Veterans and People's Party

Veterans and People's Party
Leader	George Reid[1][2]
Founder	Damian McAndrew
Founded	May 2017
Headquarters	20-22 Wenlock Road London N1 7GU United Kingdom[2]
Ideology	Right-wing populism British nationalism Hard Euroscepticism[3] Paternalistic conservatism[4]
Colours	Gold
Website
ukvpp.org
Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections

The Veterans and People's Party (VPP) was a minor political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded in mid-May 2017 by seven British military veterans to contest the 2017 United Kingdom general election and claimed to have gained 8,000 members in its first month of existence.^{[citation needed]} It was statutorily deregistered by the Electoral Commission in 2022.^[2] The party described itself as conservative and "anti-sharia-law".^[4][5]

In the 2019 United Kingdom local elections, the party gained its first two councillors from eight fielded candidates.^[6]

In September 2019, with the Independent Union councillors, the VPP councillor who made up the coalition at Hartlepool Borough Council defected to the Brexit Party, renaming their already existing coalition with the three Conservative councillors as the "Brexit and Conservative Coalition".^[7]

In February 2020, its councillor returned to the VPP after the government's Brexit agreement.^[8]

Hartlepool Borough Council

In May 2019, following several defections from Labour to Socialist Labour at Hartlepool Borough Council, the party's councillor joined a coalition with the Conservatives and the Independent Union, forming the largest grouping with 11 councillors, fewer than needed for control.^[9]

In September 2019, with Independent Union colleagues, he joined the Brexit Party, but returned to the VPP in early 2020.^[10]

References

1. "We are VAPP - A new vibrant, open & transparent political party". Archived from the original on 5 December 2019.
2. "Registration summary - Veterans and People's Party". Electoral Commission. 2019. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
3. O'Carroll, Lisa; Gayle, Damien (23 June 2018). "Anti-Brexit protest: thousands march two years after referendum". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019. The mood among the pro-Brexit marchers was one of anger and defiance as far-right groups such as The White Pendragons and For Britain took their place alongside Veterans' and People's Party and Ukip with the sound of God Save the Queen and "Free Tommy" booming through the streets.
4. Horsfall, Robin E, ed. (28 September 2018). "Philosophy of the Veterans' and People's Party". The Veterans' and People's Party Manifesto. 2018 (PDF) (1st ed.). VPP. p. 16. ISBN 9781723981326. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2021. The philosophy of the Veterans' and People's Party is a moderate, centrist philosophy founded on decency, integrity and honour. The Party want to take the best of conservatism and socialism and create a strong, brave society that has high moral standards.
5. "Positional Statement". Veterans and People's Party. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
6. "Full list of candidates in Boston Borough Council elections this Thursday". Boston Standard. Boston. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
   - Turner, Ed (3 May 2019). "Results of the Hartlepool Local Government Elections". Hartlepool Borough Council. Hartlepool. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
   - Nic, Marko (3 May 2019). "'I will tell people how it is - and if it's not nice, it's not nice,' says Hartlepool's new Veterans' and People's Party councillor". Hartlepool Mail. Hartlepool. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
7. "Brexit Party forms pact for Hartlepool control". BBC News. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
   - Bartlett, Nicola (13 September 2019). "Nigel Farage's Brexit Party have just signed their first pact with the Tories". Daily Mirror. London: Reach plc. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
8. "Hartlepool Council no longer under Brexit Party control". BBC News. 2 September 2020. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
9. Marko, Nic (16 May 2019). "New leaders of Hartlepool council set to be decided at AGM next week". Hartlepool Mail. Hartlepool: Northeast Press. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
   - Minting, Stuart; Metcalfe, Alex (10 May 2019). "Allegiances turned on their head at Ben Houchen's top table". Teesside Gazette. Middlesbrough: Gazette Media Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
10. "Hartlepool Council no longer under Brexit Party control". BBC News. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.