United for Change

United for Change (UfC) is a British political movement, founded on a centrist platform.[2][3][4][5] The movement gained attention after fundraising through large donations from philanthropists and donors was reported.[6][7][8] Although only launched in August 2018, it had reportedly been in the process of development for at least a year.[9] It has subsequently been rebranded as the United Party for its launch as a political party.

United for Change
FoundedAugust 2018 (officially)
Headquarters5th Floor Orwell House,
16-18 Berners Street,
London,
W1T 3LN[1]
IdeologyCentrism
Political positionCentre
Website
unitedforchange.org.uk
formerly:
www.unitedforchange.uk
www.theunitedparty.org.uk

History

In April 2018, British press reported that former Labour donor Simon Franks had set up a company, the Project One Movement, aimed at potentially forming a political party and fielding candidates at an election.[7] It received commitments of roughly £5 million in funding from founders, and was compared to En Marche! in France.[10][11] In August 2018, United for Change was launched as the political campaign name of the Project One Movement.[12]

In late August 2018, one of the founders of the movement Adam Knight left to set up his own political organisation.[13][14] He later voiced his support for the Liberal Democrats.[15] The founders of United for Change are Simon Franks, Dr Saima Rana, Alex Chesterman OBE, Richard Reed CBE, Ceawlin Thynn, Ryan Wain, James Woolf.

Simon Franks has said he wants to make United for Change a grassroots movement,[16] with the aim of launching United for Change as a registered political party just after Brexit.[17]

As of June 2019, it has reportedly scaled back its ambition to win the next general election as a new party but still seeks to launch fully as a political movement once Brexit is resolved.[18]

References
  1. "United For Change Limited". suite.endole.co.uk. Endole. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  2. Henley, Peter (8 August 2018). "Who is United for change?". BBC News. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. "The plot to stop Brexit". The Spectator. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. Dunt, Ian (9 August 2018). "UK could use another centrist party, but not another anti-immigrant one". The Guardian. Opinion. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. Clark, Ross (8 August 2018). "Britain needs a party for the 'gammon' vote (blog)". The Spectator. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  6. Zoe, Williams (8 August 2018). "Being middle-aged is like taking a warm bath – if you remember not to care". The Guardian. Opinion. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  7. Savage, Michael (8 April 2018). "New centrist party gets £50m backing to 'break mould' of UK politics". The Observer. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  8. Hughes, Solomon (10 August 2018). "Who's the technocrat behind new "centrist party" United for Change?". Morning Star. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  9. Swinford, Steven (8 April 2018). "Plans for new centrist political party will "end in fiasco", says Lord Hattersley". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  10. Cole, Matthew (10 April 2018). "A new centrist party for Britain? Good luck with that". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  11. Crerar, Pippa; Savage, Michael (8 April 2018). "'A daft waste of time': Labour pours scorn on new centrist party". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  12. "Privacy notice". unitedforchange.uk. United for Change. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  13. Elliott, Francis (31 August 2018). "New centre party splits before its launch". The Times. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  14. Gartside, Ben; Payne, Adam (1 September 2018). "Inside 'United for Change,' the new centrist party trying to transform British politics". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  15. "Centrist party founder says Lib Dems could be 'real force for change'". Sunday Times. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  16. "Centre Party United for Change hopes to win party with volunteer army". The Times. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  17. "Tech tycoon Simon Franks seeks 'unknown' to head new political party United for Change". The Sunday Times. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  18. "Whatever happened to 'new centrist party' United for Change?". The Morning Star. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.

Further reading
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