Brexit Party candidate wants to be UK’s first transgender MP
Jessica Swift. (The Brexit Party)
The Brexit Party has chosen a transgender woman to stand in Lincolnshire at the next general election.
Jessica Swift, 52, will be the candidate for Grantham and Stamford.
The Brexit Party made the announcement on August 5.
Swift is currently the finance and systems director at the Fruehauf Group, a Grantham business that makes tipping trailers for lorries.
If elected at the next general election, Swift could become the first openly trans MP in Westminster.
Swift said, “I feel so lucky to live in beautiful Lincolnshire, a safe and vibrant county which I would be proud to represent in Westminster for The Brexit Party.
“I am a passionate supporter of education, which has the power to change lives. And as a proud as a transwoman, I will always fight for equality and the rights of all groups in society.
https://twitter.com/brexitparty_uk/status/1158316716998430725?s=20
“Working as the finance director of a large local manufacturer and software company has helped give me a strong understanding of how important business is as the engine of our economy.
“I am new to politics and hope to bring fresh ideas to Westminster. I am shocked by what has happened in Parliament since the referendum and believe our country is being betrayed.
“As an MP I will do all I can to protect democracy from the anti-Brexit political elite.”
First transgender councillor in Lincolnshire resigned
Lincolnshire’s first openly trans councillor, Stephanie Dale, resigned from her role on Sleaford Town Council in December 2018.
Dale, 50, cited a “hate campaign” against her as the reason for her quitting.
She had been a Labour councillor on the town council since 2017 but said that she was “constantly being attacked by gender critical radical feminists and others jumping on the bandwagon to ‘have a dig’.”
“I will continue to do all I can for this town, in every aspect, and champion all the good that’s achieved by the community and all councils alike. But what I won’t do, is stand back and be quiet and allow perpetuated lies, and those supporters of them, to continue to undermine me or people in this town,” Dale said.
To date, no trans MP has been elected. In the 2017 snap election, seven trans people stood as candidates but none were elected.
