This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/05/change-uk-name-splitters-splitting-up
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Farewell to Change UK – we hardly knew your name | Farewell to Change UK – we hardly knew your name |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| After just three months, the party that was supposed to be Britain’s answer to Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance (formerly known as En Marche!) has split after taking just 3.4% of the vote in the EU elections. Six of Change UK’s MPs, including the interim leader Heidi Allen and spokesperson Chuka Umunna, have left the party to sit as independents, with (highly plausible) rumours that they will go on to join the Lib Dems. | After just three months, the party that was supposed to be Britain’s answer to Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance (formerly known as En Marche!) has split after taking just 3.4% of the vote in the EU elections. Six of Change UK’s MPs, including the interim leader Heidi Allen and spokesperson Chuka Umunna, have left the party to sit as independents, with (highly plausible) rumours that they will go on to join the Lib Dems. |
| It would be tempting to point out how this is a bit like Brian McFadden splitting from his own solo career after leaving Boyzone. Or take cheap shots about how they’re so crap that they’ve rehabilitated the Lib Dems, like a political version of a frat-boy wingman deliberately making themselves look rubbish in order to let Vince Cable look “bang-worthy”. Or mock the fact that the new party is now called – and I’m not even remotely kidding, Continuity Change UK – like a kids’ rock band thinking it’s cool to name themselves Hot Ice. | It would be tempting to point out how this is a bit like Brian McFadden splitting from his own solo career after leaving Boyzone. Or take cheap shots about how they’re so crap that they’ve rehabilitated the Lib Dems, like a political version of a frat-boy wingman deliberately making themselves look rubbish in order to let Vince Cable look “bang-worthy”. Or mock the fact that the new party is now called – and I’m not even remotely kidding, Continuity Change UK – like a kids’ rock band thinking it’s cool to name themselves Hot Ice. |
| But this split isn’t anything to be happy or smug about. It’s especially not a time for gloating from other parties. Laughing at Change UK from a position of being affiliated with another party at the moment is like a trouserless clown laughing at a second clown because their trousers fell down. Nobody is coming out of this looking dignified. | But this split isn’t anything to be happy or smug about. It’s especially not a time for gloating from other parties. Laughing at Change UK from a position of being affiliated with another party at the moment is like a trouserless clown laughing at a second clown because their trousers fell down. Nobody is coming out of this looking dignified. |
| Mocking a party that’s already a fragment for fragmenting again isn’t going to unfuck the dire political situation we’re in. | Mocking a party that’s already a fragment for fragmenting again isn’t going to unfuck the dire political situation we’re in. |
| Shortly after the party forms, former Labour MP Angela Smith is heavily criticised for referring to people from minority backgrounds as having a "funny tinge" | Shortly after the party forms, former Labour MP Angela Smith is heavily criticised for referring to people from minority backgrounds as having a "funny tinge" |
| After renaming itself Change UK, the party gets into a row with petition site Change.org, who release a statement warning it will be "seeking guidance" over the "imitation" of its brand | After renaming itself Change UK, the party gets into a row with petition site Change.org, who release a statement warning it will be "seeking guidance" over the "imitation" of its brand |
| Two election candidates are forced to resign within 24 hours of each other after offensive tweets emerge, including Joseph Russo, the party's top Scotland candidate, writing 'black women scare me' | Two election candidates are forced to resign within 24 hours of each other after offensive tweets emerge, including Joseph Russo, the party's top Scotland candidate, writing 'black women scare me' |
| Lead Scottish candidate defects to the Lib Dems a week before European elections | Lead Scottish candidate defects to the Lib Dems a week before European elections |
| MP Joan Ryan implores the audience at the party's Bath rally to look at their palms: 'It's there, the future is in your hands' | MP Joan Ryan implores the audience at the party's Bath rally to look at their palms: 'It's there, the future is in your hands' |
| Party leader Heidi Allen suggests Change UK may not exist at general election. 'Will I stand again [...] as Change UK, in whatever format? Let's hope, depends when next general election comes,' she says | Party leader Heidi Allen suggests Change UK may not exist at general election. 'Will I stand again [...] as Change UK, in whatever format? Let's hope, depends when next general election comes,' she says |
| In the week before the European parliamentary elections it emerges that Change UK spent £87,000 on Facebook adverts, becoming the biggest single political advertiser on Facebook - including spending at least £1,300 promoting Facebook adverts saying it was campaigning to 'remain in the UK' | In the week before the European parliamentary elections it emerges that Change UK spent £87,000 on Facebook adverts, becoming the biggest single political advertiser on Facebook - including spending at least £1,300 promoting Facebook adverts saying it was campaigning to 'remain in the UK' |
