The English Democrats is a
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
to
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
,
English nationalist
English nationalism is a nationalism that asserts that the English are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of English people. In a general sense, it comprises political and social movements and sentiment inspired by a love for English c ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
active in England. A
minor party
A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great ...
, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of UK government.
The English Democrats were established in 2002 by members of the Campaign for an English Parliament
pressure group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...
. Following growing political
devolution in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Asse ...
, which had seen the creation of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
,
Welsh Parliament
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
and
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
, the party's founders called for a separate
English Parliament
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...
. In the 2000s, it obtained a small number of local councillors. In 2009, the party's candidate,
Peter Davies, was elected Mayor of the
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
The City of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough with city status in South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its principal settlement, Doncaster, and includes the surrounding suburbs of Doncaster as well as numerous towns and villages. The di ...
, although he left the party in 2013 in protest at its admittance of former members of the
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...
(BNP). As well as attracting many ex-BNP members, who then constituted a sizeable percentage of the English Democrats' electoral candidates, in 2015 the political party
Veritas
Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of Honesty, truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: ). The German phi ...
merged into it.
Ideologically committed to English nationalism, the party previously called for
England to become an independent state, thus breaking up the United Kingdom. Since 2016, it has instead called only for the creation of a devolved English Parliament within a federal UK. It has also called for a referendum on whether
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
, a county presently recognised as being in Wales, should instead be classified as part of England. The party is
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...
, and supported the UK leaving the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
History
In 1998, in response to calls for the
devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
of power to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
,
Robin Tilbrook
Robin C. W. Tilbrook (born 1958) is an English solicitor and political leader who chairs the English Democrats, a political party he founded. It advocates a devolved English Parliament, having previously advocated English independence from the ...
aimed at reforming the
English National Party
English National Party has been the name of various political parties of England, which have commonly called for a separate parliament for England.
The original ENP
History
The English National Party (ENP) was founded as the John Hampden New ...
, which had ceased operating in 1981. This project included members of the
Campaign for an English Parliament, a
pressure group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...
that lobbies for a devolved English Parliament. The party was relaunched as the "English Democrats" in September 2002, after merging with several other smaller political parties. In October 2004 the party merged with the Reform UK Party, which was a small splinter group from the
United Kingdom Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest pa ...
(UKIP). The
New England Party merged with the English Democrats in February 2007.
The English Democrats were co-founders of the English Constitutional Convention,
now defunct.
In December 2004, it was rumoured that
Robert Kilroy-Silk
Robert Michael Kilroy-Silk (born Robert Michael Silk; 19 May 1942) is an English former politician and broadcaster. After a decade as a university lecturer, he served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1986. He left the H ...
, the former UKIP
MEP had entered into negotiation to join the English Democrats.
However, Kilroy-Silk formed
Veritas
Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of Honesty, truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: ). The German phi ...
instead.
In 2007, the columnist and TV medical doctor
Vernon Coleman announced he had joined the English Democrats.
The party's most significant electoral success came when Peter Davies (a former UKIP and Reform UK member), its candidate for Mayor of Doncaster, was
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
. Having received 16,961 votes in the first round, 189 votes behind the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
Michael Maye, Davies was returned in the second count on transfers of second preference votes, with 25,344 votes to 24,990.
However, Davies announced his resignation from the party on 5 February 2013 citing "a big influx of new members joining from the British National Party".
[''BBC News']
"Doncaster mayor quits English Democrats 'because of BNP'"
5 February 2013 One of its councillors, Mick Glynn, resigned the following day after the party's chairman, Tilbrook, launched a personal attack on Davies, thus reducing its number of elected representatives to two. The English Democrats lost their remaining councillors in the 2015 local elections. On 18 September 2015,
Veritas
Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of Honesty, truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: ). The German phi ...
merged into the English Democrats.
-
The party claimed a total membership of 1,011 at the end of 2004, and 1,202 at the end of 2005.
The party has lost the vast majority of its General Election minimum 5% of poll
deposits
A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, Transaction account#Current accounts, current accounts or any of several othe ...
, seen few councillors by election and defection and been regarded by some as a
fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
party.
Leaders
Election performances and campaigns
The first person to stand as a candidate for the English Democrats was Gary Cowd, who stood in Rushmoor—West Heath Ward in North Hampshire in a council by-election in May 2003. Cowd was an active member of the English Democrats and a National Council member. He left the party in 2006.
