Heritage_Party_(UK)
Heritage Party (UK)
Political party in United Kingdom
The Heritage Party is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist, and socially conservative fringe political party in the United Kingdom, founded in October 2020 when then-London Assembly Member David Kurten left the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to form the party.[1] Kurten was also a member of the Brexit Alliance, a Eurosceptic technical group he formed in 2018 with fellow former UKIP member Peter Whittle.
Heritage Party | |
|---|---|
| Leader | David Kurten |
| Founder | David Kurten |
| Founded | 21 October 2020 |
| Split from | UK Independence Party |
| Ideology | Euroscepticism British nationalism British unionism Right-wing populism Social conservatism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Slogan | "Freedom, Family, Nation" |
| Website | |
| heritageparty | |
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In January 2020, Kurten announced he would be running as an independent candidate in the upcoming London mayoral and London Assembly elections (then scheduled for May 2020, but both elections were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[2] Kurten founded the Heritage Party, and it was registered with the Electoral Commission that October.[3][4]
In December 2020, Kurten rejected a COVID-19 vaccine, for which he was denounced by Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, who saw this as irresponsible for an elected politician.[5] Lockdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom were condemned by Kurten.[6]
Parliamentary by-elections
The party has stood in eight by-elections so far:
| By-election | Candidate | Votes | Out of | Percentage | Place | Out of | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Hartlepool by-election | Claire Martin | 468 | 29,933 | 1.6 | 4th | 16 | ||
| 2021 Batley and Spen by-election | Susan Laird | 33 | 37,786 | 0.1 | 16th | 16 | ||
| 2021 Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election | David Kurten | 116 | 21,733 | 0.5 | 9th | 11 | ||
| 2021 North Shropshire by-election | James Elliot | 79 | 38,093 | 0.2 | 10th | 14 | ||
| 2022 Southend West by-election | Ben Downton | 236 | 15,942 | 1.6 | 6th | 9 | Held due to the murder of previous MP David Amess on 15 October 2021. The major parties thus did not stand. | [7] |
| 2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election | Jordan Donoghue-Morgan | 167 | 42,707 | 0.4 | 7th | 8 | [8] | |
| 2023 Selby and Ainsty by-election | Guy Phoenix | 162 | 35,886 | 0.5 | 10th | 13 | [9] | |
| 2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election | Alberto Thomas | 63 | 40,720 | 0.5 | 11th | 13 |
2021 elections
May 2021 London elections
Kurten came 15th in the 2021 London mayoral election with 0.4% of the vote. Heritage came 13th in the Assembly election with 0.5% of the vote. In addition to his Mayoral loss, Kurten lost his seat in the Assembly (to which he had been elected second on the UKIP list at the 2016 election).
London Assembly
| Election | Votes | Share of votes | Seats | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,534 | 0.52% | 0 / 25 |
#13 |
Northern Ireland Assembly
| Election | First Preference Vote | Share of votes | Seats | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 128 | 0.0% | 0 / 90 |
#16 |
2023 UK local elections
| Council | Candidates | Elected | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole[10] | 1 / 76 |
0 / 76 |
181 | 0.1 |
| Tonbridge and Malling[11] | 1 / 44 |
0 / 44 |
77 | 0.1 |
| South Staffordshire[12] | 1 / 42 |
0 / 42 |
86 | 0.4 |
- "View registration". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- Mathewson, Jessie (28 January 2020). "David Kurten announces run for Mayor of London". Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- "View current applications". Electoral Commission. 18 July 2020. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020.
- Sleigh, Sophia; Dunne, John (28 December 2020). "London Assembly member David Kurten slammed for 'anti-vax' comments". Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- Prosser, Ryan (29 January 2021). "London Mayor Heritage Party candidate David Kurten criticises COVID chaos". SWLondoner. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- "Election results Southend West by-election 2022". Southend Council. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POL L". Mid Devon District Council. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- Council, North Yorkshire. "Notice of Results" (PDF). www.northyorks.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- "Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council - Election results for Talbot and Branksome Woods, 4 May 2023". BCP Council. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- "Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - Election results for Snodland West and Holborough Lakes, 4 May 2023". Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- "Election results for Wombourne North, 4 May 2023" (PDF). sstaffs.gov.uk. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2024.