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One Leicester is a locally-based political party in Leicester, England. Promoting localism, it was founded by Rita Patel, a former assistant mayor.[1]
History
editPatel, who was assistant mayor for adult social care and for communities,[2] founded the party after being suspended from the Labour Party following an attempt by her and two other Labour councillors to abolish the office of the Mayor.[3] The party was founded in August 2023, promising a referendum on the Mayoralty if elected; the launch coincided with the suspension by Patel's former party Labour of the whole Leicester East party.[4][5] Patel had earlier stood as an independent for the mayoralty with a pledge to abolish the role, losing to incumbent Peter Soulsby.[6]
In May 2024, councillor Diane Cank joined One Leicester. A long-standing representative of Troon Ward, Cank had left Labour in August 2023 and had sat as an independent.[2]
Electoral history
editIn May 2024, Fizza Askari stood for One Leicester to be Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner.[7][8]
Former Labour MP Keith Vaz stood for the party in Leicester East in July 2024, the constituency he stood down from in 2019 following a sex and drugs scandal.[1][9] He announced his campaign for One Leicester while still a member of Labour, from which he was expelled.[10]The Guardian said his campaign was "well-publicised and slick", receiving support from Shilpa Shetty.[11] Election pledges included donating his salary to charity and having his office open every day.[12] He came fifth, with 3,681 votes (7.9%)[13] The party's candidate for Leicester West was businessman Rahoul Naik.[14]
In February 2026, Alef Uddin stood for the party in a council by-election in Stoneygate, coming third with 638 votes.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 Everquill, Rhys; Richardson, Hannah (1 July 2024). "Leicester East: your guide to the 2024 general election". Leicester Gazette.
- 1 2 Richardson, Hannah (29 May 2024). "Leicester's newest political party gets first elected councillor". Leicester Mercury.
- ↑ Richardson, Hannah (7 June 2024). "Former MP Keith Vaz to stand in Leicester East". Leicester Gazette.
- ↑ Syal, Rajeev (31 Aug 2023). "Labour suspends Leicester East CLP over alleged rule-breaking". The Guardian.
- ↑ Moorhouse, Sam (29 August 2023). "New political party launched in Leicester by former assistant mayor". Leicester Mercury.
- ↑ Moorhouse, Sam; Martin, Dan. "New city political party seeks mayoral referendum". BBC News.
- ↑ Richardson, Hannah (10 April 2024). "Five candidates vying to be Leicestershire's new Police and Crime Commissioner - here are the details". Harborough Mail.
- ↑ "Fizza Askari". Choose my PCC.
- ↑ Patel, Asha (7 June 2024). "Keith Vaz to stand as MP for Leicester East". BBC News.
- ↑ Syal, Rajeev; Murray, Jessica (7 June 2024). "Disgraced Keith Vaz expelled from Labour as he stands for One Leicester party". The Guardian.
- ↑ Syal, Rajeev (25 June 2024). "Labour silence could lead to re-election of disgraced Keith Vaz, mayor says". The Guardian.
- ↑ Sigsworth, Tim (7 June 2024). "Keith Vaz to run against Labour at election". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2024-06-07.
- ↑ "Leicester East results". BBC News. July 2024.
- ↑ Richardson, Hannah (29 May 2024). "Political party One Leicester declares first General Election candidate". Leicester Mercury.
- ↑ James, Caitlin (20 February 2026). "Green Party take Labour stronghold seat in 'breathtaking' Leicester by-election win". Leicester Mercury.