Animal Welfare Party triples its votes after UK general election


17 December 2019

The Animal Welfare Party (AWP) in the United Kingdom, has had another success in the elections last week. The party tripled their total number of votes, compared to last general election in 2017. AWP did not win a seat in Parliament, but the growth is remarkable, considering UK’s lop-sided electoral system and the all-consuming fight between the two big traditional parties, Labour and the Conservatives.

Vanessa Hudson, leader of AWP, during a protest against the trade deal with MERCOSUR, which would be responsible for further destruction of the Amazon and more animal cruelty.

The Animal Welfare Party obtained 3086 votes last Thursday, compared to 955 votes in 2017. AWP’s increase in votes is another success in the international political movement for animal rights and environment. “The results are another amazing show of support for our vision of creating a fairer world for people, animals and the environment. Our gratitude to all those who have helped, in so many ways, to make that happen - by donating to our campaign, by liking, commenting and sharing our social media posts, by leafletting in the streets and of course by voting”, said party leader Vanessa Hudson.

AWP did not win a seat in Parliament, but the growth is impressive considering UK’s electoral system, which disproportionality benefits the big traditional parties. This year, all the media attention was extra focused on the electoral race between the two big traditional parties, Labour and the Conservatives, leaving little room for a party like AWP that challenges the status quo politics.

Despite the lop-sided electoral system, the AWP managed to win one seat during the local elections earlier this year. This article describes how they managed to do that and beat the electoral system.

Worldwide, parties for animal rights and our planet are growing. The Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia all have elected representatives for animal rights on different levels of government.