Trust (British political party)

Trust was a minor political party in the United Kingdom formed on 26 March 2010 by Stuart Wheeler in the wake of the Westminster expenses scandal.[1][2] It unsuccessfully fielded two candidates at the 2010 general election.

Trust
LeaderStuart Wheeler
Founded2010
Dissolved2011
Headquarters83 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0HW
Website
http://thetrustparty.co.uk/dead link]

2010 general election

Both of the party's candidates were former Conservatives.

Stuart Wheeler, who contested the Sussex constituency of Bexhill and Battle, is a businessman who donated £5 million to the Conservatives in 2001. He was expelled from the Conservative Party for donating £100,000 to United Kingdom Independence Party in 2009.[3] Wheeler claimed that his opponent in Bexhill and Battle, Gregory Barker MP, escaped criticism from David Cameron over his expenses as an ally of the Conservative Party leader.[4] Barker called Wheeler's campaign "an attempt to cash in on genuine public concerns about the Parliamentary expenses scandal by peddling the most extraordinary untruths about my own Parliamentary claims and expenditure."[5]

The party's other candidate was Douglas Taylor. Taylor had been Conservative candidate at the Western Isles in 2001, and in Perth and North Perthshire in 2005.[6] Taylor stood again on the Trust Party ticket in Perth and North Perthshire.

Election results
General Election 2010: Bexhill and Battle[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gregory Barker 28,147 51.6 −2.6
Liberal Democrats Mary Varrall 15,267 28.0 +5.3
Labour James Royston 6,524 12.0 −5.9
Trust Stuart Wheeler 2,699 4.9 N/A
BNP Neil Jackson 1,950 3.6 N/A
Majority 12,880 23.6 −7.9
Turnout 54,587 68.9 +2.1
Conservative hold Swing −4.0
General Election 2010: Perth and North Perthshire[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Pete Wishart 19,118 39.6 +5.9
Conservative Peter Lyburn 14,739 30.5 +0.2
Labour Jamie Glackin 7,923 16.4 −2.3
Liberal Democrats Peter Barrett 5,954 12.3 −3.8
Trust Douglas Taylor 534 1.1 N/A
Majority 4,379 9.1 +5.8
Turnout 48,268 66.9 +3.0
SNP hold Swing +2.9

Politics

The party's policies included introducing a parliamentary court with the power to jail MPs who commit fraud,[4] ending MPs' second-home allowances, 'exposure of false claims' about global warming, promoting marriage, improving treatment of wounded soldiers, reducing the power of the European Union and preventing torture of suspected terrorists.[9]

Dissolution

The party was dissolved soon after the 2010 election. One set of accounts was submitted to the Electoral Commission noting that the party had no members and no cash or fixed assets, having been financed by private donations, the balance of which had been repaid to the donors. The accounts noted that the party "won little support in the constituencies and decided not to continue".[10] In January 2011 Wheeler joined the United Kingdom Independence Party as treasurer.[11]

References
  1. "Register of political parties - Trust". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  2. "About Trust". Trust. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  3. "Ex-Tory donor launches Trust Party on expenses pledge". BBC News. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  4. "Tycoon's new party aims to win Trust of the voters". Your Canterbury. 4 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  5. "Barker slams rival campaign as "unfounded smears"". Rye & Battle Observer. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  6. "Selected Candidates". Trust. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  7. BBC - Election 2010 - Bexhill & Battle
  8. BBC - Election 2010 - Perth & Perthshire North
  9. Jarrett, Nigel (1 April 2010). "New Party leader squares up to MP Barker". Hastings Observer. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  10. "The Trust Party - Statement of Accounts" (PDF). Electoral Commission. 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  11. "Latest News - Wheeler joins UKIP as Treasurer". Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
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