{"id":122421,"date":"2023-12-20T17:29:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T17:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/?p=122421"},"modified":"2023-12-20T17:29:38","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T17:29:38","slug":"expelled-tory-mp-andrew-bridgen-quits-reclaim-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/politics\/expelled-tory-mp-andrew-bridgen-quits-reclaim-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Expelled Tory MP Andrew Bridgen quits Reclaim Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party has lost its only MP after Andrew Bridgen quit the group over a “difference in direction”.<\/p>\n

The North West Leicestershire MP said it had been an “incredibly difficult decision” and insisted he still supported the “policies and values” of Reclaim.<\/p>\n

Mr Bridgen said he was making the decision ahead of the general election expected in 2024.<\/p>\n

He 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.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

Don’t miss… <\/strong> The party is over for Andrew Bridgen as he splits with Laurence Fox’s Reclaim<\/strong><\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“I will continue standing up and fighting for the people of North West Leicestershire and delivering what is best for them.”<\/p>\n

Mr Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party in April over a social media post in which he described Covid-19 vaccinations as “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”.<\/p>\n

In his statement resigning from Reclaim, he said: “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.”<\/p>\n

Reclaim said the party and Mr Bridgen remained aligned across numerous policy areas but both felt they were better positioned to work independently.<\/p>\n

Party leader 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.<\/p>\n

“He rightly sees his role to raise issues of concern to his constituents. There are too few in parliament prepared to do that.<\/p>\n

“He has been an excellent constituency MP and we wish him every success in his bid for re-election in North West Leicestershire. As a reflection of that support, we have made a considerable donation to Andrew’s campaign fund.”<\/p>\n