House of Commons
Parliamentary elections
At the
2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election the English Democrat candidate received 277 votes, or 1.4% of the votes cast.
The party's slogan for the
2005 general election was "The English Democrats – Putting England First!" In total, the English Democrats fielded 25 candidates for the May 2005 general election,
including
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
South where the election was delayed until June due to the death of a candidate. The party withdrew its candidate in
North Norfolk
North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149.
History
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...
and endorsed the Conservative Party candidate,
Iain Dale
Iain Campbell Dale (born 15 July 1962) is a British broadcaster, author and political commentator, and a former publisher and book retailer. He has been a blogger since 2002. In 2005, he became the first openly gay Conservative candidate to c ...
, as he had "taken the issues of English discrimination seriously".
Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell (born 13 May 1955) is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author, musician and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Cockney Oi! bands GBX and the Gonads. He managed the New York Ci ...
, the former ''
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
'' journalist and current ''
Daily Star Sunday
The ''Daily Star Sunday'' is a weekly tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom. It was launched as a sister title to the ''Daily Star (United Kingdom), Daily Star'' on 15 September 2002.
The ''Daily Star Sunday'' is published by Expres ...
'' TV critic, became the most high-profile candidate for the English Democrats, standing in the
Greenwich and Woolwich
Greenwich and Woolwich is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Matthew Pennycook of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
The seat is dominated in the south by expansive and panoramic Green ...
constituency in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Bushell's 1,216 votes (3.4%) beat the
UKIP
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest pa ...
candidate, Stan Gain, who secured 709 votes (2.0%);
this was the party's best result for the election though still a fifth-place performance.
In June 2005, Bushell also stood in
Staffordshire South, where he received 643 votes (2.5%) coming fifth out of eight candidates.
In 2011, Bushell announced that he would, in future, be supporting UKIP.
The English Democrats fielded Joanne Robinson as their candidate in the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
forced by the resignation of former shadow home secretary
David Davis from the House of Commons. Because of
the issues raised by David Davis in the by-election, many parties other than the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, such as
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
,
Liberal Democrats,
United Kingdom Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest pa ...
(UKIP) and
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...
(BNP) chose not to stand. Joanne Robinson came third, with 1,714 votes (7.2%), 44 votes fewer than the Green candidate received in second place. Of the 26 candidates she was one of only three to win back her deposit. This result is both the highest place gained and the highest percentage of the votes won by any English Democrat candidate in a parliamentary election or parliamentary by-election.
The English Democrats stood 107 candidates in the
2010 general election. 106 is the minimum number required to qualify for a Party Election Broadcast. The English Democrats received 64,826 votes, or 0.3% of the vote in England, and 0.2% of the vote in the United Kingdom. No candidates were elected but the party saved one deposit in the
Doncaster North
Doncaster North is a constituency in South Yorkshire, England, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Ed Miliband of the Labour Party. From 2010 until 2015, he was Leader of the Opposition before he lost the 20 ...
constituency, where candidate Wayne Crawshaw picked up 5.2% of the vote.
In subsequent by-elections, the party contested
Oldham East and Saddleworth
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, whic ...
(where Stephen Morris polled 144 (0.4%)),
Barnsley Central
Barnsley Central is a constituency in South Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2011 by Dan Jarvis of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
Barnsley Central is generally an urban seat and has a large m ...
(Kevin Riddiough polled 544 (2.2%) votes),
Feltham and Heston
Feltham and Heston is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency created in 1974 represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Its MP si ...
(Roger Cooper polled 322 (1.4%)),
Corby
Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...
(David Wickham polled 432 (1.2%) votes) and
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
(David Wildgoose polled 703 (3.3%) votes).
At the
2015 general election, the party contested 32 seats, securing a total of 6,531 votes (0.02%).
In the
2016 Batley and Spen by-election
The Batley and Spen by-election was a UK parliamentary by-election held on 20 October 2016 in the constituency of Batley and Spen. It was triggered by the murder of the incumbent member of parliament (MP), Jo Cox, on 16 June 2016. The Labour ...
, the English Democrats received 4.8% of the votes, coming second to Labour's
Tracy Brabin
Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician who has served as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 20 ...
