One Love Party
Founded12 October 2015 (12 October 2015)
Dissolved19 December 2017 (19 December 2017)
IdeologyTechno-progressivism
Colours  
Black and white
Website
http://www.oneloveparty.eu

The One Love Party was a minor political party in the United Kingdom that identified itself as techno-progressive.[1] The party campaigned for clean air and a federal union of the world.[2] It was founded in 2015[3] and its first contest was in the 2016 London mayoral election.[4]

The party was led and founded by Ankit Love, a musician and film maker.[5] It was statutorily deregistered on 19 December 2017.[3] Love continues to stand in elections as an independent candidate.

History

The One Love Party was founded in Hackney, London by Ankit Love and his friend from Cambridge University, Finn Grant.[6][7][8] The party was set up in a dormitory room at a youth hostel.[9][10]

The One Love Party was registered with the Electoral Commission on 12 October 2015.[3] In 2016, Pax Brown became the party's general-secretary.[9][11]

In May 2016, Love stood in the London mayoral election[12] and was the youngest candidate to do so.[10][8] His campaign focussed on London's housing crisis and air pollution in the capital.[13] Love, who was technically homeless during the campaign,[9][14] claimed not to have spent more than "a couple of thousand" pounds on the campaign.[14] Nevertheless, Love had almost twice as many Facebook followers as the campaign's frontrunners, Sadiq Khan (Labour) and Zac Goldsmith (Conservative).[8] Love came last with 4,941 first preference votes (0.2%).[15]

Love subsequently stood for the party in the Tooting by-election, which was called after Khan, the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP), was elected as Mayor of London. During the election campaign, Love released a rap video depicting a map in which the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is an independent country; such representations are illegal under Indian law.[16] Love obtained 32 votes (0.1%), coming 10th out of 14 candidates.[17]

On 15 September 2016, the party achieved its best electoral result by vote share: French artist Dawa Ma won 494 first-preference votes (1.5%) in the Hackney mayoral by-election, campaigning for a second referendum on the UK's membership in the European Union.[18]

Love stood in the Batley and Spen by-election on 20 October 2016.[19] Love wanted to unite Britain on the air pollution issue, claiming that it would kill 200,000 people in the UK over the next five years.[20] He came last with 34 votes (0.2%).[21]

Emilia Rose Arnò stood for the One Love Party in the Witney by-election, which took place on the same day as the Batley and Spen by-election. Arnò's campaign called for emergency action on air pollution and better youth enfranchisement.[22] She came second to last with 44 votes (0.1%).[23]

Love stood in the Richmond Park by-election on 1 December, using the title of Maharaja Jammu and Kashmir, with plans to reunite India and Pakistan,[24][25] and end the potential for a nuclear war between the two countries, embroiled in 69 years of armed conflict in Kashmir.[26] His vote total of 67 represented 0.1% of those voting. He came seventh out of eight candidates.

The One Love Party was statutorily deregistered with the Electoral Commission on 19 December 2017.[3]

Love stood as an independent in the 2023 Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, under the name "Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India", getting 34 votes, and also stood under the same name in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election, two weeks later, getting 27 votes.[27][28]

Policies

The party described itself as "techno-progressive".[29]

The party proposed legalising, licensing and taxing drugs such as cannabis in the hope of ending the war on drugs and reducing violent crime.[9][8][30] Love claimed that the prohibition of drugs "was originally based on racism, and it funds all the criminal activity in our society."[9] During the London mayoral campaign, it proposed to do this through municipality-owned licensed dispensaries.[9][14][31]

The party called for a vote on the final Brexit deal, which would have enfranchised citizens of the European Union resident in the United Kingdom and 16- and 17-year-olds. Because EU citizens could not vote in it, the party claimed that the Brexit referendum was illegal, violating the Lisbon Treaty and the European Convention on Human Rights.[32]

During the London mayoral election campaign, the party endorsed Terry Farrell's proposal to build six new bridges across the River Thames in order to boost the regeneration of East London and provide 47,000 homes.[33][34] The party also pledged to introduce "discount travel cards for Londoners"[35] and make higher education free for London residents up to PhD level.[14][35]

During the Tooting by-election campaign, Love favoured bringing the Crossrail 2 line through Tooting Broadway and voiced his opposition to HS2.[16]

Environment

The One Love Party's priority issue was air pollution.[35] It campaigned for immediate emergency action to bring fossil fuel emissions to zero by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and Royal Prerogative to force all power production, shipping, aviation and automobile companies to convert to only clean energy sources.[1][29] The party pledged to ban all cars except electric and hydrogen vehicles.[36] Love had previously called for the army to organise a military coup d'état and overthrow David Cameron, then the Prime Minister, on the issue of air pollution.[8][14]

