Peter Whittle (politician)

Last updated

2014–2017
Peter Whittle
Peter Whittle (Cropped) (38016814542).jpg
Whittle in 2017
Leader of the Brexit Alliance in the London Assembly
In office
13 December 2018 –6 May 2021		 Culture
Residence(s) London, England
Alma mater University of Kent
CommitteesConfirmation Hearings Committee
GLA Oversight Committee
Police and Crime Committee

Peter Robin Whittle (born 6 January 1961) is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who served as a Member of the London Assembly from 2016 to 2021 and as Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to Paul Nuttall from 2016 to 2017. He is the founder and director of the New Culture Forum think tank and host of So What You're Saying Is..., a weekly cultural and political interview show on YouTube.

Contents

After a career in media in the United Kingdom and United States, Whittle founded the New Culture Forum in 2006. He joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and was the party's candidate for the 2016 London mayoral contest, which was held at the same time as his election to the London Assembly. He served as the party's deputy leader between November 2016 and October 2017 and was a prominent, but unsuccessful, candidate in the 2017 UKIP leadership election.

Whittle resigned as UKIP's London Assembly leader in January 2018, following Henry Bolton's refusal to stand down following a vote of no confidence in his leadership by UKIP's National Executive Committee. He resigned his membership of UKIP in protest at Gerard Batten's leadership in December 2018, after which he served as leader of the new Brexit Alliance in the London Assembly and as chairman of the Assembly's audit panel.

Early life

Whittle was born in the General Lying-in Hospital in Waterloo, London. [1] Shortly after his birth Whittle's family moved across South East London, from Peckham to Shooter's Hill. Whittle attended The John Roan School, Orpington College and the University of Kent, where he obtained a BA in history and politics. [2] [3]

Career

Television and newspapers

Between 1991 and 2003 Whittle worked as a TV producer and director of arts and factual programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, including a prolonged stint at the long-running TV arts series The South Bank Show , as well as USA Network and Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, living for five years in Los Angeles. [4] [5] [6]

As a journalist he was an arts and film critic for national and international publications including The Times , The Sunday Times and the Los Angeles Times , as well as a columnist for Standpoint magazine (for which he wrote "Whittle's London"). [2] [7] Starting with regular contributions as a cultural commentator and critic on BBC Two's Newsnight Review (later The Review Show ) in the 2000s, Whittle has made appearances in the broadcast media, on programmes such as Question Time and The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One, and Start the Week , Any Questions? and The Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

New Culture Forum

In 2006 Whittle founded the New Culture Forum (NCF), a think tank whose mission is described as "challenging the cultural orthodoxies dominant in the media, academia, education, and British culture in its widest sense." [14] Speakers at NCF events, including for its annual keynote Smith Lecture, have included Martin Amis, Dame Vivien Westwood, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Nigel Farage, Justin Webb, Sir Anthony Seldon, Petroc Trelawny, Ed Vaizey, Melanie Phillips, Brendan O'Neill and Owen Jones. Writers for the New Culture Forum have included Douglas Murray, Julie Bindel, Ed West and Dennis Sewell. [15]

In 2019 Whittle launched the New Culture Forum channel, a YouTube channel which aims to redress the balance which it claims is currently lacking in the mainstream media. Now one of the UK's most popular conservative/rightwing channels, the NCF channel currently provides three distinct programmes: "So What You're Saying Is...", "NCF CounterCulture" and "NCF Newspeak". [16] [17]

Hosted by Whittle himself, So What You're Saying Is...is the New Culture Forum's flagship interview programme and is named after a phrase repeatedly uttered by Cathy Newman of Britain's Channel 4 News during a combative interview with the Canadian psychologist and professor of psychology Jordan Peterson. The interview, regarded by many commentators as symbolic of a wider problem amongst the mainstream media, became a viral phenomenon, with critics alleging Newman's preconceptions led her to misinterpret Peterson and alter his statements. [18] [19]

Covering newsworthy cultural, social and political topics, So What You're Saying Is... features 30-60 minute discussions with experts, notable figures and others from fields such as journalism, academia, politics and activism. Guests and topics have included Peter Hitchens and Sir Roger Scruton on conservatism, Laurence Fox on the Reclaim Party, Ann Widdecombe on free speech, Dave Rubin on the culture wars and Robin Aitken on bias at the BBC. [16] [17]

Following the success of "So What You're Saying Is...", Whittle launched "NCF CounterCulture", a cultural and socio-political discussion show. Hosted by Whittle, the weekly programme features a panel composed of a resident panelist (the author & historian Rafe Heydel-Mankoo) and 2-3 guest panelists. Guest panelists have included Lionel Shriver, Claire Fox, James Delingpole, Charles Moore and Andrew Klavan. [16] [17]

The NCF channel's third weekly programme, NCF Newspeak, provides a platform for individuals to personally address the public on a relevant subject of their choosing by means of a short, self-authored speech direct to camera. [16] [17]

Politics

At the 2006 local elections in Greenwich, Whittle unsuccessfully contested the Blackheath Westcombe ward for the Conservative Party. [20]