| Six of Change UK’s 11 MPs, including its spokesman Chuka Umunna and interim leader Heidi Allen, abandon the fledgling party. Former Conservative business minister and anti-Brexit campaigner Anna Soubry becomes leader. | Six of Change UK’s 11 MPs, including its spokesman Chuka Umunna and interim leader Heidi Allen, abandon the fledgling party. Former Conservative business minister and anti-Brexit campaigner Anna Soubry becomes leader. |
| And the party that had more names than it did months, funny though that objectively is, did start from a position of principle. Whether you agree with it or not, their decision to leave both parties was a bold move, and you have to respect them at least a tiny bit for that. | And the party that had more names than it did months, funny though that objectively is, did start from a position of principle. Whether you agree with it or not, their decision to leave both parties was a bold move, and you have to respect them at least a tiny bit for that. |
| But it did sort of go downhill from there. For people who thought they were going to save us from Brexit, these months must have been like watching a version of Star Wars where Luke shows up to fight and finally defeat Vader only to watch him slip, accidentally shit himself, and then run away from the fight desperately trying mop up the mess with a spare Ewok while blurting out embarrassing secrets. | But it did sort of go downhill from there. For people who thought they were going to save us from Brexit, these months must have been like watching a version of Star Wars where Luke shows up to fight and finally defeat Vader only to watch him slip, accidentally shit himself, and then run away from the fight desperately trying mop up the mess with a spare Ewok while blurting out embarrassing secrets. |
| Let’s take a look at some of their highlights and over-analyse where they might have gone wrong. | Let’s take a look at some of their highlights and over-analyse where they might have gone wrong. |
| The new non-racist party? Yep, knocked that out of the park | The new non-racist party? Yep, knocked that out of the park |
| Fair play, they said they were going to do it differently, and they did. Most parties standing on the platform of being anti-racist would probably leave it a few weeks before doing a racism. This bunch of spritely young go-getters knocked that it of the park on day one, when Angela Smith appeared to refer to people from BAME backgrounds as having a “funny tinge” just two hours after the new, non-racist party officially launched. | Fair play, they said they were going to do it differently, and they did. Most parties standing on the platform of being anti-racist would probably leave it a few weeks before doing a racism. This bunch of spritely young go-getters knocked that it of the park on day one, when Angela Smith appeared to refer to people from BAME backgrounds as having a “funny tinge” just two hours after the new, non-racist party officially launched. |
| Later on, several candidates for the EU elections had to step down after it turned out one of them tweeted: “Black women scare me. I put this down to be [sic] chased through Amsterdam by a crazy black whore”, and another wrote “70% of the pickpockets caught on the [London Underground] are Romanian”. | Later on, several candidates for the EU elections had to step down after it turned out one of them tweeted: “Black women scare me. I put this down to be [sic] chased through Amsterdam by a crazy black whore”, and another wrote “70% of the pickpockets caught on the [London Underground] are Romanian”. |
| Granted, in the era of Johnson and Trump, this is positively governmental. | Granted, in the era of Johnson and Trump, this is positively governmental. |
| They won the cringeworthy competition, hands down (no, really) | They won the cringeworthy competition, hands down (no, really) |
| With strong competition, the most cringeworthy moment came when Joan Ryan MP asked a rally of adults to look at their hands. | With strong competition, the most cringeworthy moment came when Joan Ryan MP asked a rally of adults to look at their hands. |
| “You’re really good, you’re doing that ever so well,” she told them, complimenting the way, to reiterate, a crowd of grown adults were looking at their own hands. “That’s the best I’ve seen it done, brilliant.” | “You’re really good, you’re doing that ever so well,” she told them, complimenting the way, to reiterate, a crowd of grown adults were looking at their own hands. “That’s the best I’ve seen it done, brilliant.” |
| She then went on to tell the audience: “That’s it, it’s there, that’s the answer to this. [The future is] in your hands.” | She then went on to tell the audience: “That’s it, it’s there, that’s the answer to this. [The future is] in your hands.” |
| Five centrists in the audience are believed to have cringed to death. | Five centrists in the audience are believed to have cringed to death. |
| Brand recognition? What’s wrong with a barcode, anyway? | Brand recognition? What’s wrong with a barcode, anyway? |
| What every new party needs is brand recognition. Labour has the rose, Tories have the tree. Ukip has a lion that looks like it’s overcome with worry that the more xenophobic Ukip members will find out that as a lion he’s not as “from Kent”, as he implied on his CV. | What every new party needs is brand recognition. Labour has the rose, Tories have the tree. Ukip has a lion that looks like it’s overcome with worry that the more xenophobic Ukip members will find out that as a lion he’s not as “from Kent”, as he implied on his CV. |
