Laurence Fox’s fringe Reclaim Party has lost its only MP after disgraced former Tory Andrew Bridgen quit over a “difference in direction”.
The North West Leicestershire MP insisted he still supported the “policies and values” of Reclaim after his “incredibly difficult decision” to resign.
Mr Bridgen said he was making the decision ahead of fighting as an independent to win his seat again at the general election expected in 2024.
He was expelled from the Conservative Party in April over a social media post in which he described Covid vaccinations as “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”.
In his statement, the MP stuck by his radical anti-vaccine views. “I have been standing up for those who have been injured by vaccines and exposing the worrying cover up of trends in excess deaths on a national and indeed global scale.”
Run by the former Lewis actor, the Reclaim outfit was formed to challenge “woke orthodoxy” and rails against the notions of white privilege and systemic racism.
Its website claims to promote freedom of speech, which it views as being “under grave peril”, with Mr Fox previously criticising the “climate hoax” and “Covid scam”.
Andrew Bridgen, right, at a Reclaim press conference with Laurence Fox— (PA Archive)
Mr Bridgen thanked the fringe party leader and Reclaim staff “who have been excellent and supported me wholeheartedly for the last nine months”.
The MPs said: “I have come to this decision purely because of a difference in the direction of the party, I will still wholeheartedly support the policies and values of the Reclaim Party and wish them all of the best in their future endeavours.”
“However, I need to make a very important decision with a general election pending in the first half of next year. I need to put North West Leicestershire first, above any party allegiance,” he added.
Reclaim also insisted the party and Mr Bridgen remained aligned across numerous policy areas, but claimed that both felt they were better positioned to work independently.
Mr Fox said it had been a “pleasure” working with the MP. “He is a man of great bravery and we remain hugely supportive of his campaigning on a number of issues.”
“He rightly sees his role to raise issues of concern to his constituents. There are too few in parliament prepared to do that,” the controversialist added – saying the party had made a “considerable donation” to his campaign fund.
Wellingborough voters have backed by-election in Peter Bone’s seat— (PA Archive)
It comes as cabinet minister Mel Stride said the Tories will “fight for every vote” at the Wellingborough by-election humiliation sparked after Peter Bone’s voters ousted him from the Commons.
The disgraced MP was ejected after more than 10 per cent of voters in his seat voted to recall him. Mr Bone was handed a six-week suspension after an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.
He held the Northamptonshire seat in 2019 with a majority of 18,000 over Labour, but the Tories have suffered a series of huge by-election defeats in recent years.
Mr Stride told Times Radio: “Yes, we have a fair bit of ground to make up but there is no strong burning passion for Keir Starmer or another Labour government.”
“There is a wide lead in the polls at the moment but it’s very thin. And we will be fighting for every single vote,” the minister added.
