Reclaim Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reclaim Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Laurence Fox |
| Founders |
|
| Founded | October 2020 |
| Preceded by | Brexit Express |
| Headquarters | Carlyle House 235 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 1EJ |
| Ideology | Right-wing populism British nationalism |
| Political position | Right-wing[1] to far-right |
| Website | |
| reclaimparty | |
The Reclaim Party is a right-wing[2] to far-right[3][4][5] political party in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 2020 by English political activist and actor Laurence Fox, with all of its funding from a single donor, Jeremy Hosking.[6][7] It does not solicit donations or charge membership fees.
The party has had one MP, Andrew Bridgen for North West Leicestershire, who was an MP for the Conservative Party from 2010, until his expulsion in April 2023, having had the whip suspended in January after criticising the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and claiming that a cardiologist told him it constitutes "the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust".[8] He joined the Reclaim Party in May 2023[9][10] but resigned from the party in December 2023.
Founding
The party was first registered on 13 March 2019 by Jeremy Hosking as Brexit Express.[11][12]
In September 2020, Fox attracted funding for a new political party, provisionally called Reclaim,[13][14] and dubbed "UKIP for culture".[15][13] In October 2020, the party changed its leader from Jeremy Hosking to Laurence Fox.[16] 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.[17] In February 2021, the party changed its registered name from Brexit Express to the Reclaim Party.[18][19]
In December 2021, newspapers reported that Hosking would continue to fund the Reclaim Party.[20]
Parliamentary representation
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",[21] repeating COVID conspiracy claims and for breaching lobbying rules.[22] In May 2023, he joined Reclaim, becoming the party's first MP.[23] He resigned from the party in December 2023.[24]
Cooperation agreement with Reform UK
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.[25] 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.