More United was[2] a cross-party political movement in the United Kingdom. It described itself as a "tech-driven political startup" that supported candidates regardless of party affiliation.[3] The movement advocated for public service investment, democratic reform, a green economy, tolerant society, and co-operation with the EU.
More United took its name from the maiden speech delivered by Jo Cox,[4] a British MP who was murdered in June 2016.
The movement said it would support any candidate from any party who backed its values and pledged to advance them in Parliament:[5]
Following the result of the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, in which the country voted to withdraw from the European Union, there was considerable media discussion concerning the future of the British centre ground.[6][7] Press rumours of a split in the Labour Party had occurred since Jeremy Corbyn's election as leader in 2015; this intensified after pro-EU members of his shadow cabinet resigned in protest of his allegedly weak support for the Remain campaign, leading to a leadership challenge by Owen Smith. The Conservatives also faced the prospect of an ideological split, as some pro-EU Conservatives feared the potential consequences of Andrea Leadsom defeating Theresa May in the leadership election;[6] Leadsom ultimately withdrew from the race, handing unopposed victory to May. Paddy Ashdown, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, wrote an article in The Times accusing both parties of failing to provide reasonable solutions to the issues afflicting communities across Britain.[8]
More United was founded in July 2016 by a team drawn from business, academia, and politics: Austin Rathe, Bess Mayhew, Corinne Sawers and Maurice Biriotti.[9] They received support from cross party MPs, led by Paddy Ashdown. It was dissolved in January 2023.[10]
More United voted to support Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Olney, who subsequently defeated the incumbent MP, Zac Goldsmith, in December 2016.[11]
On 23 November 2016, More United launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to help support candidates. By 22 December, the campaign had raised £274,164.[12]
(Please note it was not uncommon for More United to endorse more than one candidate in the same seat)[14]
Following the 2017 election, More United conducted UK-wide and online consultations with supporters to identify their priorities for the movement. The issues supporters identified as being the most important to campaign on were the NHS, equality and Brexit.
In February 2017, More United launched a campaign to secure a Parliamentary debate on how Brexit would impact the NHS, arguing that the government had not given this question sufficient consideration. Thousands of supporters were mobilised to contact their MPs in support of the campaign, which led to 47 MPs from five parties submitting a request for a backbench business debate. That debate was held in Parliament on 22 March.
In April 2018, More United supported the launch of a legal challenge against the government, led by three deaf and disabled candidates of different parties, all of whom were also Members of More United. The focus of the challenge was to get the government to restore a Fund that existed from 2012 to 2015 to help deaf and disabled candidates of all parties, at all levels, with the extra costs of standing for election. The Fund was frozen and placed under review in 2015, but no findings from the review or a decision on the Fund's future had been published in nearly three years. More United launched a campaign alongside the legal challenge, with thousands of supporters signing a petition to get the government to restore the Fund.
This campaign received endorsement from 19 of the UK's most prominent deaf and disabled people, who came together from across the realms of business, entertainment, academia and politics to publish an open letter of support in The Sunday Times. The campaign also received backing from three disabled MPs from three parties. Labour MP Marsha de Cordova, Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Lloyd and Conservative MP Robert Halfon co-wrote a letter to the Home Office asking for the immediate restoration of the Fund.
In addition to its founders, a number of prominent public figures endorsed the movement's launch, with the following being listed as the organisation's Convener's:[15]