Another new anti-Brexit party joins the fray

The UK EU Party, or ‘UKEUP’, was recently launched by lawyer Pierre Kirk, who like his collaborators feels that a purer anti-EU voice is needed in the mix.

Pierre, speaking to The New European while on a wildly rocking boat somewhere off the coast of Malta, reserved some of his fiercest criticism for the pro-Remain parties such as Change UK.

‘It’s not an EU party, and they are claiming that they are,’ said the contract and investigatory lawyer.

He believes that they want little more than freedom of movement and a soft Brexit.

Similarly, he feels that the Greens and the Liberal Democrats aren’t pushing hard enough to keep us in the EU.

‘The focus is on a second referendum – which is fine, but it’s not a pro-EU stance,’ he reasoned.

‘We don’t see them sticking to their policies in any meaningful way.

‘We are absolutely 100% pro-EU.

‘We want to revoke Article 50 and remain.

‘We want to progress in the EU and grow as the EU grows.’

Asked whether another pro-Remain party would simply fracture the movement further and split the vote, Pierre argued that this couldn’t happen with the EU elections.

As the EU elections are not first-past-the-post, the party was not going to cause the kind of schism that multiple similar parties can cause domestically, he said.

The fledging party currently has 12 candidates, all of whom are fresh to politics.

The eldest is 70 and the youngest is 23, but they’re particularly keen to encourage young people.

‘It really is the youth that have been stifled but have not had a voice – some have not had a vote.

‘They haven’t had a fair shake at this so we’re trying to get as many as possible to come on board.

‘It would be a wonderful thing to have a young MEP return to the EU Parliament.’

Beyond May 22 and pro-EU issues, the UK EU leader describes the party as a socially liberal but fiscally conservative, centrist group with policies including attention to healthcare, freedom of movement, a removal of tuition fees, and a boost to affordable housing.

The party is keen to focus on supporting UK business, and the professional services sector in particular, in the light of the impact Brexit has pre-emptively had on the sector.

‘The aim behind this was that politics is becoming extreme left and extreme right,’ said Pierre, who would rather reflect ‘the views of most of the country’.

They have business backers they can’t currently reveal, but are crowdfunding for campaign finances.

Prospective candidates have been asked to send their details to the party by midnight on April 23.

For more information about UKEUP, see: www.theukeuparty.org