Catherine Blaiklock
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Catherine Anne Blaiklock (born April 1963) is an English nationalist politician, financial trader and hotelier who was the founder and first leader of the
Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...
, a political party established in January 2019 to support a
no-deal Brexit A no-deal Brexit (also called a clean-break Brexit) was the potential Brexit, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal agreement. Under Withdrawal from the European Union, Article 50 o ...
. She was forced to resign as leader in March 2019 when it was disclosed she had made anti-Islamic and
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
statements online. Blaiklock had been the Economics Spokesperson for the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
(UKIP), which she left in late 2018. Before entering politics in 2016, she worked as a financial currency and derivatives trader. She also founded a
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
i healthcare charity with her ex-husband Gyaljen Sherpa, an
Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...
Sherpa SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project. History SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...
.


Early life

Blaiklock is the daughter of polar explorer
Ken Blaiklock Kenneth Victor Blaiklock (6 December 1927 – 20 September 2020) was a British Antarctic surveyor who took part in Sir Vivian Fuchs's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition that completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica. During th ...
, who moved his family to Norfolk when she was three months old, from where Blaiklock was raised until college. Blaiklock says she detested growing up in Norfolk, describing it as "intellectually devoid". As a teenager she spent four years in care homes because she had
bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known simply as bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating (eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, often feeling out of control) followed by compensatory behaviors, such as self-induc ...
and her parents found her "wayward and difficult". Blaiklock entered
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
, on a scholarship in 1981, the second year the College admitted women. She studied geography and climatology. She then went to India on a
Commonwealth Scholarship The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed ...
.


Professional career

Blaiklock worked as a financial currency and derivatives trader with
Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...
and other investment banks, and was located in New York, Tokyo and Singapore. She returned to Asia and founded a health care charity in
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, called Nepal in Need, with her then-husband Gyaljen Sherpa, with which, , she was still involved, and for which she continued to raise funds. Since returning to Norfolk in 1999, she has run a guest-house and other small businesses in the local hospitality sector.


Political career


UKIP (2014–2018)

Blaiklock joined UKIP in 2014, having never voted before, and said that she only really entered politics after the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...
. She was the unsuccessful UKIP candidate for
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
in the 2017 general election. During the campaign, she produced photographs of her British Jamaican husband to argue that UKIP was not racist. In September 2018, she was appointed the Economic Spokesman of UKIP, was the Eastern Regional Chair, and wrote articles for UKIP in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''. Blaiklock left UKIP in 2018 when
Gerard Batten Gerard Joseph Batten (born 27 March 1954) is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament ( ...
appointed the
English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) was a Far-right politics, far-right, Islamophobia, Islamophobic organisation active in England from 2009 until the mid-late 2010s. A social movement and Advocacy group, pressure group that employed street demo ...
's
Tommy Robinson Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (' Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam sentiment, anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's most prominent far-right activists. Robinson has been active in ...
as a personal advisor.


Brexit Party (January–July 2019)

On 20 January 2019, Blaiklock launched a pro-Brexit political party called the Brexit Party, and listed her
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
guest house A guest house (or guesthouse, also rest house) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), a guest house is a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the e ...
as the headquarters. She immediately outlined her desire for former UKIP leader
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
to lead her new Brexit Party, and on 8 February 2019, Farage announced he would be a candidate for the Brexit Party in any upcoming European Parliament elections. In a 27 February interview, ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
'' said: "Blaiklock wants Britain to leave the EU without a trade deal and says the threat of economic damage from a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit has been vastly exaggerated". On 20 March, Blaiklock resigned as party leader after ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' enquired about deleted anti-Islam messages from her Twitter account from before she took on the role. Her deleted tweets were recovered by the
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
,
Hope not Hate Hope not Hate (stylised as HOPE not hate) is an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom which campaigns against racism and fascism. It has also mounted campaigns against Islamic extremism and antisemitism. It is self-described as a "non-pa ...
. They included comments such as "Islam = submission – mostly to raping men it seems" and "8 people waiting for lift, 5 Muslim girls, 1 black, 1 other Asian Chinese, 1 white. Immediately outside saw a drug deal take place. Looked like Turkey." Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit party, described her comments about Islam as "horrible and intolerant". In May, ''The Guardian'' reported that Blaiklock still remained as a Director of the Brexit Party.


