Martin Edward Daubney (born 22 June 1970) is a British commentator, journalist and former politician who was the deputy leader of the
Reclaim Party
The Reclaim Party is a right-wing political party in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 2020 by British actor and political activist Laurence Fox, with funding from Jeremy Hosking.
Founding
In September 2020, Fox attracted funding for a n ...
from 2021 until August 2022. Daubney was a
Brexit Party
Reform UK is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was bri ...
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(MEP) for the
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
from 2019 to 2020. He was the longest-serving editor of the men's lifestyle magazine ''
Loaded''.
Early life
Daubney was born on 22 June 1970 in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
.
He grew up in
Gedling
Gedling is a village in the Gedling district, in Nottinghamshire, England, four miles northeast of Nottingham city centre. The population at the 2011 census of the ward was 6,817 and 111,787 for the district. Gedling was recorded in the Domes ...
,
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
. His father was a coal miner and his mother was a teacher. He has one sister.
His early education was at
Carlton le Willows School. He studied geography at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, graduating with a 2:1 class degree. Daubney was the first man in his family to graduate from university.
[
]
Magazine and TV career
His first job in journalism was as a researcher for the women's magazine ''Bella
Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. ''Bella'' is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, to the name Belle, meaning ''beautiful'' in French. It increased in ...
'' in 1995. Two years later, he was promoted to commissioning editor. Daubney then became the features editor for the men's lifestyle magazine, ''FHM
''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...
'' in the late 1990s. After this, he was the editor of ''page3.com'' for the tabloid newspaper '' The Sun''. He then wrote articles for the sports section of the tabloid newspaper ''News of the World
The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' before becoming the deputy editor of the men's lifestyle magazine '' Loaded'' in February 2003. In September that year, he was promoted to editor. In 2007, he organised a straight pride
''Straight pride'' is a slogan that arose in the 1980s and early 1990s that has primarily been used by social conservatives as a political stance and strategy. The term is described as a response to ''gay pride'' adopted by various groups (later ...
march as he felt that heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
was being "undermined" and becoming "unfashionable".
Daubney left ''Loaded'' in November 2010, after sales that peaked in the second half of 1998 to an average of 457,318 copies a month, had fallen to just a monthly average of 53,591. He was the longest serving editor of the magazine. After leaving the magazine, he became a "stay-at-home dad
A stay-at-home dad (alternatively, full-time father, stay-at-home father, house dad, househusband, or house-spouse) is a father who is the main caregiver of the children and is generally the homemaker of the household. The female equivalent is ...
", amid reports that he had postnatal depression
Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and chan ...
following the birth of his first child.
In 2013, Daubney spent six months making a documentary for Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
on pornography addiction
Pornography addiction is the controversial application of an addiction model to the use of pornography. Pornography may be part of compulsive sexual behavior with negative consequences to one's physical, mental, social, or financial well-being. Wh ...
called ''Porn on the Brain''. He supports the men's rights movement
The men's rights movement (MRM) is a branch of the men's movement. The MRM in particular consists of a variety of groups and individuals (men's rights activists or MRAs) who focus on general social issues and specific government services whic ...
.
In November 2022, he started a stand-in presenting role on GB News
GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ra ...
TV and radio channel, being seen on weekend 'Breakfast with Stephen & Anne' co-presenting with Angela Rippon
Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, (2008) ''Gale Biography In Context'' is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and tele ...
.
Political career
Daubney was a Labour Party supporter until the election of Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
as party leader in 2010. He reports that he has also voted for the Liberal Democrats and the Women's Equality Party
The Women's Equality Party (WEP) is a feminist political party set up in the United Kingdom in 2015. The idea was conceived by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig at the Women of the World Festival, when they concluded that there was a need for ...
in the past. He voted for the United Kingdom to leave 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 ...
in the 2016 membership referendum. Daubney supported a no-deal Brexit
A no-deal Brexit (also called clean break BrexitBBC. (2019)''Brexit: Jargon-busting guide to the key terms'' (BBC) Retrieved 29 March 2019.) was the potential withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal ...
.
On 25 April 2019, it was announced that Daubney would stand for the Brexit Party
Reform UK is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was bri ...
in the European Parliament election
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 ...
on 23 May.[ He was second on his party's list in the West Midlands constituency and was elected as one of its three MEPs there. In the European Parliament, he was a member of the ]Committee on Regional Development The Committee on Regional Development (REGI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its current chair, elected on 10 July 2019, is Younous Omarjee
Younous Omarjee (born 30 September 1969 in Saint-Denis, Réunion) is a French politician who ...
and was part of the delegation for relations with the Korean Peninsula
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
.[
Daubney was the Brexit Party candidate for Ashfield in the 2019 general election. He finished fourth with 2,501 votes (saving his deposit, with 5.1% of the vote), behind the ]Conservative
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 i ...
, Ashfield Independents
The Ashfield Independents are a political party in the Ashfield District in Nottinghamshire, England.
Electoral history
In 2017, the Ashfield Independents stood candidates in the Nottinghamshire County Council elections. They won five seats.
...
and Labour candidates.
In August 2021, Daubney was appointed deputy leader of Laurence Fox
Laurence Paul Fox (born 1978) is a political activist and former actor, most well-known for playing the supporting role of DS James Hathaway in the British TV drama series ''Lewis'' from 2006 to 2015.
A grandson of the actors Robin and Angel ...
's Reclaim Party. He was the party's candidate in the 2021 North Shropshire by-election
A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of North Shropshire was held on 16 December 2021. It was triggered by the resignation of the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Owen Paterson on 5 November 2021. The by-election ...
, he finished seventh with 375 votes (0.98 per cent), losing his deposit and narrowly just beating "The Monster Raving Loony Party".
Personal life
Daubney is married to Diana James and they have two children.[ They met while working together at ''The Sun''.]
-
See also
* Anti-pornography movement in the United Kingdom
The anti-pornography movement in the United Kingdom is a social movement that seeks to reduce the availability of pornography in the country. The movement originates from two distinct perspectives: some feminists oppose pornography because they re ...
* Lad culture
Lad culture (also the new lad, laddism) was a media-driven, principally British and Irish subculture of the 1990s and early 2000s. The image of the "lad"—or "new lad"—was that of a generally middle class figure espousing attitudes typically att ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daubney, Martin
Living people
1970 births
Alumni of the University of Manchester
British magazine editors
Anti-pornography activists
People educated at Carlton le Willows Academy
People from Gedling (district)
People from Nottingham
People from Nottinghamshire
MEPs for England 2019–2020
Brexit Party MEPs
British journalists
English political commentators
Reform UK parliamentary candidates
GB News newsreaders and journalists