Taking the Initiative Party

Last updated

Taking the Initiative Party
Leader Nicola Zingwari
FoundersCharles Gordon [1] [2]
Founded2016
Registered2 October 2017;6 years ago (2017-10-02)
HeadquartersUnit 128, 291 Kirkdale, Sydenham, SE26 4QD
Colours  Purple
Local government (principal authorities)
0 / 19,481
[3]
Website
https://www.theinitiativeparty.org.uk/

The Taking the Initiative Party (TTIP) is a British political party emerging from the Black Lives Matter movement. [4] It was formed in 2016 by Charles Gordon, [5] and was registered with the Electoral Commission in October 2017. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Contents

History

TTIP had been formed in 2016, although it registered with the Electoral Commission one year later, with an objective of nominating thirty two candidates for the Croydon London Borough Council's 2022 election. The training courses and meetups organized by the party for people with nonpolitical backgrounds has led to the TTIP being perceived as an "inclusive" and antielitist party by some. [5] Charles Gordon, a founding member of the party, said "Our overall objective is to create a parliament that reflects the multicultural society we’ve become over the years." [9]

Sasha Johnson, a leading member of the party, [10] said that it would be "the first black-led political party in the UK". [11] It was set up with the intention of focusing on education, housing, knife crime, discrimination, taxation and the benefits system. [12] The party's mission statement says, "We want to be a new voice on the political stage to channel local knowledge and expertise, to come up with creative solutions and to make sure that resources go where they are needed most." [13]

In 2021, TTIP introduced a petition calling the government to launch a database in which the identity details of persons with a history of racial or homophobic offences would be stored. The intention was to allow companies, and organisations to use such a database as part of the background check when recruiting new employees. The petition, which received 10,979 signatures, was rejected by the government on 26 January 2021. [1]

The Taking the Initiative Party made their electoral debut in the 2021 United Kingdom local elections, standing a small number of candidates in Enfield and Croydon, without success. [14] [15]

In February 2021 Trevor Phillips, former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, called the party a "bunch of idiots" and criticised the group's leader, Charles Gordon, for his anti-vaccination comments. [16]

In May 2021, Sasha Johnson was shot in the head and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Five males were arrested on suspicion of her attempted murder. [17] [18]

Croydon elections

Farah London Farah London.jpg
Farah London

Council elections

In the 2022 United Kingdom local elections, Taking the Initiative Party put forward 20 candidates for the 28 wards in Croydon. [19] They won no seats.

ElectionVotesSeatsPositionRole in Council
No. %No.
2022 4,1211.8
0 / 70
Steady2.svg 5thNo seats

Mayoral elections

Farah London, who was an independent candidate in the 2021 London mayoral election, was their Croydon mayoral candidate for the election on 5 May 2022. [20] She came sixth, [21] with 6 per cent of the vote. [22]

YearCandidatePopular vote % of votePosition
2022 Farah London5,7686.0%6th

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of London</span> Head of the government of Greater London

The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraint Davies (Labour politician)</span> Welsh Labour Co-op politician

Geraint Richard Davies is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Swansea West from 2010 to 2024. He was elected as a member of the Labour Party, but was suspended from the party in 2023 and sat the remainder of his term as an independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon Central (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974-2024

Croydon Central was a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Labour MP Sarah Jones. The seat bucked the trend in national results in 2019, with Labour holding the seat with a slightly increased majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon South (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliament constituency since 1974

Croydon South is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Chris Philp, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918-2024

Edmonton was a constituency in Greater London, created in 1918 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2015 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Kate Osamor, who was elected for the Labour and Co-operative party; she briefly lost the Labour whip between January and May 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enfield North (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Enfield North is a peripheral Greater London constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Feryal Clark of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enfield Southgate (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950-2024

Enfield Southgate was a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was created in 1950 as Southgate, and was represented from 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Bambos Charalambous, a member of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Philp</span> British politician

Christopher Ian Brian Mynott Philp is a British politician who is the current Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since July 2024. He held the post of Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire from October 2022 to July 2024. He was previously appointed to Liz Truss's cabinet from September to October 2022 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and then as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General. A member of the Conservative Party, he is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon South following his election in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston McKenzie</span> British boxer

Winston Truman McKenzie is a British political activist and perennial candidate for public office. He is currently a founder and leader of the Unity in Action Party. He has been a member of every major UK political party, and has stood as an independent or minor party candidate on numerous occasions without success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Benn</span> British politician

Emily Sophia Wedgwood Benn is an English politician, who has represented the Ward of Bread Street on the Court of Common Council of the City of London since 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in the United Kingdom</span>

There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local elections, mayoral elections, and police and crime commissioner elections. Within each of those categories, there may also be by-elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, and under the provisions of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 the timing of general elections can be held at the discretion of the prime minister during any five-year period. All other types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the devolved assemblies and parliaments can occur in certain situations. The five electoral systems used are: the single member plurality system (first-past-the-post), the multi-member plurality, the single transferable vote, the additional member system, and the supplementary vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Enfield London Borough Council election</span> 2010 local election in England, UK

