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London, February 19
A group of independent candidates who fought the June 2017 General Election on an anti-Brexit platform today officially launched a political party that will tour the UK with its message to prevent Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU).
Renew, which launched its national campaign and candidate mobilisation programme in London on Monday, claims to have recruited over 1,000 supporters and more than 300 candidates from “outside the political system” all over the UK to stand in local and national elections on a “Rethink Brexit, Renew Britain” agenda.
“Renew has enjoyed overwhelming support for its centrist agenda and platform to address inequality from a position of strength as a full EU member,” the party said in a statement. “Renew aims to recruit 650 candidates to stand in every Parliamentary constituency in any future election and to campaign to Remain in the EU in any vote on the final deal,” it notes.
The party’s first major challenge will be to contest the local elections scheduled for May this year, with the next General Election due in 2022. Renew, founded by former financier Chris Coghlan who stood as an independent candidate from Battersea in south London in June 2017, describes its mission statement as reversing Brexit and restoring Britain’s influential position in Europe.
“The Brexit referendum was a wake-up call that we are a nation divided, with deep discontent at inequality. Leaving the EU will only make things worse. We should reconsider Brexit, now we know more," said Sandra Khadhouri, a former journalist and UN worker who is one of Renew's three "principals". The other principals of the party include James Torrance, an accountant and marketing professional who has worked in India in the past, and James Clarke, a startup strategy consultant. — PTI
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