, when all of the other major parties did not stand out of respect for the murdered MP,
Jo Cox.
European Parliament elections
2004
The English Democrats stood candidates for the
2004 European Parliament election
The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
in five of the nine regions of England. The party's 2004 election canvassing leaflet featured the slogan, "Not left, not right, just English". Its candidates received 130,056 votes in total.
2009
In June 2009, the English Democrats contested
elections to the European Parliament
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until ...
. The party fielded a full slate of candidates across the nine
English European parliament constituencies. On 18 May 2009, the English Democrats broadcast their first national
Party Election Broadcast
A party political broadcast (also known, in pre-election campaigning periods, as a party election broadcast) is a television or radio broadcast made by a political party.
In the United Kingdom the Communications Act 2003 prohibits (and previou ...
. They came seventh in the election in England (ninth in the UK as a whole) with 279,801 votes or 1.8%, a rise from the 0.7% they received at the previous elections in 2004. The English Democrats do not stand in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, and their vote across England in 2009 was 2.1%, an increase of 1.3% yet still did not keep their deposits except in Yorkshire and the Humber where they gained 2.6% of the vote. None of the English Democrats candidates were elected; the English Democrats were the highest-polling party across the UK not to have an MEP elected.
2014
The English Democrats began their
2014 EU election campaign in September 2013 with an extensive social media campaign. On 30 April 2014, they held a rally at
Fobbing
Fobbing is a small village and former civil parish in Thurrock, Essex, England and one of Thurrock's traditional (Church of England) parishes. It is located between Basildon and Corringham, and is also close to Stanford-le-Hope. In 1931 the pa ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, the site of the 1381
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...
, and declared, "let the English revolt begin." The party fielded a full slate of candidates across the nine
English European parliament constituencies on 22 May 2014. On 13 February 2014, party chairman Robin Tilbrook appeared on the BBC ''Daily Politics'' with
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...
, the deputy leader of the
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
. The English Democrats performed poorly at the election, taking just 0.8% of the votes, down more than 1% on 2009. They again failed to win any seats.
2019
In May 2019, the English Democrats took part in the
elections to the European Parliament
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until ...
, fielding candidates in only four out of nine English
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
:
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...
,
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
,
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
, and
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
. In total they received
39,938 votes, 0.2% of the 17,199,701 valid votes cast, being around 10,000 in each of the constituencies they contested. They again failed to win any seats.
Local councils
In November 2005, the party achieved its first electoral success when Paul Adams was elected to
Crowborough
Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...
Town Council, polling 120 votes, or 56.8% of the poll, on a turnout of 10%.
In the
2007 local elections, 78 candidates stood for election in boroughs and districts in 15 English counties, including 20 in
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
and ten in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. All were unsuccessful.
In 2008, the party fielded candidates in 12 district council elections. None was elected. The party's best results were when it came second to the Conservatives: in the
Finningley
Finningley is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Historically in Nottinghamshire, it lies on the A614 road between Bawtry and Thorne, about 6 miles south-east of Doncaster, at , and around 23 feet ab ...
ward of Doncaster and in three wards in Rochford.
In the 2009 English local elections, the party fielded 84 county council and local authority candidates, with a particular focus in Bristol, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire and Lancashire. The party had an unexpected success when Peter Davies, its candidate for Mayor of Doncaster, was elected. Having received 16,961 votes in the first round, 189 votes behind the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
Michael Maye, Davies was returned in the second count on transfers of second preference votes, with 25,344 votes to 24,990.
In 2010, the party also stood in the local elections on 6 May, but did not publish a list of candidates. The two sitting English Democrat councillors on Calderdale and Blackburn with Darwen councils retired, and the party did not nominate any candidates to contest the seats.
In 2011, the EDP stood about 130 candidates in district level elections; two were elected. The
Boston Borough Council elections on 5 May 2011, saw the election of the first two EDP councillors. David Owens and Elliott Fountain were elected in the Fenside Ward for a four-year term, thus becoming the only EDP members of a district council to be elected by public vote. A sitting EDP councillor on Peterborough council lost his seat.
The party fielded a candidate in the 3 March 2011 local by-election for the
Walkden
Walkden is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, northwest of Salford, and of Manchester.
Historically in the township of Worsley in Lancashire, Walkden was a centre for coal mining and textile manufacture.
