Who is West of England Combined Authority candidate Arron Banks?
On Thursday 1 May voters across the West of England will decide the next regional mayor.You can find more information about the election and the candidates here.The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is a local authority encompassing the council areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and South Gloucestershire. The authority is led by the West of England Mayor.Arron Banks is standing for the Reform UK party.
A businessman and Leave campaigner
Businessman Arron Banks, who founded the Leave.EU campaign with current Reform MP Richard Tice, was previously one of the largest donors to UKIP. He came to political prominence in 2014 when he announced a £1m pound donation to the party, then led by his friend and associate, Nigel Farage.Before becoming involved in politics, Mr Banks founded Bristol-based insurance broker Brightside and later GoSkippy.
Born in Cheshire, raised in South Africa, and now lives in South Gloucestershire
Mr Banks was born in Cheshire in 1966 and raised in South Africa and Basingstoke.He ran Norwich Union's regional office in Bristol after in the 1990s and has stayed near the City ever since.He now lives in a manor in Thornbury.
A controversial candidate
Mr Banks is no stranger to controversy, having ploughed millions of his own money into the Leave.EU campaign, he wrote a book about his experience during the referendum titled "The Bad Boys of Brexit."Investigations into the sources of his wealth and claims of his relationship with the Russian state led to a high court battle with journalist Carole Cadwalladr in 2022.He lost the case following a five-day hearing at the High Court, but was successful in partially reversing the decision at the Court of Appeal in 2023. Ms Cadwalladr was ordered to pay about £1.2m in legal costs.He's already claimed that "Bristol is really corrupt," and that as Metro Mayor he intends to, "take the statues out of the river where they were dumped and put them back up and be damned proud of our history".This is presumably in reference to the Edward Colston Statue, which was torn down during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and thrown in the harbour. It was later recovered and is currently in the possession of Bristol Museums.
Its just not cricket
Mr Banks is a big cricket fan and is the chair of Thornbury Cricket Club. He has also sponsored Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and is a supporter of the clubs plans to move away from their current home in Bristol to a purpose built facility in South Gloucestershire, close to the M4. Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire last year he said: "I'm a massive cricket fan, I see there's an opportunity for Gloucestershire, it's just spectacularly badly run."His plan to take over the running of the club, however, appears to have been unsuccessful so far.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Zia Yusuf returns to Reform UK just 48 hours after quitting as chairman
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South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Zia Yusuf returns to Reform UK just 48 hours after quitting as chairman
The 38-year-old businessman said his decision to stand down had been the result of 'exhaustion' and working for 11 months 'without a day off'. Party leader Nigel Farage, speaking to the Sunday Times newspaper alongside Mr Yusuf, said the former chairman will now effectively be doing 'four jobs', though his title has not yet been decided. Mr Yusuf's new formal title is yet to be decided (Stefan Rousseau/PA) He will lead Reform's plans to cut public spending – the so-called 'UK Doge', based on the US Department of Government Efficiency which was led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The ex-chairman will also take part in policymaking, fundraising and media appearances. Mr Yusuf said he was quitting Reform following the latest in a series of internal rows, in which he described a question to the Prime Minister concerning a ban on burkas from his party's newest MP as 'dumb'. Announcing his resignation on Thursday afternoon, he said: 'I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.' Mr Yusuf said he had been left feeling undervalued by some in the party and drained after being subjected to relentless racist abuse on X, and made the comments in 'error'. 'I spoke to Nigel and said I don't mind saying I made an error. It was a function of exhaustion,' he said. Asked about the row over talk of banning the burka, Mr Yusuf said he 'certainly did not resign because I have any strong views about the burqa itself' but felt blindsided by Sarah Pochin's question to Sir Keir Starmer. He said that 'if there were a vote and I was in parliament, I would probably vote to ban it actually' but that 'philosophically I am always a bit uneasy about banning things which, for example, would be unconstitutional in the United States, which such a ban no doubt would be'. Reform will hope the show of unity between Mr Farage and the former chairman is enough to quell concerns about internal personality clashes, amid recent scrutiny of the leader's fallings out with former allies. It follows the suspension of MP Rupert Lowe from the party following complaints about his conduct, which he denied, and suggested the leader had a tendency to row with colleagues he felt threatened by. Labour branded Mr Yusuf's return a 'humiliating hokey-cokey' and said working people could not afford 'the risk of economic chaos with Reform UK'. Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves said: 'Reform's revolving door shows that the party is all about one person – Nigel Farage. 'Zia Yusuf's humiliating hokey-cokey is laughable but there is nothing funny about Farage's £80 billion in unfunded commitments. 'His reckless plan is Liz Truss's disastrous mini-budget on steroids and would spark economic chaos that increases bills and mortgages. 'Working people simply can't afford the risk of economic chaos with Reform UK.'
