The Heritage Party is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist, and socially conservative minor 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 | |
|---|---|
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| 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 | |
History
edit
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]
Elections
editParliamentary by-elections
editThe 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
editMay 2021 London elections
editKurten 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
edit| Election | Votes | Share of votes | Seats | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,534 | 0.52% | 0 / 25
|
#13 |
Northern Ireland Assembly
edit| Election | First Preference Vote | Share of votes | Seats | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 128 | 0.0% | 0 / 90
|
#16 |
2023 UK local elections
edit| 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 |
2024 UK local elections
edit| Council | Candidates | Elected | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Oxfordshire[13] | 1 / 17
|
0 / 17
|
99 | 0.1 |
2024 general election
editThe party's candidates stood in 41 constituencies in the 2024 United Kingdom general election on 4 July 2024: 34 in England, 1 in Scotland, 6 in Wales.[14] These candidates received a total of 6,597 votes, and none of them were elected.[15]
| Election year | Leader | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | David Kurten | 6,597 
|
0.0%
|
0 / 650 
|
No seats |
References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ "HERITAGE PARTY - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". Gov.uk.
- ^ "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. Archived from the original on 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.
- ^ "WEST OXFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS SUMMARY - THURSDAY 2 MAY 2024" (PDF). West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ "Westminster Elections". Heritage Party. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ "UK election results 2024: Parliament results". BBC News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.