Cllr
John Tennant
Member of the European Parliament
for North East England
In office
2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020
Preceded byPaul Brannen
Succeeded byconstituency abolished
Leader of the Independent Union
Assumed office
18 February 2019
Preceded byParty established
Councillor for Hartlepool Borough Council (Jesmond Ward)
Assumed office
5 May 2016[1]
Personal details
Born
John David Edward Tennant[2]

(1986-12-25) 25 December 1986
Newcastle upon Tyne, England[3]
Political partyReform UK (2019–present)
Independent Union (2019–present)
Other political
affiliations		UKIP (2016–2018)
WebsiteCouncil website

John Tennant (born 25 December 1986) is a British politician, who was a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North East of England between 2019 and the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU.[4] and the former party leader of Independent Union, of which he is a councillor on Hartlepool Borough Council for the Jesmond ward.[5]

In September 2019, all IU councillors, as well as the one Veterans and People's Party councillor, who made up the coalition at Hartlepool Borough Council defected to the Brexit Party, renaming their already existing coalition with the three Conservative councillors to the "Brexit and Conservative Coalition".[6][7] Despite this, the IU was still registered with the Electoral Commission with Tennant listed as its current leader.[8] Tennant stepped down from the IU leadership in February 2020 and was replaced by Shane Moore.

2019 European Parliament election

In May 2019, it was announced John Tennant was standing as a Brexit Party candidate in the 2019 European Parliament election for North East England.[5][9][10] Upon the announcement, Tennant was criticised for comments he made on social media, praising the UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom on the day he was ejected from the European parliament for addressing German colleague, Martin Schulz, the then leader of the German Social Democratic Party,[11] with a Nazi slogan in 2010, and then another involving a joke he made regarding sex acts with a young woman in 2011.[12] A spokesperson for the Brexit Party described his comments, which included discussing sex toys in "vulgar and obscene terms" and suggesting Liverpool FC fans are criminals, as "weak jokes".[12]

Tennant, the former UKIP group leader for Hartlepool Borough Council,[13][14] is said to have a close relationship with Nigel Farage whilst he was a UKIP councillor, organising his public events in the North East, according to a former UKIP advisor.[12][15] According to Hartleborough Borough Council's Register of Members' Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, in May 2018 Tennant declared his profession as "office manager" to former UKIP and current Brexit Party MEP, Jonathan Arnott.[2][12]

References

  1. ↑ Hartlepool Borough Council (May 2016). "Local Government Elections - Thursday 5th May 2016" (PDF). Hartlepool Borough Council. Hartlepool. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 Hartlepool Borough Council (8 May 2018). "Register of Members' Disclosable Pecuniary Interests - John David Edward Tennant" (PDF). Hartlepool Borough Council. Hartlepool. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "9th parliamentary term | John David Edward TENNANT | MEPs | European Parliament".
  4. ↑ "The UK's European elections 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. 1 2 Marko, Nic (13 May 2019). "Hartlepool councillor standing for Nigel Farage's Brexit Party for North East in European elections". Hartlepool Mail. Hartlepool: Northeast Press. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Brexit Party forms pact for Hartlepool control". BBC News. Broadcasting House, London. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  7. ↑ Bartlett, Nicola (13 September 2019). "Nigel Farage's Brexit Party have just signed their first pact with the Tories". Daily Mirror. One Canada Square, London: Reach plc. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  8. ↑ "Independent Union - View registration". Electoral Commission. London. 22 September 2019. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  9. ↑ Russell, Rachel (19 May 2019). "'Democracy comes first!' – The north-eastern battle to get Brexit delivered REVEALED". Daily Express. Thames Street, London: Northern and Shell Media. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Russell, Rachel (18 May 2019). "How Brexit will help rebuild this DEPRIVED coastal town – '200 miles of sea would be OURS'". Daily Express. Thames Street, London: Northern and Shell Media. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. ↑ Stevens, Robert (17 May 2018). "George Galloway tried to become Brexit Party candidate—and failed". World Socialist Web Site. Oak Park, Michigan: International Committee of the Fourth International. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Halliday, Josh (6 May 2019). "Brexit party MEP candidate praised use of Nazi slogan". The Guardian. Kings Place, London. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  13. ↑ Halliday, Josh; Walker, Peter (4 March 2019). "Ukip 2.0: young, angry, digital and extreme". The Guardian. Kings Place, London. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  14. ↑ Payne, Mark (19 December 2017). "Hartlepool UKIP chief hits out at MPs' Brexit vote". Hartlepool Mail. Hartlepool: Northeast Press. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  15. ↑ "Un hombre de confianza de Farage elogió el eslogan nazi de un colega". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). A Coruña. 7 May 2019. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
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