Rejoin EU is a

pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...

minor political party in the United Kingdom, advocating for the country's re-entry into the European Union following its withdrawal, commonly known as

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

. It was launched in February 2020.

Brendan Donnelly Brendan Kevin Donnelly (born July 4, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A right-hander, Donnelly pitched for twenty-one teams (two of them independents), twelve organizations, two independent leagues, eleven organi ...

is the current leader and Richard Hewison is the current treasurer. The party has 1 elected representative. Party chairman Andrew Smith, was elected to the parish council in Goring-on-Thames, South Oxfordshire in 2022.

History

2021 Richard Hewison was the party's candidate in the

2021 London mayoral election The 2021 London mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of London. It was held simultaneously with 2021 London Assembly election, elections for the London Assembly, 2021 United Kingdom local elections, other local elections ...

, and was endorsed by

Volt UK Volt United Kingdom, commonly known as Volt UK, is a pro-European political party in the United Kingdom. It is the British branch of Volt Europa, a political movement that operates on a European level. History Volt UK was founded in London on 6 ...

. He came eighth out of twenty candidates, with 1.1% of the vote. The party stood candidates in the Chesham and Amersham by-election, Batley and Spen by-election and North Shropshire by-election, each time receiving less than 0.5% of the votes. Hewison stood for the party in the

2021 Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup on 2 December 2021, following the death of the sitting member of parliament, James Brokenshire, who had been the Conservative MP for the constituency since 2010. ...

and received 0.7% of the vote. 2022 In July 2022, the party's chairman Andy Smith won a seat in

Goring-on-Thames Goring-on-Thames (or Goring) is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England. Situated on the county border with Berkshire, it is south of Wallingford and north-west of Reading. It had a population of 3,187 in ...

Parish Council, marking the party's first electoral success. In November 2022, Hewison stood as the party's candidate in the City of Chester by-election, winning 1.0% of the vote. In December 2022, Jim Newell stood for Rejoin EU in the

2022 Stretford and Urmston by-election A by-election was held in the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Stretford and Urmston on 15 December 2022, following the appointment of sitting Labour MP Kate Green as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester. Green was appointed as St ...

and won 1.3% of the vote. 2023 In July 2023, Hewison stood as a candidate in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, receiving 0.3% of the vote. 2024 In the 2024 London Assembly election, the Rejoin EU Party increased its vote share on the London-wide list to 2.5%, up from 1.9% in 2021. 2024 general election Rejoin EU stated it intended to stand 26 candidates in the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, including their leader

standing in

Finchley and Golders Green Finchley and Golders Green is a constituency created in 1997. It is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Sarah Sackman of the Labour Party. Boundaries The constituency covers Finchley, Golders Green, Childs Hill, Te ...

. The party got 9,245 votes, all candidates lost their

election deposits In an electoral system, a deposit is the sum of money that a candidate for an elected office, such as a seat in a legislature, is required to pay to an electoral authority before they are permitted to stand for election. Typically, the deposit co ...

and all candidates achieved under 2% of the vote. 2025 John Stevens was a candidate for the party in the

2025 Runcorn and Helsby by-election A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Runcorn and Helsby was held on 1 May 2025, the same day as local elections in England. Following a recount, Sarah Pochin of Reform UK won the by-election with a majority of six ...

References

{{Reflist, 2 2020 establishments in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 2020 Pro-European political parties in the United Kingdom