Description
The Reclaim Party is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 2020 by British actor and political activist Laurence Fox, with 100% funding from a single donor (rather than membership fees) Jeremy Hosking.
History
Founding
The party was first registered on 13 March 2019 by Jeremy Hosking as Brexit Express.
In September 2020, Fox attracted funding for a new political party, provisionally called Reclaim, and dubbed "UKIP for culture". In October 2020, the party changed its leader from Jeremy Hosking to Laurence Fox. It emerged in the same month that the party name had yet to be successfully registered with the Electoral Commission as there was a naming conflict with the "Reclaim Project" of Manchester, an established charity giving opportunities to working-class children. In February 2021, the party changed its registered name from Brexit Express to The Reclaim Party.
In December 2021, newspapers reported that Hosking would continue to fund The Reclaim Party.
Parliamentary representation
MP Andrew Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party in January 2023 for tweeting "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, the COVID-19 vaccines are the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust", repeating COVID conspiracy claims and for breaching lobbying rules. In May 2023, he joined Reclaim, becoming the party's first MP. He resigned from the party in December 2023.
Cooperation agreement with Reform UK
On 12 June 2023, Reform UK and the Reclaim Party announced a mutual co-operation agreement for the upcoming by-elections, whereby Reform UK would stand in Mid Bedfordshire and Reclaim would stand in Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Both parties lost all by-elections and lost their deposits, with Dave Kent (Reform) getting the highest support at 3.7% in Selby and Ainsty.
