Whig Party
LeaderWaleed Ghani
FoundedOctober 2014; 9 years ago (October 2014)
HeadquartersLondon, England
IdeologyPro-Europeanism
Social progressivism
Whiggism (self-declared)
Political positionCentre
Colours  Light blue
Website
whigs.uk (Inactive)

The Whig Party is a political party in England which is intended to be a revival of the Whigs that existed in the United Kingdom from 1678 to 1868.

The party is led by Waleed Ghani, who launched it in October 2014. It is based on Whiggism, the ideology of the former Whigs.

History

Waleed Ghani and his fiancée Felicity Anscomb applied to register the Whig Party with the Electoral Commission on 27 May 2014.[1] The Whig Party was registered with the Electoral Commission on 15 September 2014. The Electoral Commission lists Waleed Ghani as its Leader and Nominating Officer and Felicity Anscomb as its treasurer.[2] Ghani founded the party with the intention of filling a vacuum he saw in British politics. Jesse Norman, a Conservative Member of Parliament who in 2013 published a biography of the famous Whig politician Edmund Burke, proposed that Ghani may have exaggerated Whigs' historical progressive achievements.[3]

On 9 December 2014, Ghani was interviewed by Jo Coburn on the BBC's Daily Politics.[4] Ghani has also received support from American Whigs.[5] The party was founded without any policies, but instead a group of values such as human rights, love of country and diversity, for which they use the Swedish word mångfald (meaning "diversity", "variety" or "multitude").[6][7] In early 2015, the Whig Party formed an agreement with Something New that meant both parties would cross-endorse candidates and they would not stand opposing candidates in the same seats.[8]

On 31 March 2015, the Whig Party released their manifesto for the 2015 general election. The party is pro-European Union and pro-immigration; it supports universal childcare from ages two to four and the abolition of student tuition fees; and it defends the rights of renters in the United Kingdom in addition to women's rights and human rights around the world.[9]

Party leaders

No. Leader Tenure Notes
1 Waleed Ghani 2014–present

Electoral performance

The Whig Party fielded four candidates at the 2015 general election: Waleed Ghani stood in Vauxhall,[1] Alasdair Henderson stood in Bethnal Green and Bow[10][11] and Felicity Anscomb stood in Camberwell and Peckham, all in Inner London, whereas Paul Bradley-Law stood in Stretford and Urmston in Manchester.[12][13]

General election, 2015

Candidate Constituency Votes
Waleed Ghani Vauxhall 103
Alasdair Henderson Bethnal Green and Bow 203
Felicity Anscomb Camberwell and Peckham 86
Paul Bradley-Law Stretford and Urmston 169

References

  1. ^ a b Gaffey, Connor (6 November 2014). "Glorious Revolution for 2015: Vauxhall becomes political battleground as businessman relaunches historic Whig party". SW Londoner. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. ^ "The Whig Party". OpenElectoralCommission. Retrieved 16 March 2015. A mirror of data from the Electoral Commission PEF entity registration search.
  3. ^ Usborne, Simon (28 October 2014). "What's the Whig idea? Meet the man trying to revive a centuries-old political party". The Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  4. ^ "General election 2015: Whig bid to return to Parliament". BBC News. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  5. ^ Leveille, David; Hornak, Leo (4 November 2014). "A new British party borrows a famous old name for next year's election". Kuow.org. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  6. ^ Chibber, Kabir (10 December 2014). "After 146 years, a once dominant British political party is making a comeback". Quartz. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  7. ^ Samuel, Osborne (20 March 2015). "Reviving the Whig party – An interview with Waleed Ghani". Parties on the Fringe. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  8. ^ Smith, James. "Something New allies with the Whig Party". Something New. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. ^ Fearn, Hannah (12 April 2015). "General Election 2015: The Whigs reappear on ballot papers after 150 years". The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Alasdair Henderson – Bethnal Green and Bow". Whig Party. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Paul hopes to revive the Whig tradition in Trafford". Messenger. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Felicity Anscomb – Camberwell and Peckham". Whig Party. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
Categories