STATEMENT:
Brian is currently on tour with Queen and unable to comment personally. He has been asked on many occasions to stand as an MP and has considered it fully. On most occasions to date he has decided his endeavours in relation to parliament are best served through currently standing MP’s. However as the political climate changes Brian’s frustration at a system, that he sees as failing the electorate, may be the deciding factor. Common Decency has been set up to support the electorate in their decision making process and once returned from tour Brian will be campaigning with Common Decency.
DORSET ECHO
CONFIRMED: Brian May IS considering standing as MP – but will it be in Dorset? 4 February 2015 by Lee Irving
Is Queen legend Dr Brian May set to stand for election in Dorset?
QUEEN legend Brian May is considering as standing as an independent candidate in the upcoming election – and it could be in Dorset.
The lead guitarist, who shot to fame with the rock band in the 1970s, has grown increasingly “frustrated” at the current political system and is now thinking of standing in the general election in May.
He hasn’t confirmed where he will stand, but a spokesman for the musician did confirm he would be campaigning with the group he launched last year, Common Decency, after his current European Tour with Queen + Adam Lambert finishes at the end of this month.
Dr May owns land in Dorset and has strong family connections to the county. Speculation over where he could stand includes in West Dorset, where Conservative politician Oliver Letwin holds the seat, or in Mid-Dorset and North Poole, a seat held by Liberal Democrat Annette Brooke.
A seat in Surrey has also been mentioned.
A spokesman for Dr May and the Common Decency Campaign said: “Brian is currently on tour with Queen. He has been asked on many occasions to stand as an MP and has considered it fully. On most occasions to date he has decided his endeavours in relation to parliament are best served through currently standing MPs. However, as the political climate changes Brian’s frustration at a system, that he sees as failing the electorate, may be the deciding factor. The Common Decency campaign has been set up to support the electorate in their decision making process and once returned from tour Brian will be campaigning with Common Decency.”
Dr May launched Common Decency last year with the intention of encouraging people who feel disengaged with the political process to use their vote.
He says that instead of the two big parties dominating the House of Commons, it should be full of independent MPs and small parties, and that’s what his movement intends to do.
Dr May and his team are currently in the process of creating a website dedicated to the campaign, and it all also have in-depth information about all the 650 MPs that sit in the House of Commons.
It will also include charts to show the majority the MPs gained in their constituencies and how many people didn’t vote, to show people how important their vote is.
11 charts that show why you should register to vote in May
He has been a vocal campaigner in protests at the Badger Cull introduced in October 2013, and he also launched his Save me Project the same year, to establish a new native woodland on a 157-acre site near Bere Regis.
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Current (5 Feb 10am)
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BBC NEWS
Queen Guitarist Brian May considers standing as MP
4 February 2015
The guitarist and wildlife campaigner owns a wildlife sanctuary in Dorset
Queen guitarist Brian May could stand as an independent MP at the general election, his spokesman has said. May, 67, is considering standing over “frustration at a system that he sees as failing the electorate”.
Agent Phil Symes said May, currently touring Europe with Queen, could run under his Common Decency project.
The guitarist owns a wildlife sanctuary at Bere Regis in Dorset, although Mr Symes said May had “no firm plans” to stand in a particular constituency. The village of Bere Regis is in the Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency, which is currently served by the Liberal Democrat Annette Brooke who is standing down in May.
The Common Decency project cites its key aim as being “to re-establish common decency in our lives, work and Parliament”.
Outlining the ethos of Common Decency “in a nutshell”, May said last month its aim was to “get rid of the current government” and the MPs who were in Parliament for reasons other than “representing our interests”.
Instead, he wants to see a House of Commons about “individuals voting according to their conscience”.
May achieved global fame in the 1970s with Queen and has gone on to become an active campaigner, particularly in the sphere of animal rights. He founded the animal charity Save Me and has spoken out against the badger cull.