The party was first registered on 13 March 2019 by Jeremy Hosking as
Brexit Express.[3][4]
In September 2020, Fox attracted funding for a new political party, provisionally called Reclaim,[5][6] and dubbed "
UKIP for
culture".[7][5] In October 2020, the party changed its leader from Jeremy Hosking to Laurence Fox.[8] It emerged in the same month that the party name had yet to be successfully registered with the
Electoral Commission as there was a naming conflict with the "Reclaim Project" of Manchester, an established charity giving opportunities to working-class children.[9] In February 2021, the party changed its registered name from
Brexit Express to The Reclaim Party.[10][11]
In December 2021, newspapers reported that Hosking would continue to fund The Reclaim Party.[12]
Parliamentary representation
MP
Andrew Bridgen was expelled from the
Conservative Party in January 2023 for
tweeting "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, [the COVID-19 vaccines are] the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust",[13] repeating
COVID conspiracy claims and for breaching lobbying rules.[14] In May 2023, he joined Reclaim, becoming the party's first MP.[15] He resigned from the party in December 2023.[16]
Cooperation agreement with Reform UK
On 12 June 2023,
Reform UK and the Reclaim Party announced a mutual co-operation agreement for the upcoming by-elections, whereby Reform UK would stand in
Mid Bedfordshire and Reclaim would stand in
Uxbridge and South Ruislip.[17] Both parties lost all by-elections and lost their deposits, with Dave Kent (Reform) getting the highest support at 3.7% in
Selby and Ainsty.
Electoral record
2021 London mayoral election
In March 2021, Fox announced he would stand in the
London mayoral elections, in order to "fight against extreme
political correctness" and to "end the
Met's obsession with diversity and inclusivity".[18][19] His candidacy was endorsed by
Reform UK, who stood aside for him in the election, and by
Nigel Farage.[20] The major source of Fox's campaign funds was Brexit backer
Jeremy Hosking,[21] who, in the first quarter of 2021, gave The Reclaim Party more than £1,000,000 in cash and services.[22]
In the mayoral election, Fox finished in sixth place with 47,634 votes (1.9 per cent), losing his £10,000
election deposit.[23][24]
During the by-election campaign, a
Market Draytontown councillor defected to Reclaim, becoming the party's first representative in UK local government,[29][30][31] but resigned as a councillor less than a year later.[32]
In the
2024 general election, Reclaim announced it would donate £5,000 to candidates standing for re-election from other parties who agreed to a four-point culture-based pledge. Despite Conservative Party advice not to accept the money, four Conservative MPs did.[35][36]
*
Co-operative Party candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party. †Sinn Féin have elected members and offices at Westminster, but as
abstentionists do not take their seats.