Miss Great Britain Party

Miss Great Britain Party
Leader Robert de Keyser[1]
Founded 23 June 2008[1]
Dissolved 22 June 2009[1]
Headquarters 23 Old Bond Street, London[1]
Ideology "Beauty"
Colours Red, white and blue

The Miss Great Britain Party was a political party in the United Kingdom founded in 2008, whose candidates were mostly women who had entered the Miss Great Britain beauty contest. The party claimed that its main purpose of was "To make Westminster sexy not sleazy".[2] The party was deregistered by the Electoral Commission on 22 June 2009, a year after its initial registration.[1]

History

The Miss Great Britain Party was founded by Robert de Keyser, the previous chairman of the Miss Great Britain contest (de Keyser had the Miss GB licence revoked after financial difficulties in 2009 and the contest is now back with a previous owner Liz Fuller). He claimed that the main purpose of the party was to create a "Fourth way", differing from the three major British political parties: Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.[2] He said that:

"We want to appeal to the millions of voters who have been reduced to cynical apathy by the dreary and sometimes rather murky world of Westminster and Brussels. We want to bring some fun, glamour and transparency to the political process but at the same time the serious message that beauty does have a real power of its own to harness and create positive change."[2]

Elections

Crewe and Nantwich

Miss Great Britain 2008, Gemma Garrett, entered the Crewe and Nantwich by-election under the campaign slogan "Beauty for Britain".[3] She came last out of ten candidates, with 113 votes (0.27%).[4]

Henley

"Beauty for Britain" again stood in the 2008 Henley by-election called when Boris Johnson became the Mayor of London. Two candidates stood for the election, Louise Cole and Amanda Harrington. Although technically Independents, they were known as "The Miss Great Britain Party". The main policy was "To make Westminster sexy not sleazy and to encourage voters to re-engage with politics as a means of bringing about change through beauty."[2] The policies included:

Harrington finished 9th out of 12 candidates, winning 128 votes (0.37%), and Cole finished 11th with 91 votes (0.26%).[5]

Haltemprice and Howden

The party adopted the "Miss Great Britain Party" as its official name and formally registered with the Electoral Commission on 23 June 2008,[1] before standing in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election with Garrett one of 26 candidates.[6] Garrett said she stood to give voters a "real choice" in the by-election.[7] The manifesto included the following policies:

Voting took place on 10 July 2008 and Garrett finished fifth with 521 votes. Two of the main British political parties, Labour and the Liberal Democrats had declined to take part in the election.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Register of political parties: Miss Great Britain Party (Ref PP720)". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "It's Battle Of The Miss Great Britain Beauties As Blonde Takes On Brunette In Henley By-Election". Miss Great Britain. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  3. "Miss Great Britain Hits The Campaign Trail". Miss Great Britain. 16 May 2008.
  4. "Tories snatch Crewe from Labour". BBC News. BBC. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  5. "Henley by-election result in full". BBC News. BBC. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  6. "Voters terrify Brown, says Davis". BBC News. BBC. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  7. 1 2 "The Miss Great Britain Party Manifesto 2008: Miss Great Britain Gemma Garrett Announces She Will Stand Against David Davis To Give Voters A Chance To Debate The Real Issues". Miss Great Britain. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  8. "Haltemprice and Howden: Result in full". BBC News. BBC. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
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