Make Politicians History was a minor

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 ideological or p ...

that advocated the abolition of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in favour of devolution to

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

s and decision-making by

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. Its leader was

Ronnie Carroll Ronnie Carroll (born Ronald Cleghorn; 18 August 1934 – 13 April 2015) was a Northern Irish singer, entertainer and political candidate. Career Carroll was born Ronald Cleghorn in 116 Roslyn Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1934, the son o ...

. Since the 1980s, the group stood under various descriptions, including Vote For Yourself, www.xat.org and Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket.

Founding

The group originated in the 1980s as the Rainbow Alliance of several small groups, founded and led by Rainbow George Weiss, which Weiss says was after he was contacted by "an extraterrestrial soulmate called Sterling Silver". It stood a variety of candidates, often on frivolous platforms. The first candidate was Weiss in the 1984 Enfield Southgate by-election;

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Jour ...

won and Weiss polled 48 votes. In the Hampstead and Highgate constituency at the 1992 UK general election, they stood three candidates. Some minor celebrities such as Cynthia Payne, Liza Duke and

Malcolm Hardee Malcolm Hardee (5 January 1950 – 31 January 2005) was an English comedian and comedy club proprietor. His high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful British Altern ...

stood for the group.

Rainbow Dream Ticket/Vote For Yourself Dream Ticket

The renamed Rainbow Dream Ticket stood 31 candidates in the 1997 UK general election, polling 4,104 votes. As Vote For Yourself Dream Ticket the party stood Weiss as its candidate in all four Belfast seats in the 2001 UK general election, pledging to rename Britain and Ireland as the "Emerald Rainbow Isles", to replace the currency with the "Wonder", made up of 100 "gasps", to make utilities, healthcare and education free, and to cancel all debt. They then stood three candidates in the

2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 26 November 2003, after being suspended for just over a year. It was the second election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. Each of Northern Irela ...

, receiving a total of 124 votes. The party put up candidates in 23 constituencies in the 2005 UK general election, six in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, four in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and thirteen in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. Among the party's candidates was David Kerr, a former member of the National Front, a member of

Ulster Third Way The Ulster Third Way was the Northern Ireland branch of the Third Way and was organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' (chairing the small North Belfast Independent Unionist Association) as well as for ...

, and editor of ''Ulster Nation'', and Lynda Gilby, a Belfast journalist. They came last or second-last in every seat in which they stood. Weiss stood in 13 London seats, receiving a total of 1,289 votes. In the Cardiff North constituency, candidate Catherine Taylor-Dawson, a singer-songwriter, received only one vote, thus setting a new record for the lowest vote for any parliamentary candidate under universal suffrage. The single vote was not cast by Taylor-Dawson, as she was not registered to vote in that constituency.

Make Politicians History

The party was renamed Make Politicians History on 26 September 2005, led by

. The first action was to announce in January 2006 a referendum fronted by snooker player

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Worl ...

, in which postcards were sent to all residents in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

calling for the city to be renamed "Best" and made self-governing. The party wanted Ulster residents to make decisions issue by issue through an electronic voting system. The party released a music CD, ''Let's Tick Together'', in May 2006. Weiss stood in the four Belfast constituencies in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2007, receiving a sixth preference vote from Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. Ronnie Carroll stood in the 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, and received 29 votes. A "Brand Spanking New London Party" with Russell Brand as its candidate 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 Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

was announced, but did not stand.

Disbanding

The party was disbanded in April 2009, reportedly due to Weiss being impressed at the progress of the Northern Ireland peace process after the

Massereene Barracks shooting The Massereene Barracks shooting took place at Massereene Barracks in Antrim, Northern Ireland. On 7 March 2009, two off-duty British soldiers of 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead outside the barracks. Two other soldiers and two civilian de ...

, and it was deregistered on 8 June 2009.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links