Volt UK

Volt UK (officially: Volt United Kingdom)[3] is a pro-European[9][10][11][12] political party in the United Kingdom. It is the British branch of Volt Europa, a political movement that operates on a European level.

Volt United Kingdom
AbbreviationVolt UK / Volt
LeaderPierce Robinson[1]
TreasurerCarsten Vagani[2]
Founded6 January 2020 (2020-01-06)[3]
HeadquartersLondon[3]
IdeologySocial liberalism[4]
Progressivism[5]
Pro-Europeanism[6]
Political positionCentre[7] to centre-left[8]
European affiliationVolt Europa
Colours  Purple
Website
voltuk.eu
National sections of Volt Europa. The borders of the European Union are shown in red.

History

Volt UK was founded in London on 6 January 2020, with Philipp Gnatzy as its first leader.[3]

2021 Elections

In the 2021 local elections, the party stood one candidate for election to a local authority, Luis Perdigao in Cubbington & Leek Wootton Ward in Warwickshire.[13] He campaigned in particular for improvements in the transport sector and public transport, in addition to avoiding damage from Brexit.[14]

Main articles: 2021 London mayoral election and 2021 London Assembly election

In London, Volt backed Richard Hewison, Rejoin EU's candidate for mayor, and the two parties stood a joint list for the London-wide Assembly seats.[10] Hewison received 1.1% of the mayoral vote,[15] while the two parties received 49,389 votes (1.91%) for the Assembly and thus did not win a seat.[16]

The party also stood in the Scottish Parliament election on a joint list with Renew Scotland.[17]

2022

In May 2022, the party contested the Glasgow City Council elections.[18] Volt received 4.1% of the first-preference vote in the Pollokshields ward, falling short of winning one of the four seats.[19]

Ideology and policies

The party supports the 5+1 fundamental challenges (1. Smart state, 2. Economic renaissance, 3. Social equality, 4. Global balance, 5. Citizen empowerment, +1 European reform) defined by Volt Europa.[20] In addition to the pan-European policies of Volt, the British branch has some additional policies including electoral reform, rejoining the EU, action to address climate change, and reform of political campaigns.[21]

Volt Scotland

Volt Scotland is the Scottish branch of Volt UK. It participated in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election with two candidates standing on Renew Scotland's party list.[22] For the Scottish Parliament elections, Volt endorsed a multiple-choice referendum on the issue of Scottish independence like its Renew counterparts.[23] Renew Scotland contested five regions and no constituencies in the election, receiving 493 votes nationwide.[24][25][26][27][28] The party also stood one candidate at the 2022 Scottish local elections,[29] with their candidate garnering 4.06% of first preference votes in the four-member Pollokshields ward.[30]

Electoral performance

Scottish Parliament
Election Political party Constituency Regional Total seats +/– Government
Vote  % Seats Vote  % Seats
2021 Volt Scotland (as part of Renew Scotland)[22] N/A
0 / 73
 493 (Renew Scotland)[24][25][26][27][28] 0.02% (Renew Scotland)[31]
0 / 56
0 / 129
 New —

Renew Scotland contested in five regions and no constituencies in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

References
  1. "View registration - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  2. "View registration - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  3. "View registration - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk.
  4. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "European Union". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  5. Essler, Brett (7 November 2019). "Just Do It: How two SIPA alumni founded a new European political party—and won". School of International and Public Affairs. Columbia University. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. Teffer, Peter (27 May 2019). "'Pan-European' Volt and DieM25 manage one MEP each". EU Observer. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  7. Boucart, Théo (31 May 2019). "Germany: Faithful Reflection Of European Electoral Tendencies?". The New Federalist. Young European Federalists. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  8. Forthomme, Claude (28 February 2019). "Volt Europa: An Electric Jolt to Wake Up Europe". Impakter. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  9. Carey, Declan. "New party starts Britain's campaign to rejoin the European Union". Redaction Politics.
  10. Carey, Declan. "Pro-EU party to stand in Scottish elections offering voters an SNP alternative". Redaction Politics.
  11. Reed, Jonothan. "First political party to commit itself to campaigning for UK to rejoin EU". The New European.
  12. "Manifesto for Britain". Volt UK. Volt United Kingdom.
  13. "Election Results". apps.warwickshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  14. "Volt in Cubbington and Leek Wootton". Volt UK. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  15. "Results 2021 | London Elects". www.londonelects.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  16. "London Assembly (London-wide) results | London Elects". www.londonelects.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  17. "Scottish Parliament". Volt UK. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  18. Sandelands, Drew (2022-04-28). "Pollokshields recovery to be one consideration for Glasgow election voters". GlasgowLive. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  19. "Local Election 2022 Full Results". www.glasgow.gov.uk. 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  20. "European Policies – Volt Europa".
  21. "Volt UK – Manifesto for Britain".
  22. "Twitter Renew Scotland".
  23. "Renew Scotland, Our Proposal for Scotland's Future". Renew Scotland. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  24. Glasgow [region], BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
  25. Lothian [region], BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
  26. Mid Scotland and Fife [region], BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
  27. North East Scotland [region], BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
  28. West of Scotland [region] [sic], BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
  29. "Pollokshields council elections 2022".
  30. "Declaration of Results (Ward 6, Pollokshields)".
  31. "Scottish Parliament election 2021". BBC News.
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