More United is a cross-party political movement in the United Kingdom. It describes itself as a "tech-driven political startup" that supports candidates regardless of party affiliation. The movement advocates public service investment, democratic reform, a green economy, tolerant society, and co-operation with the EU. More United takes its name from the

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

delivered by Jo Cox, a British MP who was murdered in June 2016.

Values

The movement says it will support any candidate from any party who backs its values and pledges to advance them in Parliament: * Opportunity: we need a fair economy that bridges the gap between rich and poor. * Tolerance: we want to live in a free, diverse society where our differences are celebrated and respected. * Democracy: we want you to have real influence over politics. * Environment: we must do everything possible to tackle climate change and protect our environment. * Openness: we welcome immigration, but understand it must work for everyone, and believe in bringing down international barriers, not raising them. We also want a close relationship with Europe.

History

Following the result of the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, in which the country voted to withdraw from 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 de ...

, there was considerable media discussion concerning the future of the British centre ground. Press rumours of a split in the Labour Party had occurred since

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

's election as

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

in 2015; this intensified after pro-EU members of his shadow cabinet resigned in protest of his allegedly weak support for the Remain campaign, leading to a leadership challenge by

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...

. 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 ...

also faced the prospect of an ideological split, as some pro-EU Conservatives feared the potential consequences of

Andrea Leadsom Dame Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (; ' Salmon; born 13 May 1963) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Northamptonshire since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Secretary of State for Environ ...

defeating

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...

in the

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

; Leadsom ultimately withdrew from the race, handing unopposed victory to May.

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...

, the former

of the Liberal Democrats, wrote an article in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' accusing both parties of failing to provide reasonable solutions to the issues afflicting communities across Britain. More United was founded in July 2016 by a team drawn from business, academia, and politics: Austin Rathe, Bess Mayhew, Corinne Sawers and Maurice Biriotti. They received support from cross party MPs, led by Paddy Ashdown.

Election campaigns

2016 Richmond Park by-election The Richmond Park by-election was a UK parliamentary by-election in the constituency of Richmond Park which was held on 1 December 2016. It was triggered by the resignation of the Conservative Member of Parliament Zac Goldsmith on 25 October 201 ...

More United voted to support

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

candidate

Sarah Olney Sarah Jane Olney (' McGibbon; born 11 January 1977) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and former accountant who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park since 2019, and previously from 2016 to 2017. Olney has served as ...

, who subsequently defeated the incumbent MP,

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment s ...

, in December 2016.

2017 general election

On 23 November 2016, More United launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to help support candidates. By 22 December, the campaign had raised £274,164.

2019 general election

(Please note it is not uncommon for More United to endorse more than one candidate in the same seat)

Issue-based campaigns

Following the 2017 election, More United conducted UK-wide and online consultations with supporters to identify their priorities for the movement. The issues supporters identified as being the most important to campaign on were the NHS, equality and Brexit. More United has since selected its campaigns based on this information.

NHS/Brexit Campaign, 2018

In February 2017, More United launched a campaign to secure a Parliamentary debate on how Brexit will impact the NHS, arguing that the government has not given this question sufficient consideration. Thousands of supporters were mobilised to contact their MPs in support of the campaign, which led to 47 MPs from five parties submitting a request for a backbench business debate. That debate was held in Parliament on 22 March.

Campaign to restore the Access to Elected Office Fund, 2018

In April 2018, More United supported the launch of a legal challenge against the government, led by three deaf and disabled candidates of different parties, all of whom are also Members of More United. The focus of the challenge was to get the government to restore a Fund that existed from 2012–2015 to help deaf and disabled candidates of all parties, at all levels, with the extra costs of standing for election. The Fund was frozen and placed under review in 2015, but no findings from the review or a decision on the Fund's future had been published in nearly three years. More United launched a campaign alongside the legal challenge, with thousands of supporters signing a petition to get the government to restore the Fund. This campaign received endorsement from 19 of the UK's most prominent deaf and disabled people, who came together from across the realms of business, entertainment, academia and politics to publish an open letter of support in The Sunday Times. The campaign also received backing from three disabled MPs from three parties. Labour MP

Marsha de Cordova Marsha Chantal de Cordova (born 23 January 1976) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Battersea since 2017. She was Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities from 6 April 2020 until her resig ...

, Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Lloyd and Conservative MP

Robert Halfon Robert Henry Halfon (; born 22 March 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harlow since 2010. Halfon was formerly a researcher for Conservative MPs, including as Chief of Staff to Shadow Chancellor ...

co-wrote a letter to the Home Office asking for the immediate restoration of the Fund.

Convenors

In addition to its founders, a number of prominent public figures have endorsed the movement's launch so far, with the following being listed as the organisation's Convenors: * Josh Babarinde, social entrepreneur and youth worker * Maurice Birotti, businessman and academic * Jeremy Bliss, lawyer and entrepreneur *

Clare Gerada Dame Clare Mary Louise Francis Gerada, Lady Wessely, (born November 1959) is a London-based general practitioner who is President of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and a former chairperson of the RCGP Council (2010–2013) ...

, medical practitioner * Sunny Hundal, columnist and lecturer *

Anne-Marie Imafidon Anne-Marie Osawemwenze Ore-Ofe Imafidon (born 24 June 1990) is a British-Nigerian computer scientist. Imafidon founded and became CEO of Stemettes in 2013, a social enterprise promoting women in STEM careers. She was a computing, mathematics a ...

, social tech entrepreneur *

Martha Lane Fox Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, (born 10 February 1973) is a British businesswoman, philanthropist, and public servant. She co-founded Last Minute during the dotcom boom of the early 2000s and has subsequently served on public ser ...

, entrepreneur *

Gia Milinovich Gia Michele Milinovich (born 11 July 1969) is an American-British television presenter and writer. Early life Milinovich was born in Minnesota to an ethnic Serbian family,. Career She presented television programmes such as Channel 4's ''Demo ...

, writer and presenter *

Maajid Nawaz Maajid Usman Nawaz (; born 2 November 1977) is a British activist and former radio presenter. He was the founding chairman of Quilliam. Until January 2022, he was the host of an LBC radio show on Saturdays and Sundays. Born in Southend-on-Sea ...

, author, activist and columnist *

Jonathon Porritt Sir Jonathon Espie Porritt, 2nd Baronet, CBE (born 6 July 1950) is a British environmentalist and writer. He is known for his advocacy of the Green Party of England and Wales. Porritt frequently contributes to magazines, newspapers and books ...

, environmentalist *

Luke Pritchard The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by the ...

, musician and entertainer *

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He fi ...

, writer, broadcaster and professor * Janet Smith, former Lady Justice of Appeal *

Dan Snow Daniel Robert Snow (born 3 December 1978) is a British popular historian and television presenter. Early life and education Born in Westminster, London Dan Snow is the youngest son of Peter Snow, BBC television journalist, and Canadian Ann Mac ...

, broadcaster * Rumi Vergee, entrepreneur and philanthropist

References

External links

*
The Convention on Brexit
- part organised by More United {{Brexit referendum 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum Brexit–related advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Consequences of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum Jo Cox Organisations based in the City of Westminster Political movements in the United Kingdom Progressivism in the United Kingdom Pro-Europeanism in the United Kingdom 2016 establishments in the United Kingdom 2016 in British politics