines are] the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust",[13] repeating COVID conspiracy claims and for breaching lobbying rules.[14] In May 2023, he joined Reclaim, becoming the party's first MP.[15] He resigned from the party in December 2023.[16]

Cooperation agreement with Reform UK[edit]

On 12 June 2023, Reform UK and the Reclaim Party announced a mutual co-operation agreement for the upcoming by-elections, whereby Reform UK would stand in Mid Bedfordshire and Reclaim would stand in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.[17] Both parties lost all by-elections and lost their deposits, with Dave Kent (Reform) getting the highest support at 3.7% in Selby and Ainsty.

Electoral record[edit]

2021 London mayoral election[edit]

In March 2021, Fox announced he would stand in the London mayoral elections, in order to "fight against extreme political correctness" and to "end the Met's obsession with diversity and inclusivity".[18][19] His candidacy was endorsed by Reform UK, who stood aside for him in the election, and by Nigel Farage.[20] The major source of Fox's campaign funds was Brexit backer Jeremy Hosking,[21] who, in the first quarter of 2021, gave The Reclaim Party more than £1,000,000 in cash and services.[22]

In the mayoral election, Fox finished in sixth place with 47,634 votes (1.9 per cent), losing his £10,000 election deposit.[23][24]

2021 Scottish Parliament election[edit]

The party stood one candidate, Leo Kearse, in Glasgow Pollok for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election; he received 114 votes (0.3 per cent).[25]

2021 North Shropshire by-election[edit]

Martin Daubney, deputy leader of the party from 2021 until August 2022,[26] was the party's candidate in the 2021 North Shropshire by-election.[27] Daubney is a former Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2020, and a former journalist and editor. He finished seventh with 375 votes (0.98 per cent), losing his deposit.[28]

During the by-election campaign, a Market Drayton town councillor defected to Reclaim, becoming the party's first representative in UK local government,[29][30][31] but resigned as a councillor less than a year later.[32]

2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election[edit]

In June 2023, Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox announced his intention to contest the 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.[33] Fox received 2.3% of the vote, finishing fourth and losing his deposit. The winner was Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell.[34]

References[edit]

  1. ^ * Edmonds, Lizzie (11 January 2022). "Laurence Fox is engaged, but who's his fiancée Arabella May Fleetwood Neagle?". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  2. ^ https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Search/Donations?currentPage=1&rows=10&query=reclaim&sort=AcceptedDate&order=desc&tab=1&et=ppm&et=tp&et=perpar&et=rd&et=pp&isIrishSourceYes=true&isIrishSourceNo=true&prePoll=false&postPoll=true&register=gb&register=ni&register=none&optCols=Register&optCols=CampaigningName&optCols=AccountingUnitsAsCentralParty&optCols=IsSponsorship&optCols=IsIrishSource&optCols=RegulatedDoneeType&optCols=CompanyRegistrationNumber&optCols=Postcode&optCols=NatureOfDonation&optCols=PurposeOfVisit&optCols=DonationAction&optCols=ReportedDate&optCols=IsReportedPrePoll&optCols=ReportingPeriodName&optCols=IsBequest&optCols=IsAggregation
  3. ^ "2019 Party registration decisions". The Electoral Commission. December 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  4. ^ "The Reclaim Party register entry". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b Hope, Christopher (27 September 2020). "Laurence Fox launches a new political party to fight the culture wars". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  6. ^ Heren, Kit (27 September 2020). "Laurence Fox to set up new political party dubbed 'Ukip for culture'". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  7. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (27 September 2020). "Laurence Fox to launch new political party described as 'Ukip for culture'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  8. ^ "FOI 019-21 - Response (page 4)" (PDF). The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  9. ^ Littlejohn, Georgina (11 October 2020). "Laurence Fox faces legal action from youth charity Reclaim over party name". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  10. ^ "2021 Party registration decisions" (PDF). The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Laurence Fox films police officers at front door after being accused of breaking COVID rules". Yahoo!. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  12. ^ Penna, Dominic; Hope, Christopher (13 December 2021). "Former Conservative donor to pump further £5m into Laurence Fox's Reclaim Party". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  13. ^ Iacobucci, Gareth (11 January 2023). "Covid-19: Tory MP is suspended after comparing vaccines to The Holocaust". BMJ. 380: 81. doi:10.1136/bmj.p81. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 36631157.
  14. ^ "'Biggest crime since Holocaust': British MP suspended over COVID tweet". euronews. 11 January 2023.
  15. ^ Whannel, Kate (10 May 2023). "Ex-Tory Andrew Bridgen joins Laurence Fox's Reclaim party". BBC News.
  16. ^ @abridgen (20 December 2023). "A statement by Andrew Bridgen MP: "This morning, I have made the incredibly difficult decision to resign from the Reclaim Party. I would first of all like to thank Laurence and all of the team at Reclaim who have been excellent and supported me wholeheartedly for the last 9 months. I have come to this decision purely because of a difference in the direction of the Party, I will still wholeheartedly support the policies and values of the Reclaim Party and wish them all of the best in their future endeavours However, I need to make a very important decision with a general election pending in the first half of next year. I need to put North West Leicestershire first, above any Party allegiance. I will continue standing up and fighting for the people of North West Leicestershire and delivering what is best for them. I have consistently campaigned against HS2 since my first election in 2010, I have been at the forefront of exposing scandals such as the modern day slavery cover up in Leicester and the Post Office Horizon scandal which was debated in the House of Commons yesterday. I have been standing up for those who have been injured by vaccines and exposing the worrying cover up of Trends in Excess Deaths on a national and indeed global scale" ENDS" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Noyce, Eleanor (12 June 2023). "Reform UK and Reclaim parties announce deal to boost chances in by-elections". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  18. ^ Bayley, James (20 April 2021). "Laurence Fox pledges to 'end the Met's obsession with diversity'". MyLondon. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  19. ^ Hope, Christopher (6 March 2021). "Laurence Fox exclusive: I'm standing for London Mayor to offer a voice to those being dominated into silence". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  20. ^ Murphy, Joe (22 April 2021). "Nigel Farage backs Laurence Fox in London mayoral race". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  21. ^ Smith, Robbie (19 April 2021). "Londoner's Diary: Laurence Fox's Reclaim party has banking problems". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  22. ^ Walker, Peter (3 June 2021). "Laurence Fox's political party received almost same donations as Lib Dems". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  23. ^ Sinclair, Leah (9 May 2021). "Laurence Fox loses £10,000 deposit in London mayor bid". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Results 2021". London Elects. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Constituencies A-Z: Glasgow Pollok". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  26. ^ Marlow, Ben (23 November 2022). "Incredibly, the Tories have squandered another year of Brexit". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  27. ^ "North Shropshire by-election 2021: The candidates standing". BBC News. 19 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  28. ^ "North Shropshire parliamentary by-election | The result". www.shropshire.gov.uk. Shropshire Council. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Tory Shropshire councillor defects to Reclaim". The Spectator. 6 December 2021. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Two Tory councillors defect amid North Shropshire by-election campaign". BBC News. 6 December 2021. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  31. ^ Davis, Gregory (7 December 2021). "Reclaim's first councillor is nothing to celebrate". Hope not Hate. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  32. ^ "VACANCY FOR A COUNCILLOR PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN" (PDF). Market Drayton Town Council. 31 August 2022.
  33. ^ Heren, Kit (12 June 2023). "Laurence Fox to run for MP in Boris Johnson's former constituency". LBC. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  34. ^ "Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election 2023 results". Hillingdon Council. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
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