1. Bill Etheridge was elected in 2014 as a UK Independence Party candidate, but left the party in October 2018 and joined the Libertarian Party.
28 Facts About Bill Etheridge
1. 2.
Bill Etheridge joined the Brexit Party in 2019 but rejoined UKIP in September 2020.
3.
Bill Etheridge unsuccessfully stood for UKIP leader in 2016, and 2024.
4.
Bill Etheridge was educated at Parkfield High School, Wolverhampton Polytechnic and Dudley College.
5.
Bill Etheridge lost his seat on Dudley MBC in the May 2018 local council elections.
6.
When contacted by The Independent on Sunday, Bill Etheridge stated that "Hitler and the Nazis were monsters" and said "At no point did I endorse Hitler or anybody else".
7.
At the general election in May 2015, Bill Etheridge stood as UKIP's parliamentary candidate for Dudley North.
8.
Bill Etheridge finished third with a vote of 9,113, triple that of the vote in 2010.
9.
Bill Etheridge, who is a member of the Campaign for Real Ale, has been active in the UKIP front campaign; West Midlands Save The Pub.
10.
Bill Etheridge has urged the Conservative government to increase the power of the Asset of Community Value, brought in as part of the Localism Act 2011.
11.
Bill Etheridge sat on the EU Regional Development Committee; his belief that power should be handed back to communities has seen him emerge as a critic of combined authorities.
12.
Bill Etheridge is an associate of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
13.
In May 2017, Bill Etheridge launched his book; Putting Great Back In Britain, with a guest appearance from Nigel Farage.
14.
Bill Etheridge is a prominent UK libertarian and is chairman of The Indigo Group.
15.
Bill Etheridge has launched a platform of libertarian policies in his EFDD book, Prosperous, Happy and at Peace, co-authored with Paul Brothwood.
16.
Bill Etheridge launched a book, The EU's engagement with the politics of international recognition, co-authored with Paul Brothwood, at an EU conference about Somaliland on 6 December 2018.
17.
In July 2016, Bill Etheridge launched his bid to become leader of UKIP following the resignation of Nigel Farage.
18.
Bill Etheridge promised to work and support with the new leader, Diane James, who was only briefly in the post.
19.
In October 2016, Bill Etheridge launched his bid to become leader of UKIP following Diane James' resignation, after declaring he would refuse to back Steven Woolfe and stand himself during an interview on the BBC's Sunday Politics.
20.
Bill Etheridge subsequently launched his third leadership bid for the 2017 UK Independence Party leadership election, having previously stood in both of UKIP's 2016 leadership elections.
21.
Bill Etheridge stated that "whichever side wins, the other side won't have a future in the party".
22.
On 26 July 2017, two days before close of nominations, Bill Etheridge withdrew his candidacy.
23.
Bill Etheridge announced his intention to run again for the party leadership in the 2018 leadership election, but withdrew and backed Gerard Batten.
24.
Bill Etheridge left UKIP in October 2018, saying the party is seen by voters as a "vehicle of hate towards Muslims and the Gay community".
25.
Bill Etheridge remains part of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group in the European Parliament.
26.
At the Liberty Rising Conference on 6 October 2018, Bill Etheridge announced he had joined the Libertarian Party UK.
27.
In September 2020, Bill Etheridge rejoined UKIP and became the party's economics spokesman.
28.
Bill Etheridge stood in the 2024 leadership election to succeed Neil Hamilton, where he finished second to Lois Perry.