Make Politicians History was a minor
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
political partyA political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
that advocated the abolition of
ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in favour of devolution to
city-stateA city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s and decision-making by
referendumA referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
. Its leader was
Ronnie CarrollRonnie Carroll is a Northern Irish singer and entertainer.-Career:...
. Since the 1980s, the group has stood under various descriptions, including
Vote For Yourself,
www.xat.org and
Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket.
Founding
The group originated in the 1980s as the
Rainbow Alliance of several small groups, founded and led by
Rainbow George WeissRainbow George Weiss son of a diamond merchant, is a fringe UK politician who stood in 13 constituencies at the 2005 General Election....
, which Weiss says was after he was contacted by "an extraterrestrial soulmate called Sterling Silver". It stood a variety of candidates, often on frivolous platforms. The first candidate was Weiss in the
Enfield Southgate by-election, 1984The Enfield Southgate by-election, 1984 was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 December 1984 for the British House of Commons constituency of Enfield Southgate.- Previous MP :...
;
Michael PortilloMichael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...
won and Weiss polled 48 votes. In the Hampstead and Highgate constituency at the
1992 UK general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, they stood three candidates. Some minor celebrities such as
Cynthia PayneCynthia Payne is a retired English party hostess who made the headlines in the 1970s and 1980s when she was accused of being a madam and of running her brothel at 32 Ambleside Avenue, in Streatham, in the south-west of London, England.Payne first came to national attention in 1978 when police...
and
Malcolm HardeeMalcolm Hardee was an English comedian, author, comedy club proprietor, compère, agent, manager and "amateur sensationalist"....
stood for the group.
Vote For Yourself
The renamed Vote For Yourself Dream Ticket party stood Weiss as its candidate in all four Belfast seats in the
2001 UK general electionThe United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, pledging to rename Britain and Ireland as the "Emerald Rainbow Isles", to replace the currency with the "Wonder", made up of 100 "gasps", to make utilities, healthcare and education free, and to cancel all debt.
They then stood three candidates in the
2003 Northern Ireland Assembly electionThe second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
, receiving a total of 124 votes.
The party put up candidates in 22 constituencies in the
2005 UK general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, six in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, four in
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and twelve in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Among the party's candidates was David Kerr, a former member of the
National FrontThe National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
, a member of
Ulster Third WayThe Ulster Third Way is the Northern Ireland branch of the Third Way and is organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' as well as for the British National Front.As well as sharing the Third Way's aims U3W is committed to securing independence...
, and editor of
Ulster Nation, and Lynda Gilby, a Belfast journalist. They came last or second-last in every seat in which they stood. Weiss stood in 13 London seats, receiving a total of 1,289 votes. In the
Cardiff NorthCardiff North is aborough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
constituency, candidate Catherine Taylor-Dawson, a singer-songwriter, received only one vote, thus setting a new record for the lowest vote for any parliamentary candidate under universal suffrage. The single vote was not cast by Taylor-Dawson, as she was not registered to vote in that constituency.
Make Politicians History
The Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket was renamed Make Politicians History on 26 September 2005, led by
Ronnie CarrollRonnie Carroll is a Northern Irish singer and entertainer.-Career:...
. The first action was to announce in January 2006 a referendum fronted by snooker player
Alex HigginsAlexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
, in which postcards were sent to all residents in
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
calling for the city to be renamed "Best" and made self-governing. The party wanted Ulster residents to make decisions issue by issue through an electronic voting system. The party released a music CD,
Lets Tick Together in May 2006. Weiss stood in the four Belfast constituencies in the
Northern Ireland Assembly electionsThe third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...
in 2007, receiving a sixth preference vote from Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. Ronnie Carroll stood in the
Haltemprice and Howden by-election, 2008The 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election was a by-election held in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2008 to elect a new Member of Parliament for constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
and received 29 votes. A "Brand Spanking New London Party" with
Russell BrandRussell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
as its candidate for
Mayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
was announced, but did not stand.
Disbanding
The party was disbanded in April 2009, reportedly due to Weiss being impressed at the progress of the Northern Ireland peace process after the
Massereene Barracks shootingThe 2009 Massereene Barracks shooting occurred on 7 March 2009, when two off-duty soldiers of the 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead outside Massereene Barracks in Antrim town, Northern Ireland. Two other soldiers and two civilian delivery men, one Polish and one Northern Irish, were also shot and...
, and it was deregistered on 8 June 2009.
External links