Attempt to join Conservative Party (August 2019)

Blaiklock applied to join the Conservative Party on 23 July, the day of
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
's victory in the
2019 Conservative Party leadership election The 2019 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered when Theresa May announced on 24 May 2019 that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June and as Prime Minister of the Unite ...
, and received a membership number on 6 August. However, a few days after her public disclosure of her application, the Conservative Party, who said her application was subject to final approval, rejected her application, with Blaiklock saying: "And it was central office who cancelled it even though the local branch knows who I am".


English Democrats (2021–present)

On 3 July 2021 in ''
The Salisbury Review ''The Salisbury Review'' is a quarterly United Kingdom, British "magazine of Conservatism, conservative thought". It was founded in 1982 by the Salisbury Group, who sought to articulate and further traditional intellectual conservative ideas. The ...
'', Blaiklock announced she had joined the
English Democrats The English Democrats are a right-wing-to-far-right, English nationalist political party active in England. A minor party, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of government. The English Democrats were established in 200 ...
. She spoke at their autumn conference that year, and following
the murder "The Murder" is a cue in the cinematic score written and composed by Bernard Herrmann for the horror- thriller film '' Psycho'' (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The score, its second movement in particular, is well recognized as one of the m ...
of
Southend West Southend West and Leigh is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. In the 2024 United Kingdom ...
's previous member of Parliament, Sir
David Amess Sir David Anthony Andrew Amess ( ; 26 March 1952 – 15 October 2021) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West from 1997 until Murder of David Amess, his murder in ...
, in
Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a List of towns in England, town and civil parish within the city of Southend-on-Sea, located in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 22,509. Geograph ...
on 15 October, they subsequently nominated her in early January 2022 to stand for them at the constituency's by-election, held on 3 February. Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and other mainstream political parties chose not to contest the seat out of respect, and Blaiklock came fourth with 320 votes (2.15%). 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 ...
, she stood in
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
, receiving 171 votes (0.4%). The seat was won by
Rupert Lowe Rupert James Graham Lowe (; born 31 October 1957) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Yarmouth since 2024. Elected for Reform UK, he now sits as an independent following the suspension of the party wh ...
of
Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...
, the new name of the Brexit Party, although Lowe has since been suspended and is sitting as an independent. She stood for the English Democrats 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 ...
, coming 12th, receiving 95 votes and losing her deposit.


Views

Blaiklock posted articles on ''The Conservative Woman'' where she discussed introducing hanging for drug dealers and argued that
food banks A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...
are contributing to obesity in low-income families, who should be eating potatoes, being cheaper and healthier. She has also been noted for her anti-Islam statements written on a range of conservative websites. In January 2019, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that, in blogs and tweets since deleted, she had "argued crime and fatherlessness among black men are due to high testosterone levels, and suggested their lower academic achievement could have a biological basis".


Personal life

Blaiklock’s first husband was a Nepali called Gyaljen Sherpa whom she met in 1997 at Everest base camp, and with whom she has two children. Her second husband is a British Jamaican, Christopher Kirkpatrick. , Blaiklock ran a guest house from her home in
Lingwood Lingwood is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lingwood and Burlingham, in the England, English county of Norfolk. Lingwood is located south-west of Acle and east of Norwich. History Lingwood's name is of Anglo-Saxon ...
in Norfolk called The Annapurna Guest House. Her husband manages the guest house on a day-to-day basis, and the BBC reported in February 2019 that its
Tripadvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...
page has been the subject of politically motivated attacks and "malicious trolling", requiring intervention by Tripadvisor.


See also

*
2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom The 2019 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2019 European Parliament election. It was held on Thursday 23 May 2019 and the results announced on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2019, after all the other EU coun ...
* Leader of the Brexit Party


Notes


References


External links


Official website
(archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaiklock, Catherine Living people Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British critics of Islam British political party founders British women in politics English Democrats politicians Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom Merrill (company) people People from Broadland (district) Leaders of Reform UK Right-wing populists in the United Kingdom UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates 1963 births