Andrew Bridgen has announced he is quitting from the Reclaim Party, citing “difference in the direction of the party”.
The MP was expelled from the Conservatives for quoting academics who claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines could be the worst crime against humanity since the Holocaust.
Andrew Bridgen quits Reclaim Party over ‘difference in the direction of the Party’ as election looms
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In a statement on Twitter, Bridgen said: “This morning, I have made the incredibly difficult decision to resign from the Reclaim Party.
“I would first of all like to thank Laurence and all of the team at Reclaim who have been excellent and supported me wholeheartedly for the last nine months.
“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.
“I will continue standing up and fighting for the people of North West Leicestershire and delivering what is best for them.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Bridgen and Reclaim leader Laurence Fox
PA
Speaking to the Express, Fox said: “It has been a pleasure working with Andrew. 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.”
Bridgen added: “I have consistently campaigned against HS2 since my first election in 2010, I have been at the forefront of exposing scandals such as the modern day slavery cover up in Leicester and the Post Office Horizon scandal which was debated in the House of Commons yesterday.
“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.”
Bridgen, who has been an MP since 2010, has been criticised for his comments about the vaccine rollout.
Former health secretary Matt Hancock accused him of making “antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories”.
In March 2021, party leader Fox announced he would stand in the London mayoral elections in May. He finished in sixth place with 47,634 votes, just under two per cent of the vote.
Fox would later contest in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, where he would finish fourth.
