A crowdfunding campaign set up after the murder of the MP Jo Cox, whose stated intention is to promote democracy, is funding anti-Brexit parliamentary candidates who aim to defy the will of the British people.
The ‘More United’ group claims to promote “progressive” causes, listing their “5 values for a fair and positive society” as “opportunity, tolerance, democracy, environment [and] openness”.
The group, founded in July, has already amassed a £370,000 anti-Brexit war chest and hopes to double the fund before the election.
A dozen Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Green Party candidates have applied for aid from More United, who promise to “help get them elected, by giving them the money and volunteers they need to win”. Members are currently voting and successful applicants will be announced tomorrow.
On the group’s website, they claim to have as many as 78,000 supporters and volunteers who could be mobilised in marginal seats around the country.
Previous beneficiaries include Labour’s Gareth Snell, who fought UKIP in the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election in February and called Brexit a “pile of shit”, and Sarah Olney of the Lib Dems, who beat Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park after promising to “vote against” Article 50.
Labour candidates who have applied for funding include Liz Kendall, the candidate for Leicester West, who has requested £10,000, and Clive Lewis, for Norwich South, who has asked for £5,000.
Vix Lowthion of the Green Party and Amna Ahmad of the Lib Dems are among the other applicants.
Bess Mayhew, More United chief executive, told The Times: “Our members are alarmed at the growing division in our politics and society, and they are telling us they feel relieved that there is something they can do to make a difference.
“We are doing something unheard of in British politics: we want people across the political spectrum to agree and unite around the values we share.
“We have supporters, we have money, we have a long-term plan, and we’re mobilising a digital disruption of the politics of the status quo.”