Pirate Party UK

Pirate Party UK Welsh: Plaid Môr-leidr DU
Leader	Laurence Kaye
Founded	30 July 2009 (2009-07-30)[1]
Headquarters	Manchester
Membership  (2014)	689[2]
Ideology	Pirate politics, Civil Liberties, Privacy, Direct democracy, Copyright and Patent Reform
International affiliation	Pirate Parties International
European affiliation	European Pirate Party
European Parliament group	The Greens–European Free Alliance
Colours	Purple, Orange and Blue [3]
Website
www.pirateparty.org.uk
Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections

The Pirate Party UK (often abbreviated PPUK; in Welsh: Plaid Môr-leidr DU) is a political party in the United Kingdom.^[4] The Pirate Party's core policies are to bring about reform to copyright and patent laws, support privacy and reduce surveillance from government and businesses, and guarantee genuine freedom of speech for everyone.^[5][6]

The Pirate Party UK contested its first election in 2010, standing 9 candidates in the 2010 General Election, and also stood in the 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth and 2012 Manchester Central by-elections. The highest percentage of votes the party has achieved to date is 5.2% by Loz Kaye when standing in the Manchester Bradford Ward during the 2012 Local Elections. In parliamentary elections the party has generally received less than 1% of the vote. In 2009 they indicated they did not expect to be elected and that the party was only trying to raise awareness.^[7]

Laurence "Loz" Kaye is the current Party Leader, having succeeded Andrew Robinson, the only previous leader, after he stepped down in August 2010.

Pirate Party UK leader Loz Kaye

History

Following the Pirate Bay Trial, a large surge in Pirate Party interest occurred around the world. After the success of the Swedish Pirate Party in the summer 2009 European Elections there was a sudden growth of Pirate Party organisations across Europe (notably in Germany and France) and beyond. Forum membership soared. The official formation of the Pirate Party in the UK followed shortly after the European Elections^[8][9] and the Pirate Party UK was officially registered on 30 July 2009.^[4][10][11]

In August, it was claimed that Pirate Party UK was undergoing rapid growth similar to one the Swedish Pirate Party had enjoyed in early 2009. It was reported that they had been flooded by enquiries and at its peak around 100 people an hour were signing up to become party members. Donations had been coming in so fast that PayPal was concerned they were a fraudulent site.^[12]

On 22 August 2009, one of the Party Officers, John McKeown, resigned from his post after he made a blog post that caused controversy and debate upon party policy. He felt that as he was elected prior to official formation of the party, when there were fewer members, he could not safely say he represented the majority view of the party.^[13]

In December 2009, the party voted to accept Peter Liddell as the new Party Treasurer, and John Barron was voted Nominating Officer, as well as ratifying several other positions within the party in November.

On 23 January 2010, the party opened voting to its members for the internal party elections for NEC members. It was announced on 1 February 2010 that the party members had voted to retain the current executive members.

On 30 March 2010, the party declared its intent to stand 10 candidates across England and Scotland, however to do so, further party funding would be required.^[14] On 27 April 2010, the party announced that it had nine official candidates on the ballot papers, as Mark Sims had missed the deadline due to the air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

Following the resignation of first party leader Andrew Robinson,^[15] composer and lecturer^[16] Laurence 'Loz' Kaye was elected as the new leader on 26 September 2010.^[17] In a message sent to members, Kaye stated his key aim as "building the political structure of the party".^[18] Previously, Kaye had been the Election Agent for candidate Tim Dobson who stood for Pirate Party UK in Manchester Gorton.

Principles

The Pirate Party in the UK adopted a set of seven principles:^[5]

1. Our society is built upon the sharing of knowledge, ideas and culture. It is furthered by freedom of thought and expression, and protected by the rule of law. The Pirate Party exists to ensure the preservation and development of these foundations.
2. Human dignity is inviolable. Each of us has a right to life and to live, to freedom of thought and self-determination, and to participate in society.
3. Everyone is equal under the law. We all have a say in the structure and processes of governance and the right to know what is done on our behalf.
4. Respect for our private and family life by government and society is fundamental and we all have freedom of choice in our associations and relationships.
5. To be free to participate in society everyone must have access to justice, education and such services and infrastructure required for life within it.
6. To ensure the security of our society it is the responsibility of the government to provide for its defence, the mechanisms of justice and such services and infrastructure required to meet its needs.
7. We will act on the basis of evidence, with the consent of society through democracy, in the interests of all.