Whittle became UKIP's cultural spokesman in 2013, [21] and stood for Eltham at the 2015 general election, coming third with 15% of the vote, with a share surpassing both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party. [3]

In September 2015, Whittle was selected as the UKIP candidate for Mayor of London, as well as topping the party list for election to the London Assembly. [6] He was subsequently elected as a London Assembly Member in the Assembly elections of May 2016. [22] [23]

Whittle in the London Assembly Peter Whittle AM.png
Whittle in the London Assembly

On 12 October 2016, Whittle announced his intention to stand for UKIP leader in November's election called following the resignation of Diane James after just 18 days; however, on reflection, he decided to stand for the position of deputy leader instead and was duly successful in this candidature. On 28 November 2016, it was announced that Whittle was the new deputy leader of UKIP, replacing Paul Nuttall, then newly appointed as party leader. Following the election of Henry Bolton as leader of UKIP in October 2017, Whittle left the role of deputy leader and was appointed UKIP spokesman for London affairs (the party's leader in the London Assembly). [24] He resigned as London spokesman on 22 January 2018, following Bolton's refusal to stand down after a vote of no confidence in his leadership by UKIP's National Executive Committee. [25]

In December 2018, Whittle resigned from UKIP in protest at Gerard Batten's leadership. [26] He then served as an independent member of the London Assembly and leader of the Assembly's Brexit Alliance group, as well as chairman of the London Assembly's audit panel and a member of its police and crime committee, the Greater London Authority (GLA) oversight committee and confirmation hearings committee. [27] The Brexit Alliance was a GLA grouping of independents and not a registered political party, and it consisted of Whittle and David Kurten, who continued to be a member of UKIP until January 2020. [28]

He did not seek re-election at the 2021 London Assembly election.

Personal life

Whittle previously lived in south east London. [29] He is openly gay and was the only LGBT candidate selected by any of the parties for the 2016 London mayoral election. [30]

As of 2022, he lives in Windsor, Berkshire. [31]

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Independence Party</span> British political party

The UK Independence Party is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament and was the largest party representing the UK in the European Parliament. The party is currently led by Neil Hamilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Farage</span> British broadcaster and politician (born 1964)

Nigel Paul Farage is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party from 2019 to 2021. Farage is currently the Honorary President of Reform UK and a presenter for GB News. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 until the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard Batten</span> Former leader of the UK Independence Party

Gerard Joseph Batten is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 2004 to 2019.

This article lists the election results and representation of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) with respect to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Scottish Parliament, Senedd, Northern Ireland Assembly, London Assembly, European Parliament and local authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Arnott</span> Brexit Party politician

Jonathan William Arnott is a British politician and former schoolteacher. After the 2014 European Parliament election, he served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North East England region. Originally sitting as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) representative, he resigned from the party on 19 January 2018 to sit as an independent until designating as Brexit Party on 17 April 2019.

Margaret Lucille Jeanne Parker is a British former politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands region between 2014 and 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 London mayoral election</span> 2016 election for the Mayor of London

The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016 to elect the Mayor of London, on the same day as the London Assembly election. It was the fifth election to the position of mayor, which was created in 2000 following a referendum in Greater London. The election used a supplementary vote system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Aker</span> British politician

Timür Mark "Tim" Aker is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region. He was elected as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate in 2014. He was head of UKIP's Policy Unit from August 2013 to January 2015, and was UKIP's candidate for the Thurrock constituency in the 2015 general election, coming third in a close 3-way election. Aker left UKIP and joined the Thurrock Independents where he also successfully sought election a councillor in 2018, before later joining the Brexit Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Etheridge</span> UKIP politician

William Milroy Etheridge is an English politician who was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West Midlands region. He was elected in 2014 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate, but left the party in October 2018 and joined the Libertarian Party. He joined the Brexit Party in 2019 but rejoined UKIP in September 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Liberal Democrats</span> London branch of the Liberal Democrats

The London Liberal Democrats are the regional party of the Liberal Democrats that operates in Greater London. The organisation is associated with the English Liberal Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Bolton (British politician)</span> Former Leader of the UK Independence Party, Territorial Army officer and police officer

Henry David Bolton is a former British politician who was the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 29 September 2017 to 17 February 2018. He served in the British Army, attaining the rank of lance corporal, and went on to reach the rank of captain following his transfer to the Territorial Army from the Regular Army. Bolton has also served as a police officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Kurten</span> British politician (born 1971)

David Michael Kurten is a British politician who has served as leader of the Heritage Party since September 2020. He was previously a member of the London Assembly (AM) for Londonwide from 2016 to 2021. Elected as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate, he subsequently left the party in January 2020. He is the registered leader of the Heritage Party and characterises himself as a social conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 London Assembly election</span> Delayed London local elections (held in 2021 rather than as planned in 2020)

The 2021 London Assembly election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the members of the London Assembly, alongside the 2021 London mayoral election. The mayoral and Assembly elections were originally to be held on 7 May 2020, but on 13 March 2020 it was announced the election would be postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the sixth election since the assembly was established in 2000. Due to the previous term being extended to 5 years, those elected will serve only a three-year term until the next election in 2024. The election was held on the same day in 2021 as other elections in the UK; the UK local elections, Scottish Parliament election, and Welsh Senedd election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July–September 2016 UK Independence Party leadership election</span> United Kingdom independence party (UKIP) leadership election

The September 2016 UK Independence Party leadership election was triggered after Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, announced on 4 July 2016, following the Leave result in the UK referendum on EU membership, that he would step down when a new leader had been elected.