| Change UK commissioned designers and eventually thought: “Yep, what we need is a big barcode. When people think of CHUK I want them subconsciously thinking of how much of a ball-ache it is to scan stuff in Tesco.” | Change UK commissioned designers and eventually thought: “Yep, what we need is a big barcode. When people think of CHUK I want them subconsciously thinking of how much of a ball-ache it is to scan stuff in Tesco.” |
| It’s all in the name. Or names. Hold on, what are they called? | It’s all in the name. Or names. Hold on, what are they called? |
| When it comes to names, quantity has never been a problem for Change UK, originally called The Independent Group (TIG), aka the Tiggers. | When it comes to names, quantity has never been a problem for Change UK, originally called The Independent Group (TIG), aka the Tiggers. |
| Keen to avoid the accusation that the whole thing was an ego project, it quickly got changed to Change UK or CHUK, which by wild coincidence is the first four-fifths of Chuka Umuna’s first name. | Keen to avoid the accusation that the whole thing was an ego project, it quickly got changed to Change UK or CHUK, which by wild coincidence is the first four-fifths of Chuka Umuna’s first name. |
| Problems not over, the petition site Change.org sought legal guidance, believing that the name was too similar to its own and infringed on its brand. This was sort of backed up a bit when Anna Soubry accidentally (and passionately) announced “we call ourselves change.org” when she announced the new name to the House of Commons. | |
| The surviving members of the split have saved the situation by renaming themselves Continuity Change UK (CCUK), clearly wanting their first act as a renewed political party to be a bitter fight for a name with a charity, say Crohn’s and Colitis UK who also go by the acronym of CCUK. | The surviving members of the split have saved the situation by renaming themselves Continuity Change UK (CCUK), clearly wanting their first act as a renewed political party to be a bitter fight for a name with a charity, say Crohn’s and Colitis UK who also go by the acronym of CCUK. |
| Naming take-home: keep a handle on it | Naming take-home: keep a handle on it |
| Due to constant name changes, they had trouble keeping up with their own admin. When they changed their Twitter handle, their old handle got hijacked by a pro-Brexit group that tweeted out messages like “I’d like to apologise to the British people for the absolute fucking state of me and my views” under pictures of Soubry’s face. | Due to constant name changes, they had trouble keeping up with their own admin. When they changed their Twitter handle, their old handle got hijacked by a pro-Brexit group that tweeted out messages like “I’d like to apologise to the British people for the absolute fucking state of me and my views” under pictures of Soubry’s face. |
| And the ultimate no-no: telling people to vote for a different party | |
| On a big list of political no-nos, telling people to vote for a party other than your own is up there with (allegedly) recording a pee tape in Russia, but that’s what Change UK did during the first election it ever fought. | On a big list of political no-nos, telling people to vote for a party other than your own is up there with (allegedly) recording a pee tape in Russia, but that’s what Change UK did during the first election it ever fought. |
| Change UK loses six of its 11 MPs after dire EU elections result | Change UK loses six of its 11 MPs after dire EU elections result |
| One MP spent the last week in the run-up to the EU elections spreading a message to the effect of “Hi, I’m Heidi Allen of the Independent Group or Change UK, or whatever the shit we’re calling ourselves these days. Anyway, as I was saying, please vote Lib Dem.” | One MP spent the last week in the run-up to the EU elections spreading a message to the effect of “Hi, I’m Heidi Allen of the Independent Group or Change UK, or whatever the shit we’re calling ourselves these days. Anyway, as I was saying, please vote Lib Dem.” |
| Though it was probably the right move for the remain cause during the EU elections, campaigning for a different party isn’t great for party cohesion and was one of the reasons that seems to have caused the split. | Though it was probably the right move for the remain cause during the EU elections, campaigning for a different party isn’t great for party cohesion and was one of the reasons that seems to have caused the split. |
| Unfortunately, analysis shows that if they hadn’t existed at all, maybe remain parties would have got another crucial seat. Their main problem, if they want to achieve the goal of remaining in the EU, may just be one of existing in the first place – rather than skipping to the part where they regenerate into Lib Dems. | Unfortunately, analysis shows that if they hadn’t existed at all, maybe remain parties would have got another crucial seat. Their main problem, if they want to achieve the goal of remaining in the EU, may just be one of existing in the first place – rather than skipping to the part where they regenerate into Lib Dems. |
| • James Felton is a TV and radio comedy writer | • James Felton is a TV and radio comedy writer |
| Change UK – The Independent Group | Change UK – The Independent Group |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Chuka Umunna | Chuka Umunna |
| Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Heidi Allen | Heidi Allen |
| European Union | European Union |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |