Actor Laurence Fox of TV drama Lewis fame has announced that he is launching a new political party, tentatively named "Reclaim". Known for his conservative views, the party is described as Ukip [UK independent party] formed to fight the cultural wars and reclaim the glory of the country.
The actor is said to have raised £1m, former Tories being his major donors. He has also launched a website LaurenceFoxParty to announce the views of his party. Fox is all set to officially launch the party in October. Currently he is waiting for the Electoral Commission's approval for the name "Reclaim Party."
Fox's Party Attracting Conservative Voters
The website claims that the main aim of the party is to reform, publicly funded institutions, protect free speech, and preserve Britain's cultural history. According to Daily Mail, the party does not promote left or right wing ideologies but is likely to act as a broad church.
Reports claim that Fox's party has been established as a forum of political movement. Fox in a statement had said that Britain is in desperate need of a new political movement that promises to make the future of the citizens a shared endeavor, not a divisive one.
Daily Mail also reported that according to a Westminster source, Fox's party is likely to attract hundreds of thousands of voters who are unhappy with the current conservative representation in the UK politics. Due to his conservative views, Fox is not new to controversies.
Fox And Controversies Surrounding Him
In an interview with The Sunday Times in April 2020, Fox had spoken about his clash with his brother-in-law Richard Ayoade, who is also an actor and comedian. When Fox asked Ayoade, who is half Nigerian, to support his views on social media, he became furious and declared that Fox had the conservative views because he has never encountered racism. Fox had retaliated and said that he had experienced racism. "I've encountered racism from black people towards me, when I was working in Kenya, as a safari driver, for seven months," Fox had said.
Fox also made headline in January, when he took part in BBC's Question Time. During the show, he said that media was treating the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle without any racial motivation. He even called the issue boring and said, "It's not racism. We're the most tolerant lovely country in Europe."
Fox was also slammed by fans when he shared a private message of his Lewis co-star Rebecca Font on Twitter. Font had blocked Fox following his tweets on #AllLivesMatter. Fox had shared the messages of heated argument between the both after she blocked him on Twitter. Fox later apologized to Font.
Fox is known for his TV drama Lewis that aired between 2006 and 2015. He also appeared in the recent movie Becoming Jane. He was also seen in 2020 Netflix drama White Lines.