The November 2016 UK Independence Party leadership election took place following the announcement on 4 October 2016 by Diane James, the leader-elect of the UK Independence Party, that she would not accept the leadership of the party, despite winning the leadership election 18 days earlier. Nigel Farage, whom James was to succeed after the previous leadership election following his resignation, was selected the next day to serve as interim leader.

The 2017 UK Independence Party leadership election was called following the resignation of Paul Nuttall as leader of the UK Independence Party on 9 June 2017, following the poor performance of the party in the 2017 general election. Former party chairman Steve Crowther was chosen three days later to serve as interim leader.

The 2018 UK Independence Party leadership election was triggered after members voted to remove Henry Bolton as leader of the UK Independence Party at an extraordinary general meeting held in Birmingham on 17 February 2018. It was the fourth UKIP leadership election in eighteen months. Interim leader Gerard Batten was ultimately elected unopposed as the party's new leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reform UK</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit. It gained 29 seats and the largest share of the national vote in the 2019 European Parliament election, but failed to win any seats in the December 2019 General Election. After Brexit, it was renamed Reform UK in 2021 and became an anti-lockdown party during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, it began campaigning on broader right-wing populist themes during the cost-of-living crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brexit Alliance</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Brexit Alliance was a British political technical group formed on 12 December 2018 by Peter Whittle and David Kurten. They were elected to the London Assembly in 2016 as UK Independence Party (UKIP) representatives, but when Whittle announced he was leaving the party, the new group was formed. This was because to qualify as a group on the Assembly, at least two members are needed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage Party (UK)</span> Political party in United Kingdom

The Heritage Party is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist, and socially conservative political party in the United Kingdom, founded in October 2020 when then-London Assembly Member David Kurten left the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to form the party. Kurten was also a member of the Brexit Alliance, a Eurosceptic technical group he formed in 2018 with fellow former UKIP member Peter Whittle.

References

  1. ↑ "IMDb biography: Peter Whittle". IMDb . Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 'WHITTLE, Peter Robin', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017
  3. 1 2 "UKIP announces Mayoral candidate and list for GLA" (Press release). UKIP. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Whittle, Peter (7 May 2008). Look at Me: Celebrating the Self in Modern Britain. London: Social Affairs Unit. ISBN   9781904863311. ASIN   1904863310.
  5. ↑ "New Culture Spokesman Peter Whittle" . Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  6. 1 2 "UKIP selects Peter Whittle as London mayoral candidate". BBC News. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Whittle's London". Standpoint . Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Profile of Newsnight Review panellist Peter Whittle". Newsnight Review . 23 April 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "Question Time 09/02/2017". Question Time . Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "Andrew Marr Show 26/02/2017". The Andrew Marr Show . Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "Start The Week 28/03/2011". Start the Week . Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  12. ↑ "Any Questions 03/12/2016". Any Questions . Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  13. ↑ "The Moral Maze 14/07/2010". The Moral Maze . Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  14. ↑ "New Culture Forum Facebook Page". Facebook . Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  15. ↑ "New Culture Forum Events". New Culture Forum. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "New Culture Forum Events". New Culture Forum. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "New Culture Forum" . Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  18. ↑ Doward, Jamie (21 January 2018). "'Back off', controversial professor urges critics of C4 interviewer". The Observer . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  19. ↑ "Security for British TV personality bolstered after interview with Jordan Peterson". Toronto Star . Canadian Press. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  20. ↑ Teale, Andrew. "2006 - Greenwich". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  21. ↑ Banham, Mark (26 September 2015). "Ukip chooses Peter Whittle as London Mayor candidate ahead of deputy chair Suzanne Evans". International Business Times. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "Results 2016". London Elects. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "London Mayoral Election 2016: Labour dominate vote". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  24. ↑ Walker, Peter (18 October 2017). "New Ukip leader Henry Bolton reveals frontbench lineup". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  25. ↑ Heffer, Greg (22 January 2018). "UKIP crisis as top figures quit and tell leader Henry Bolton to go". Sky News. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  26. ↑ Peter Whittle AM (7 December 2018). ""I have today resigned from UKIP. My letter of resignation can be read here.."". Twitter.com. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  27. ↑ "Peter Whittle London Assembly". The London Assembly. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  28. ↑ "Ukip London Assembly members form new Brexit Alliance group". Evening Standard. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  29. ↑ "Peter Whittle". london.gov.uk. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  30. ↑ Duffy, Nick (26 September 2015). "UKIP picks gay candidate Peter Whittle to run for Mayor of London". Pink News. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  31. ↑ "Peter Whittle on Instagram: "The glamour of broadcasting from home...talking to GBNews today from Windsor. Thanks to @willow_pontino for helping and taking this pic"". Instagram. Retrieved 13 July 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.