Video
Rachel Johnson and Gavin Esler among Change UK MEP candidates in EU election launch
Rachel Johnson has announced she will stand as a Change UK MEP candidate in the Eu elections . Picture: PA/Stefan Rousseau - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Two unexpected figures have emerged - seemingly from the heart of the Brexit establishment - as pro-EU MEP candidates at Change UK's EU elections launch.
Both Rachel Johnson, the outspoken anti-Brexit sister of Boris Johnson and regular contributor to The New European, and former BBC Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler are among the candidates to be MEPs.
Change UK, which sprung from the 11 former Tory and Labour MPs who broke from their parties to form the Independent Group in February, announced their candidates at a press conferencein Bristol today.
Johnson said at the event: 'I'm sure that Boris understands why this is not a vote against Boris.
You may also want to watch:
'This is a vote for change.
'We need to move the dial.
Most Read
- 1 Brexiteer Prue Leith quits Tory Party after government votes down motion to protect UK food standards
- 2 Public slams Brexit Party tweet which shames Tory MPs who voted against free school meals
- 3 Piers Morgan must expose the government's Brexit betrayal
- 4 Group in protest against Tory MPs who voted down free school meals targets offices with empty plates
- 5 Peers set to remove law-breaking sections of Boris Johnson's Brexit bill
- 6 Tory minister blames journalists for NHS Test and Trace failure as he defends Dido Harding
- 7 Michel Barnier postpones Brussels return as Brexit trade talks in London continue
- 8 Brexit shambles: A stress of our own making
- 9 Priti Patel set to hand private firms £28 million in government contracts to deport asylum seekers from UK
- 10 Boris Johnson and Priti Patel urged to end 'attacks' on lawyers in letter by 800 legal professionals
'People need to have a say.'
Veteran journalist Esler said: 'I have never been a member of a political party but I am now.
'I have never been a candidate in an election but I am now.
'I have never been seriously worried about the future of our country but I am now.
'Our political system is a joke.
'It is a worldwide joke.
'They are laughing at us - not with us, at us.'
Interim party leader MP Heidi Allen told the event that 3,700 people had offered to stand as party candidates in the European elections.
'This is no rebel alliance - this is the home of the Remain alliance,' she said.
They will stand in the European elections on May 23, which look overwhelmingly likely after the Brexit delay.
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
