Volt UK was founded in London on 6 January 2020, with Philipp Gnatzy as its first leader.[3]
2021 Elections
In the 2021 local elections, the party stood one candidate for election to a local authority, Luís Perdigão in Cubbington & Leek Wootton Ward in Warwickshire.[13] He campaigned in particular for improvements in the transport sector and public transport, in addition to avoiding damage from Brexit.[14]
In London, Volt backed Richard Hewison, Rejoin EU's candidate in the London mayoral election, and the two parties stood a joint list for the London-wide assembly election.[10] Hewison received 1.1% of the mayoral vote,[15] while the two parties received 49,389 votes (1.91%) for the Assembly and thus did not win a seat.[16]
On 2 August Volt announced Ewan Hoyle as their candidate for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.[20][21] It is the first time that the party has taken part in national elections.[22] He received 46 votes, 0.15% of the votes cast.[23]
Ideology and policies
The party supports the 5+1 fundamental challenges (1. Smart state, 2. Economic renaissance, 3. Social equality, 4. Global balance, 5. Citizen empowerment, +1 European reform) defined by Volt Europa.[24] In addition to the pan-European policies of Volt, the British branch has some additional policies including electoral reform, rejoining the EU, action to address climate change, and reform of political campaigns.[25]
