Harriet Bronwen Yeo[1] is a British trade unionist, a former Treasurer and President of Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA),[1][2] and a UK Independence Party (UKIP) politician who stood unsuccessfully for parliament in Folkestone and Hythe at the 2015 general election.[3]

Biography

Formerly a Labour politician, she was a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party until September 2013, and was national Chair of the Party for the year 2012–2013.[4] She was a councillor in Ashford Borough Council, Kent, where she was Leader of the Labour Group until February 2015.[5][6] In 2012 she stood as Labour candidate for Police and crime commissioner for Kent.[1][7]

Yeo was deselected as a Labour candidate for the 2015 local elections and left to join UKIP the next day. She was also replaced as leader of Ashford Council's Labour group, after being accused of non-attendance at council meetings and a failure undertake council casework.[8]

Joining UKIP

In February 2015, she left the Labour Party, blaming Ed Miliband's refusal to promise an EU In/Out Referendum,[5][9] and announced support for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) without becoming a member of UKIP, sitting as an independent councillor.[5][10] Her daughter had also left Labour to stand for UKIP in the 2013 Kent County Council elections for the Ashford South division, an election where Harriet Yeo had also stood for Labour unsuccessfully in the Ashford East division.[6]

On 24 March 2015, it was announced that Yeo had joined UKIP and was to replace Janice Atkinson, UKIP's Prospective parliamentary candidate in Folkestone and Hythe, who had been removed from UKIP the day before amid an alleged expenses fraud.[3] In the general election held on 7 May, Yeo came second in Folkestone and Hythe, losing to Damian Collins (Conservative) with 12,526 votes. Elections to Ashford Borough Council were held on the same day, but she did not stand for re-election there.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Harriet Bronwen Yeo". choosemypcc.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Isabel Oakeshott (13 October 2013). "'Chauvinist' union's lap-dancing and lies". Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015. The former Labour NEC chief tells Isabel Oakeshott how she was ousted from her union presidency by dirty tricks
  3. 1 2 Jamie Rose, Harriet Yeo replaces Janice Atkinson as Ukip candidate from Ashford Herald online dated 24 March 2015
  4. ↑ "Labour's National Executive Committee". Labour Party. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "Harriet Yeo, former Labour NEC chairwoman, backs UKIP". BBC. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 Maria Chiorando (22 February 2015). "Rocky road for Ukip as media assaults deflect defection boost". kentnews.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Paul Francis (18 June 2012). "Labour's police commissioner candidate Harriet Yeo a victim of crime". Kent Online. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Former chair of Labour's NEC leaves party to support UKIP". LabourList. 17 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "'Labour's Harriet Yeo leaves party to support Ukip in general election'". The Independent. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "'Top Labour figure dumps Ed Miliband for Ukip'". The Daily Telegraph. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Result of Election, Ashford Borough Council, 7 May 2015 (all results) at ashford.gov.uk, accessed 1 November 2015
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