In 2014, ...
North ward of
Salford City Council
Salford City Council is the local authority of the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majo ...
. Its candidate, Laurence Depares, polled 125 votes (7%) and came third, ahead of the British National Party and
Liberal Democrats; in a by-election in the same city's Swinton South ward on 7 January 2014 the party was fifth with 54 votes (3.7%).
In 2012, the party fielded 101 candidates in the local elections in England, including district council elections, mayoral contests and elections to the Greater London Assembly. None was elected, and the party suffered the loss of the two seats it was defending, one that it had gained from a former BNP member who had defected to the party and another from an ex-Tory. The English Democrats has come under fire from the anti-fascist groups
Unite Against Fascism
Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British anti-fascist group.
Its joint secretaries are Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu, formerly of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). Its chair is Steve Hart of Unite the Union and its assistant secre ...
and
Hope not Hate
Hope not Hate (stylized as HOPE not hate) is an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom which campaigns against racism and fascism. It has also mounted campaigns against Islamic extremism and antisemitism. It is self-described as a "non-par ...
and from the trades unions
NASUWT
The NASUWT is a TUC-affiliated trade union representing teachers, including headteachers, throughout the United Kingdom.
The early years 1919–1976; breakaway and the formation of a new union
The origins of the NASUWT can be traced back to ...
and
Unite the Union
Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union which was formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Unite is the second largest trade union in the UK (after ...
over the number of former BNP members standing for election for the party. 43% of English Democrats candidates in the 2012 local elections were former BNP members.
The EDP contested the
mayoral elections in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
. In Liverpool, its candidate received 1.42% of the vote, finishing in ninth place, and in Salford 3.6% finishing in eighth place.
The party chairman, Robin Tilbrook, declared that he was standing for
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
and asked for donations through one of the party's websites but his name did not appear on the ballot paper.
Welsh Assembly
In 2007, in line with
the English Democrats stance on the status of Monmouthshire, 13 English Democrat candidates contested the
Welsh Assembly
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
elections in the South East Wales region, and the constituencies of Monmouth (fifth with 2.7%), Newport East (sixth, 2.2%) and Newport West (fifth, 2.7%).
The party also received 0.9% of the vote on the regional list.
The party contested the
2016 Welsh Assembly election in Monmouth. Its candidate, Stephen Morris, received 146 votes, 0.5% of the votes cast.
London Mayoral elections
In July 2007, Garry Bushell was nominated as the English Democrats' Mayoral candidate for the
2008 London mayoral and Assembly elections with the campaign slogan "Serious About London".
In January 2008, he stepped down as candidate because of work commitments and
Matt O'Connor, the founder of
Fathers 4 Justice
Fathers 4 Justice (or F4J) is a fathers’ rights organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, the group aims to gain public and parliamentary support for changes in UK legislation on fathers' rights, mainly using stunts and protest ...
, was selected by the English Democrats in his place with his campaign expected to start on 14 February. His campaign web site was launched on 31 January 2008. A
party political broadcast
A party political broadcast (also known, in pre-election campaigning periods, as a party election broadcast) is a television or radio broadcast made by a political party.
In the United Kingdom the Communications Act 2003 prohibits (and previou ...
for O'Connor's campaign was broadcast on 11 April.
One week before the election, on 25 April, O'Connor told
Vanessa Feltz
Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster, and journalist. She has appeared on various television shows, including Vanessa (British TV series), ''Vanessa'' (1994–1998), ''The Big Breakfast'' (1996–1998), ''The Vane ...
and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
that he was dropping out of the Mayoral race, giving as his reasons the lack of support within the English Democrats on
.
The English Democrats released a press statement on their website in response to his resignation voicing disappointment at his decision to quit the contest.
O'Connor received 10,695 first preference votes (representing 0.44% of the votes cast) in the mayoral contest, ranking ninth out of ten candidates; he received 73,538 second preference votes (3.67%), ranking eighth.
In December 2015,
announced that he had joined the English Democrats, along with confirmation that he had been selected as a London Mayoral Candidate for the 2016 London Elections. His nomination was deemed invalid and he did not contest the mayoral election.
