Miss Great Britain Party

The Miss Great Britain Party was a political party in the United Kingdom founded in 2008, whose candidates were mostly women who had entered the Miss Great Britain beauty contest. The party claimed that its main purpose of was "To make Westminster sexy not sleazy".^[2] The party was deregistered by the Electoral Commission on 22 June 2009, a year after its initial registration.^[1]

History

The Miss Great Britain Party was founded by Robert de Keyser, the previous chairman of the Miss Great Britain contest (de Keyser had the Miss GB licence revoked after financial difficulties in 2009 and the contest is now back with a previous owner Liz Fuller). He claimed that the main purpose of the party was to create a "Fourth way", differing from the three major British political parties: Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.^[2] He said that:

"We want to appeal to the millions of voters who have been reduced to cynical apathy by the dreary and sometimes rather murky world of Westminster and Brussels. We want to bring some fun, glamour and transparency to the political process but at the same time the serious message that beauty does have a real power of its own to harness and create positive change."^[2]

Elections

Crewe and Nantwich

Miss Great Britain 2008, Gemma Garrett, entered the Crewe and Nantwich by-election under the campaign slogan "Beauty for Britain".^[3] She came last out of ten candidates, with 113 votes (0.27%).^[4]

Henley

"Beauty for Britain" again stood in the 2008 Henley by-election called when Boris Johnson became the Mayor of London. Two candidates stood for the election, Louise Cole and Amanda Harrington. Although technically Independents, they were known as "The Miss Great Britain Party". The main policy was "To make Westminster sexy not sleazy and to encourage voters to re-engage with politics as a means of bringing about change through beauty."^[2] The policies included:

• "The right to full tax relief on child care for all working mothers."
• "The rights of women everywhere to equal pay."
• "A commitment to fair pay for Britain's armed forces."
• "British voters to be given a referendum on continued membership of the European Union."
• "A pledge to launch a true British Bank Holiday to celebrate British beauty."^[2]

Harrington finished 9th out of 12 candidates, winning 128 votes (0.37%), and Cole finished 11th with 91 votes (0.26%).^[5]

Haltemprice and Howden

The party adopted the "Miss Great Britain Party" as its official name and formally registered with the Electoral Commission on 23 June 2008,^[1] before standing in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election with Garrett one of 26 candidates.^[6] Garrett said she stood to give voters a "real choice" in the by-election.^[7] The manifesto included the following policies:

• "Securing proper pay and frontline increments for British soldiers as well as rights to substantial guaranteed compensation in the event of injury or death."
• "Ensuring that all necessarily incurred child care costs are fully tax deductible."
• "A better deal for home buyers by abolishing stamp duties for first time buyers and making family homes exempt from inheritance tax."
• "A better deal for pensioners by indexing annual pension increases against the true rise in the cost of energy, food etc rather than using the RPI and by increasing tax allowances for women under the age of 65."
• "A better deal for mothers who take time off to work to have children."
• "Compulsory health and beauty education to improve the looks of Britons."
• "A British Bank Holiday which encourages people to look fabulous for the day."
• "Help motorists by capping increases in fuel duties against the rising price of oil."
• "Higher tax for higher earners with a 45 per cent rate for those on £100,000 pa rising to 50 per cent on earnings above £200,000 pa."^[7]

Voting took place on 10 July 2008 and Garrett finished fifth with 521 votes. Two of the main British political parties, Labour and the Liberal Democrats had declined to take part in the election.^[8]

See also

• List of frivolous political parties

References