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With Brexit yet again being delayed, the United Kingdom will take part in the upcoming European elections, but whether or not the new Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) take their seats is another matter, as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to pursue her vision of Brexit.
According to the Brexit odds on Betfair, the newly formed Brexit Party, led by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, is the favourite to win the most seats. Both the Brexit Party and the newly-formed remain party – Change UK – have announced some big political names for the upcoming elections, so let’s take a look at some of the candidates.
Rachel Johnson
She’s the sister of Boris Johnson, who was one of the leader figures in the leave campaign, but Rachel Johnson is set to do battle for the Change UK party as she doesn’t want the opportunities for living, travelling, and working in the EU member states to be taken away from her children.
Talking to the Evening Standard, Ms Johnson said “A vote to leave the EU is so important, so life-changing for the next two generations that I am impelled to stand up and be counted for what I believe in, which is that we are far better in Europe.”
Her stance on the UK’s membership of the EU might be different to brother Boris’, but she is on the same side with another of her brothers – MP Jo Johnson. Should she be successful in winning a seat in the European Parliament, she will be following in the footsteps of father, Stanley.
Gavin Esler
The former BBC journalist has taken the brave step of moving into politics, and will stand alongside Rachel Johnson, as he too will be a candidate for Change UK in the upcoming European elections.
Although he initially respected the result of the referendum, after it became obvious that the British public were lied to, he became vocal in his opposition to Brexit. Mr Esler doesn’t want those who lied to believe they got away with it and continue to do so, as we’d end up becoming parallel with Donald Trump’s America.
The journalist has never been a member of a political party, nor has he ever been a candidate for election, but with a broken political system, he believes that now is the time to “stop Brexit, fix Britain, and reform the EU.”
Ann Widdecombe
On the other side of the Brexit spectrum is the Brexit Party, and they managed to snap up former Tory heavyweight Ann Widdecombe to stand as a candidate in the EU elections.
When Nigel Farage created the party, the former UKIP leader wanted to get away from the people that so often tarnished the reputation of UKIP. It’s perhaps rather ironic that Ms Widdecombe is representing the party, given her strong anti-LGBT opinions and a voting record which backs them up.
But she’ll remain popular with many people, particularly old school Conservative voters. By being a candidate in the heavily Conservative South East, she’s been given a great chance to be voted into the European Parliament, although it remains to be seen if the Brexit Party can persuade those who will go out and vote to switch their long-held allegiances.