During the London mayoral election campaign, the party called for a ban on all fossil fuel emissions vehicles from the capital.[14] Love called for the city's cycle superhighways to be suspended from the railway network.[14] The party would have converted all water vessels from bunker fuel to hydrogen fuel, solar or SkySails.[33] The party also pledged to increase the use of driverless electric vehicles,[35] reduce the cost of installing solar panels in residential homes,[35] adopt electric and hydrogen-powered buses,[34] scrap the Garden Bridge project,[8] cancel the Silvertown tunnel project, revive the Thames' eel population and investigate the potential of new moorings.[33] Love also called for adverts for cars to be banned in the same way as adverts for cigarettes.[8] During the Hackney mayoral by-election campaign, the party called for a monument to remember the victims of air pollution akin to a war memorial.[36]

Technology

In agreement with its techno-progressive philosophy, the party supported the expansion of drones, driverless cars, robotic technology and artificial intelligence, stating that these would make more efficient use of scarce resources even if they increased unemployment.[29]

The One Love Party believed in an accelerated program of space exploration, including the colonisation of Mars and Venus and the mining of asteroids to mitigate economic scarcity.[29]

They had pledged to establish a London municipal space program to detect unknown asteroids on a collision course with Earth.[14]

By applying robotic technology and artificial intelligence, the party wished to abolish personal income taxes and introduce a universal basic income for all citizens.[37] During the London mayoral election campaign, the party pledged to introduce Li-Fi networks[34] and use maintenance drones to oversee roadworks and street and building repairs.[35] Love said that he wanted London to be the first major city "to have driverless cars on an everyday basis."[34]

Electoral performance

Summary of One Love Party and later Ankit Love election results
Election Date Type Candidate Votes Vote share Position
2016 London mayoral election[15][lower-alpha 1] 5 May 2016 Mayoral Ankit Love 4,941 0.2% 12th of 12
2016 Tooting by-election[17] 16 June 2016 Parliamentary Ankit Love 32 0.1% 10th of 14
Hackney mayoral by-election, 2016[18][lower-alpha 1] 15 September 2016 Mayoral Dawa Ma 494 1.5% 5th of 5
2016 Batley and Spen by-election[21] 20 October 2016 Parliamentary Ankit Love 34 0.2% 10th of 10
2016 Witney by-election[23] 20 October 2016 Parliamentary Emilia Arno 44 0.1% 13th of 14
2016 Richmond Park by-election[38][lower-alpha 2] 1 December 2016 Parliamentary Ankit Love 67 0.2% 7th of 8
2017 general election (Cities of London and Westminster constituency)[39][lower-alpha 3] 8 June 2017 Parliamentary Ankit Love 59 0.2% 7th of 8
2023 Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election[40][lower-alpha 4] 5 October 2023 Parliamentary Ankit Love 34 0.1% 13th of 14
2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election[41][lower-alpha 4] 19 October 2023 Parliamentary Ankit Love 27 0.1% 12th of 13

Notes and references

Notes

  1. 1 2 The vote and vote share are for first-preference votes only.
  2. ↑ Love contested the by-election under the name of "Maharaja Jammu and Kashmir".
  3. ↑ Love contested the election under the name of "Ankit Love The Maharaja of Kashmir".
  4. 1 2 Love contested the by-election under the name of "Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India" but without the One Love Party affiliation, instead standing with no description on the ballot paper.

