Trust (British political party)
Trust | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Stuart Wheeler |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Dissolved | 2011 |
| Headquarters | 83 Victoria Street London SW1H 0HW |
| Website | |
| http://thetrustparty.co.uk/ | |
Trust was a minor political party in the United Kingdom formed on 26 March 2010 by Stuart Wheeler in the wake of the Westminster expenses scandal.[1][2] It unsuccessfully fielded two candidates at the 2010 general election.[citation needed]
2010 general election
[edit]Both of the party's candidates were former Conservatives.
Stuart Wheeler, who contested the Sussex constituency of Bexhill and Battle, is a businessman who donated £5 million to the Conservatives in 2001. He was expelled from the Conservative Party for donating £100,000 to United Kingdom Independence Party in 2009.[3] Wheeler claimed that his opponent in Bexhill and Battle, Gregory Barker MP, escaped criticism from David Cameron over his expenses as an ally of the Conservative Party leader.[4] Barker called Wheeler's campaign "an attempt to cash in on genuine public concerns about the Parliamentary expenses scandal by peddling the most extraordinary untruths about my own Parliamentary claims and expenditure."[5]
The party's other candidate was Douglas Taylor. Taylor had been Conservative candidate at the Western Isles in 2001, and in Perth and North Perthshire in 2005.[6] Taylor stood again on the Trust Party ticket in Perth and North Perthshire.
Election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gregory Barker | 28,147 | 51.6 | −2.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mary Varrall | 15,267 | 28.0 | +5.3 | |
| Labour | James Royston | 6,524 | 12.0 | −5.9 | |
| Trust | Stuart Wheeler | 2,699 | 4.9 | N/A | |
| BNP | Neil Jackson | 1,950 | 3.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 12,880 | 23.6 | −7.9 | ||
| Turnout | 54,587 | 68.9 | +2.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −4.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Pete Wishart | 19,118 | 39.6 | +5.9 | |
| Conservative | Peter Lyburn | 14,739 | 30.5 | +0.2 | |
| Labour | Jamie Glackin | 7,923 | 16.4 | −2.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Barrett | 5,954 | 12.3 | −3.8 | |
| Trust | Douglas Taylor | 534 | 1.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,379 | 9.1 | +5.8 | ||
| Turnout | 48,268 | 66.9 | +3.0 | ||
| SNP hold | Swing | +2.9 | |||
Politics
[edit]The party's policies included introducing a parliamentary court with the power to jail MPs who commit fraud,[4] ending MPs' second-home allowances, 'exposure of false claims' about global warming, promoting marriage, improving treatment of wounded soldiers, reducing the power of the European Union and preventing torture of suspected terrorists.[9]
Dissolution
[edit]The party was dissolved soon after the 2010 election. One set of accounts was submitted to the Electoral Commission noting that the party had no members and no cash or fixed assets, having been financed by private donations, the balance of which had been repaid to the donors. The accounts noted that the party "won little support in the constituencies and decided not to continue".[10] In January 2011 Wheeler joined the United Kingdom Independence Party as treasurer.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Register of political parties - Trust". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ "About Trust". Trust. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ "Ex-Tory donor launches Trust Party on expenses pledge". BBC News. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ a b "Tycoon's new party aims to win Trust of the voters". Your Canterbury. 4 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Barker slams rival campaign as "unfounded smears"". Rye & Battle Observer. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "Selected Candidates". Trust. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ BBC - Election 2010 - Bexhill & Battle
- ^ BBC - Election 2010 - Perth & Perthshire North
- ^ Jarrett, Nigel (1 April 2010). "New Party leader squares up to MP Barker". Hastings Observer. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "The Trust Party - Statement of Accounts" (PDF). Electoral Commission. 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Latest News - Wheeler joins UKIP as Treasurer". Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
External links
[edit]- Official website (on the Internet Archive in April 2010)
- Candidate profile, Bexhill Observer