Core policies

During the initial formative weeks and months of the Pirate Party UK, there was a large number of individuals who visited the party's online forum and suggested additional policies such as changes to the UK electoral system, the legalisation of cannabis, and NHS reform. Subsequently the forum's structure was changed in order to demarcate more clearly the party's own values from the various additional suggestions that have been independently put forward by individuals. The party leadership has clarified on the official party blog that the Pirate Party UK intends to remain strictly focused on its three core policies:^[19]

1. The reform of Copyright and Patent Laws
2. The protection of our Right to Privacy
3. The protection of our Right to Freedom of Speech

On 22 March 2010, the party announced their 2010 general election manifesto, which expanded on how the party intended to practically implement their core policies if elected.^[20]

In the run up to the 2015 General Election, a Manifesto all six candidates agreed upon based on the crowd sourced policies was created, which kept the core three principals as their focus but included a wide range of other issues.^[21]

Political objectives

It has previously been noted by Robinson, the former Pirate Party UK leader, that the Pirate Party UK's chances of getting a candidate elected to the UK parliament are "pretty much close to zero",^[7] due to the use of the First Past the Post system for electing MPs to Parliament. Instead, their immediate aim is to raise awareness amongst the voters and the politicians in the other political parties.

Leadership

Typical Labelling

• Loz Kaye - Leader
• Vacant - Deputy Leader
• William Sizen Bell - Campaigns Manager
• George Walkden - Nominating Officer
• Sam Clark - Treasurer
• Ed Geraghty - Party Secretary

Pirate Party Labelling

NEC Officers

• Loz Kaye - Leader
• George Walkden - Nominating Officer
• Sam Clark - Treasurer
• Ed Geraghty - Party Secretary

Board Members

• Andrew Norton - Chairperson of the Board
• Andrew Robinson - Deputy Chairperson of the Board
• Will Tovey
• Stephen Ogden
• Phil Cooke
• Peter Brett
• Liam Dolman
• Jack Allnutt
• Harley Faggetter
• David Anthony Elston

Branches

The Pirate Party UK has branches in the following locations:

• London^[22]
• York^[23]
• Greater Manchester^[24]
• Wales; referred to as Pirate Party Wales
• Sheffield^[25]
• Bury^[26]

Pirate Party Wales

Pirate Party Wales (Welsh: Plaid Môr-leidr Cymru) is a branch of the Pirate Party UK that covers the entirety of Wales and was founded in 2014. David Antony Elston, Pirate Spokesman for Wales and a Board Member of Pirate Party UK, founded the branch. Pirate Party Wales supports increased recognition of the Welsh language, including reform of the Welsh Language Act 1993 and free Welsh courses for all Welsh nationals. They also support further devolution to Wales and increased powers for the Welsh Assembly. They want less regulation of the internet and support repealing the Digital Economy Act 2010.^[27]

Pirate Party Wales is only standing one candidate in the 2015 general election, their founder David Elston. Elston is standing in Bridgend^[28] and has also been endorsed a candidate by Something New.^[29]

Membership

Elections

General election 2010

The party stood 9 candidates in the 2010 General Election and received 1,340 votes overall, or about 0.34% of the total votes cast in those constituencies that had Pirate candidates:^[30][31]

Mark Sims intended to stand in East Ham^[41] but missed the deadline due to the air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

All their candidates lost their deposits, with their best performance being 0.62% in Manchester Gorton.

The Pirate Party fielded Loz Kaye at the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election in 2011, after Labour's victory in the 2010 election was declared void by the courts, and the incumbent Phil Woolas was removed.^[42] The result was 96 votes (0.3%).

Scottish and Local Elections 2011

Pirate Party UK stood 8 regional candidates in 2 regions in the Scottish Parliament election^[43]

Graeme Lambert also stood in the local election in Bury^[46] gaining 3.62% of the vote.^[47]

Local Elections 2012

Pirate Party UK stood 6 candidates in 3 regions in the United Kingdom local elections.^[48][49] They received 551 votes, or 2.26% on average over the 6 wards they stood in, the best results for the party in an election. In the Manchester Bradford ward the party leader, Loz Kaye, received 5.2% of the vote, the highest the party has achieved in any election.

Manchester Central by-election (2012)

Loz Kaye was the PPUK's candidate in the Manchester Central by-election on 15 November 2012. He received 1.9% of the vote.

European Parliament Elections (2014)

The Pirate Party announced its intentions^[56] to stand candidates in the North West England (European Parliament constituency) for the European Parliament election, 2014 on the 28 March 2014. Three Pirate Party UK candidates were nominated,^[57] Maria Aretoulaki,^[58] George Walkden^[59] and Jack Allnutt.^[60]

The party also adopted a 'common European election programme'^[61] in common with other European Pirate Parties,^[62] in addition to its existing policies.

The party received 8,957 votes, resulting in a 0.5% share in the North West England constituency.^[63]

General election 2015

The party will stand 6 candidates in the 2015 General Election.^[64]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pirate Party UK.

• Official Pirate Party of the United Kingdom website
• Official Pirate Party of the United Kingdom 2012 Manifesto

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