References

  1. 1 2 Loeb, Josh (August 22, 2016). "'Techno-progressive' One Love Party fields candidate Dawa Ma for Mayor of Hackney". Hackney Citizen. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ "One Love Party - Official Site". Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "View registration - One Love Party". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  4. ↑ Joshi, Amita (April 14, 2016). "Mayoral elections: 11 things the One Love Party want to change". Get West London. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Meet Ankit Love, the 'Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir' who was running for London Mayor". Business Insider (India). Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  6. ↑ Joshi, Amita (April 7, 2016). "'We're revolutionaries and we're going to win' - One Love Party". Get West London. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  7. ↑ Andrei, Thomas (May 5, 2016). "The unknown revolutionary royal who wants to be London's next Mayor". Huck Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2016. Weigel likens Ankit to that character who steals every scene in a sitcom, the guy the studio audience cheers for whenever he opens the door. It's a pretty solid endorsement, of his character at least.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Miller, Lucy (May 4, 2016). "Free university and legal drugs: meet Ankit Love, the London mayoral candidate you've never heard of". The National Student. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Noble, Tim (May 4, 2016). "Meet the Millennial Mayoral Candidate Who's Going to Legalise Weed and Solve the Housing Crisis". Vice. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Bose, Adrija (May 2, 2016). "Meet Ankit Love, The 32-Year-Old 'Maharaja Of Jammu & Kashmir' Running For London Mayor". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  11. ↑ Bartholomew, Emma (May 4, 2016). "Mayoral candidate drew up manifesto while homeless and living in Hackney hostel". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  12. ↑ Heritage, Stuart (May 5, 2016). "From pints to propaganda... it's the London mayoral election awards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ Downer, Martin (May 4, 2016). "Kashmiri 'Maharajah' bidding to be London mayor". Gulf News. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kirkinis, Andreas (May 5, 2016). "The ex-MTV sensation aiming to be London's pro-weed mayor". Dazed. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  15. 1 2 "London Mayor and Assembly 2016 election results". BBC News. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Taylor, Rebecca (June 15, 2016). "'Only God can judge me': One Love candidate releases rap video as he pledges to fight for cleaner air". Wandsworth Guardian. Retrieved October 19, 2016. The video shows him performing, against images of a map of an independent Sovereign State of Jammu-Kashmir, which could land Mr Love in prison, as images showing this as a separate nation are now against Indian law
  17. 1 2 "2016 Tooting Constituency by-election result - 16 June | Wandsworth Council". www.wandsworth.gov.uk. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Mayoral by-election, Thursday 15 September 2016 | Hackney Council". www.hackney.gov.uk. May 3, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Batley and Spen - 20 October 2016 By-election". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  20. ↑ "'Love' candidate to contest poll". The Press News. July 22, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016. He claimed to be standing in memory of Mrs Cox with the aim of uniting the public on air pollution... he claimed that air pollution will kill 200,000 people in Britain over the next five years.
  21. 1 2 "Election results for Batley and Spen, 20 October 2016". Kirklees Council. October 20, 2016. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Witney by-election: The candidates". BBC News. October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016. Ms Arno says she felt "it was about time that the youth have an official political platform from which to express their views and get their voices heard"... It campaigns strongly for emergency action to deal with what it calls the air pollution pandemic.
  23. 1 2 Oliver, Matt (October 21, 2016). "As it happened: Conservative Robert Courts elected as Witney's new MP". Witney Gazette. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  24. ↑ "A Dogra bids to make it in UK politics – again". Hindustan Times. Prasun Sonwalkar. November 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016. He has plans for peace in Jammu and Kashmir and the reunification of India and Pakistan.
  25. ↑ "British Kashmiri To Stand For UK By-Election". NDTV. November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  26. ↑ Ul-Hassan, Ishfaq (May 5, 2016). "Prince of peace' Ankit Love tries his luck at London's mayoral polls". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved January 8, 2017. Ankit's concept of a confederation of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is the best solution to 69 years of ongoing armed conflict... there by ending the potential of an apocalyptic nuclear war in the region
  27. ↑ "Rutherglen and Hamilton West By-election results". South Lanarkshire Council. October 5, 2023.
  28. ↑ Folrrest, Adam (October 20, 2023). "Full results for Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth as Labour by-election wins smash records". The Independent.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Loeb, Josh (May 9, 2016). "Meet the candidates for Hackney Mayor: Dawa Ma, One Love". Hackney Citizen. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  30. ↑ "End War on Drugs". One Love Party. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  31. ↑ Lowe, Josh (May 6, 2016). "What's it like to run for Mayor of London?". Newsweek. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  32. ↑ "NPP Chief appeals Hackney electorate to vote One Love Party in Mayor By-Election". Pakistan Christian Post. September 9, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  33. 1 2 3 "One Love Party candidate Ankit Love's policies for the Thames". River Thames News. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  34. 1 2 3 4 "MAYORAL ELECTION: candidates for UKIP and the One Love party layout their plans for London - Southwark News". Southwark News. May 4, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Joshi, Amita (April 14, 2016). "Mayoral elections: 11 things the One Love Party want to change". getwestlondon. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  36. 1 2 Loeb, Josh; Schöffmann, Katharina; Eckersley, Max (October 26, 2016). "Reborn river among weird and wonderful ideas as council invites masterplan feedback". Hackney Citizen. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Manifesto". One Love Party. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Election results for Richmond Park, 1 December 2016". richmond.gov.uk. December 1, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  39. ↑ "2017 General Election - Cities of London and Westminster". Parliament.uk. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  40. ↑ Meighan, Craig (October 6, 2023). "Scottish Labour wins key Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election". STV News. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Mid Bedfordshire Parliamentary by-election result". Central Bedfordshire Council. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
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