The 2010 Enfield Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Enfield London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party gained overall control of the council from the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Johnson</span> British politician

Gareth Alan Johnson is a British politician and former lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford from 2010 to 2024. A member of the Conservative party, he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts from September to October 2022 in the Truss ministry. Johnson previously served as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from February to September 2022 and Assistant Government Whip from 2018 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Tower Hamlets</span> Directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

The mayor of Tower Hamlets is the directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council in east London, England. The first election for this position occurred on 21 October 2010, taking on the executive function of the borough council. The position is different from the previous largely ceremonial, annually appointed mayors of Tower Hamlets, who became known as the 'Chair of Council' after the first election and are now known as the 'Speaker of Council'. The second election was held on 22 May 2014, the same day as the Tower Hamlets Council election, other United Kingdom local elections, and European Parliament elections, but the election result was declared void by the election court. A by-election was held on 11 June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bambos Charalambous</span> British politician

Charalambos "Bambos" Charalambous is a British Labour politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Southgate and Wood Green since 2024. While in opposition he held a series of shadow ministry posts. He was suspended from the Labour Party during an investigation into a complaint against him between June 2023 and April 2024, but the complaint was not upheld.

The All People's Party (APP) was a political party established in the United Kingdom in 2013. When it was founded it had two sitting councillors in the London Borough of Southwark: Althea Smith had formerly been a member of the Labour Party. In the Southwark London Borough Council election, 2014 the APP stood 15 candidates. However, despite gaining 2,828 votes, they failed to get any councillors elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 London local elections</span>

The 2022 London local elections took place on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All London borough councillor seats were up for election. Mayoral elections took place in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets, with Croydon electing a mayor for the first time following a local referendum in October 2021.

Sasha Johnson is a British woman who has been an activist and member of Taking the Initiative Party (TTIP). A student of Ruskin College, she was involved in the Rhodes Must Fall protest, and with Black Lives Matter and Kill the Bill protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Croydon London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Croydon

In the 2022 Croydon London Borough Council election, on 5 May 2022, all 70 members of Croydon London Borough Council, and the Mayor of Croydon, were up for election. The elections took place alongside the local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom. Jason Perry of the Conservative Party narrowly won the mayoral election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Enfield London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Enfield

The 2022 Enfield London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022, alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom. All 63 members of Enfield London Borough Council were elected.

References

  1. 1 2 "BBC Radio Derby - Devon Daley, Taking the Initiative Party". BBC. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  2. ↑ Kilraine, Lottie (1 February 2021). "Government rejects petition calling for a register of bigots" . Retrieved 27 December 2021. Charles Gordon, a founding member of TTIP, said: 'We are very disappointed with the recent response from the government in relation to the register'.
  3. ↑ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections". opencouncildata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Wright, Robert (25 May 2021). "'Nothing to suggest' shooting of Black Lives Matter leader was targeted, say UK police". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Councillor training courses held to attract aspiring politicians in Croydon". London News Online. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021. The TTIP, formed in 2016 to set the agenda in government, wants to field at least 32 candidates for Croydon in the 2022 local council elections, with at least 15 candidates in other wards, such as Lewisham.
  6. ↑ "View registration". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  7. ↑ Chorley, Matt (14 February 2018). "Time for a new party. Or twelve" . The Times. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "Sasha Johnson: Five arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of activist in south London". Sky News. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Ones to Watch: Taking The Initiative Party makes its electoral debut". Operation Black Vote. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021. The party was registered with the electoral commission almost four years ago, but saw its national presence rise against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.
  10. ↑ "Who is Sasha Johnson? The 'fearless political campaigner' who has faced 'numerous death threats'". Sky News. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Jones, Amy (26 October 2020). "'Black Lives Matter' registers as political party and could stand in local elections next year". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "The candidates hoping to win in Southbury by-election". Enfield Independent. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "Sasha Johnson: who is Black Lives Matter activist shot in Peckham - and what is Taking The Initiative Party?". The Scotsman. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Enfield By-Election results - Southbury, Chase and Jubilee Ward results announced · Enfield Council". 6 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Council by-election results - 6 May 2021 | Croydon Council".
  16. ↑ Phillips, Trevor (6 February 2021). "Minority groups should ignore the anti-vax charlatans". The Spectator. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  17. ↑ "Sasha Johnson: Five held on suspicion of attempted murder". BBC News. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Porter, Tony (29 May 2021). "Teenager appears in court over shooting of Taking the Initiative leader Sasha Johnson, 27, in Peckham on Sunday". London News Online. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  19. ↑ "Candidates for election on 5 May 2022 | Croydon Council". 6 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "South London Press". edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk. 21 January 2022. p. 20. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  21. ↑ "Croydon Mayor Election 2022 Candidates and Results". BBC News.
  22. ↑ "5 May 2022 Election Results - Mayoral election results". Croydon Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.