News / Arron Banks
Arron Banks announced as Reform’s metro mayor candidate
Arron Banks, a multi-millionaire businessman and co-founder of Leave.EU, has been announced as Reform UK’s candidate for the West of England mayoral election scheduled for May.
On Friday night, Reform UK announced the Thornbury-based businessman as the party’s official candidate at their election launch in Birmingham.
The party’s X account released a video of Banks that emphasised Britain’s need for reform. In the video, which includes clips of Banks’ public appearances over the years, the businessman can be heard saying he “doesn’t care” about upsetting people and will continue to speak his mind out.
He adds: “I’m a local businessman. I built three direct insurance businesses and employed nearly 10,000 local people in the insurance industry.
Banks continued: “I looked at what the actual incumbent mayor has achieved and it’s almost next to nothing. He’s handed out a few annual bus passes on his birthday and that’s about it. He did manage to put his face on a bus, but from actually achieving anything he’s achieved nothing.
“Bristol is the home of the Greens, but local residents in Bristol are beginning to realise that they just don’t even get their bins emptied. Their services are going to pieces and their local councillors would rather spend money on politically motivated ‘wokery’ than actually delivering core services.”
He also stated that if people kept voting Green or Labour they will get “what they deserve” which he went on to clarify was a “city in decline”. Banks further said that if he was a young person in the UK, he’d leave the country.
The Reform UK candidate urged people to “Vote Banksy for Bristol” and that he’d be very pleased if the Bristol-based artist were to put a £100,000 picture on the back of Banks’ house.
The Thornbury-based businessman is no stranger to controversy and can be recalled for his £8m donation to the Leave.EU campaign during the 2016 EU referendum. In 2018, he was referred to the National Crime Agency after being suspected of criminal offences during the referendum.
In 2019, both Leave.Eu and Banks’ insurance firm Eldon were fined £120,000 for data law breaches.
The other candidates for the West of England mayoral election are Helen Godwin (Labour), Oli Henham (Lib Dems), Mary Page (Greens), Steve Smith (Conservative) and Ian Scott (independent).
Main photo: Refrom UK
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