. Results were:
. Results were:
In November 2005, Paul Adams became the first elected English Democrats councillor at parish level for
, polling 120 votes of 211 cast; he was returned in 2007 in an uncontested election. In 2011, he was elected as an independent, so the English Democrats lost the seat. Later that year, Markyate Parish councillor Simon Deacon defected from the
, to the English Democrats, having been elected unopposed. However, he resigned in October 2012. The English Democrats gained another parish council seat when Mick Glynn was elected for the Dunsville ward of Hatfield Town Council, Doncaster. Following the resignation of Peter Davies, Glynn resigned his seat and membership of the party in February 2013.
The party had two district councillors elected (the first above parish level) in the 2011 local elections and obtained a further county council seat through the defection of a BNP, later "Independent Nationalist", councillor in Hertfordshire. However, the county councillor did not defend the seat in the
election, nor did the EDP put forward another candidate, losing them the seat.
The EDP lost one of its district councillors, Elliott Fountain, on 25 July 2013 after he failed to attend any meetings in six months. Following the
, the English Democrats have no representation on any local authorities.
In March 2017, Steven Uncles, the former regional chairman and candidate for the
election, was imprisoned for seven months after he had completed County Council nomination forms using fake names such as "Anna Cleves" and "Rachelle Stevens", or real people who had not signed the relevant forms. He was subsequently expelled from the party for bringing it into disrepute.
, although the Scottish National Party is generally considered to be a centre-left party whereas the English Democrats are on the right of the political spectrum. The English Democrats have welcomed defectors from the far-right
into leadership roles and former members of the party have criticised informal links with other
.
The English Democrat leader frequently changes the party's constitutional offering. Since 2016 they propose creating a unified, devolved English Parliament, within a federal UK, not an independent sovereign state. An English Executive and First Minister with the same powers as Scottish ones, and a reformed Second Chamber at Westminster. It proposes fiscal devolution so that the English, Scottish, Welsh and N. Irish parliaments become responsible for financing their own expenditure.
In 2006, the party rejected suggestions that non-English MPs in the House of Commons should be barred from voting on England-specific matters, on the basis that this would lead to there being, in effect, two parliaments in the same building and that this would be problematic.
From March 2014 to the 2015 general election, the party chairman Robin Tilbrook had suggested
. Temporarily rekindling its roots, his 2015 general election campaign launch was moved on from Traitors Gate (Tower of London), to the nearby Hung, Drawn and Quartered pub. Tilbrook accused various political parties of being traitors to the English (Labour, the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin), and the United Kingdom Independence Party "have no interest in England whatsoever". He said the party was "consolidating our position as the English nationalist party".
and was committed to campaign on the "withdrawal" side of any referendum. Since the 2016
, the party has been strongly in favour of following through with its result and leaving the EU.
. It has called for a referendum on whether
, receiving 100 votes (0.2% of votes cast).
On 17 November 2011, the chairman of the English Democrats, Robin Tilbrook, met Sergey Yerzunov, a member of the executive committee of the Russian right-wing group
. Shortly afterwards, Obraz announced that they were in alliance with the English Democrats. Other members of this alliance include Serbian
.
Since 2010, a number of former members of the BNP have joined the project, with the party chairman quoted as saying, "They will help us become an electorally credible party." In an April 2013 interview, Tilbrook said that about 200-300 out of the party's membership of 3,000 were former BNP members. He said it was "perfectly fair" that such people would "change their minds" and join a "moderate, sensible English nationalist party".
* Reform UK Party (merged into English Democrats in October 2004)
* New England Party (merged into English Democrats in February 2007)
*
from March 2003 to February 2007, when it merged with the English Democrats. Its leader, nominating officer and treasurer was Michael Tibby while Sheila Tibby was its campaigns officer.
Michael Tibby and Austen Brooker were councillors on
. Tibby came second in Littlebrook in the 2003 local elections, while Brooker was elected as one of three
councillors for Newtown, but left Labour soon after his election in May 2003, initially as an independent. Brooker stood down at the 2007 local elections and Tibby was unsuccessful in seeking re-election for the English Democrats, coming third.
Michael Tibby contested
, received 19,909 votes). The party contested the Dartford Borough Council Heath ward by-election on 27 July 2006, polling 174 votes (9.6%). The candidate was Steven Uncles, who had been the English Democrats candidate in the
.
The New England Party merged with the English Democrats in February 2007.