Andrew Rosindell’s Political Journey, 1980-2026

Timeline

Andrew was a councillor between 1990 and 2002. He spent 12 years getting control of Romford Conservatives and has been a backbench MP since 2001. Andrew panicked when his majority collapsed by 82% in 2024.¹

Political Calculations

The Reform party is the first viable third party since the 1920s. Unlike Farage’s UKIP and Brexit, Reform is the real thing. In 2024, Reform’s unknown candidate got 9,624 votes in Romford. Romford is now a marginal seat, and Andrew doesn’t have a ‘job for life’.

But what is Andrew joining?

Nigel Farage owned the Reform Party until recently,

“….[it] was founded in 2018 as a private limited company, with Farage holding the majority of shares.²

Reform doesn’t have policies. Farage’s previous efforts were pressure groups in drag. Reform’s current policies mimic Trump and Musk. Musk’s DOGE policy³ was endorsed in their 2025 local election campaign. Successful Reform groups tried, and failed, to implement DOGE.⁴

Reform voters were seduced by a slick PR campaign. The reality is more-of-the-same with ex-Conservative councillors in control. This is disappointing for voters hoping for a novelty.

Andrew knows this.

So, what happened in January 2026 to get Andrew to risk everything? Perhaps Suella Braverman offers a hint. She

“…..referred to homelessness as a “lifestyle choice”, who called pro-Palestinian marches “hate marches”…..who suggested asylum seekers were “pretending to be gay” to claim protection, a hard-right Conservative has joined Farage’s ‘people’s party’.⁵

She’s joined Reform. Reform don’t have policies but do have a direction of travel and Andrew wants to go there. He approves of Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick.⁶ Andrew wants red-meat right-wing policies, which persecute people he doesn’t like.

And that’s a lot of people.

The Downside

Andrew believes Romford’s voters voted for him. He’s oblivious to the implications of the 2024 result. Andrew ‘lost’ 9,624 votes to a complete unknown and 13,876 to Labour. 2029 will be a three-way election. Andrew is an ex-Conservative who won’t have the support he’s used to after 36 years of belonging to the Romford party and electioneering is his comfort zone. Campaigning in 2029 as a Reform candidate will be a challenge for him. And it isn’t difficult to imagine the leaflets by ex-colleagues who think he is treacherous.

Farage relies on charisma, which has a shelf-life. His money-grubbing tactics repel many voters. Voters resent politicians who line their own pockets. Andrew works hard and has a great reputation, but he’ll be tarred with the Farage brush. Reform is an abnormal political party. It’s a fiefdom. If Reform get critical mass, Farage will have severe problems because he isn’t a team player.

Conclusion

Andrew’s political journey matches that of Britain. The 1980s saw Margaret Thatcher’s policy driven Conservatism, which has shaped Britain ever since. Her Conservatism has been replaced by shameless ‘Get-rich-quick’ opportunists. Andrew is a hard-working MP. Farage rarely goes to his constituency and is wedded to Donald Trump’s utter disdain for morality.

Notes

1 General Election 2024: Results | London Borough of Havering

2 Nigel Farage gives up ownership of Reform UK – BBC News

3 Elon Musk’s cost-cutting at DOGE has been a colossal failure. But he has achieved something more dangerous | The Independent

4 Reform’s “DOGE” is a superficial response to deep problems in local government | Institute for Government

5 Former home secretary Suella Braverman defects to Reform UK | Suella Braverman | The Guardian

6 Robert Jenrick claims cartoons mural removed from asylum centre were ‘not age-appropriate’ | The Independent He wanted to make an asylum centre for children more threatening and less welcoming.

Havering’s Tory MPs Dodge the Bullet, 4th July 2024

Havering has hard-core Conservatives, as was demonstrated by Susan Hall trouncing Labour in May, 2024. The General Election result¹ was, as the bookies say, ‘a form result’. But was it?

Julia Lopez

In 2019 she had a majority of 23,308. This evaporated to one of 1,943 – a 92% reduction. This is catastrophic but when viewed locally, it accurately reflects the electorate. They vote Conservative and hold their noses. HRA have made the constituency a Tory-free zone. Worse, she is a poor constituency MP with no personal support.

Andrew Rosindell

In 2019 he had a majority of 17,893. This evaporated to one of 1,463 – a 92% reduction. This is catastrophic for a long-standing, hard-working constituency MP. Unlike Hornchurch and Upminster, Andrew’s constituency has a significant number of Conservative councillors. He’s well-known, is an expert campaigner and yet, his result mirrored that of the lack-lustre Julia.

Discussion

Julia and Andrew couldn’t be more different. She’s a political opportunist with a glittering career in the past. He’s an Essex man Tory. Andrew didn’t get a personal vote and Romford had their worst result since 1997.

Havering is changing. In Hornchurch and Upminster, the Reform party, from a standing start, came second. Reform isn’t a political party: They’re a private company owned by Nigel Farage. They’re a PR party tapping into the utter distaste and sense of betrayal that many voters feel about the principal parties. They’re Conservative party ultras who have voters who don’t know what that implies.

HRA are in the same territory. They also reflect the desire for change and have to operate outside their comfort zone. The question is, can they?

Note

1 General Election 2024: Results | The London Borough Of Havering

Damian White: an unlucky general?

Napoleon famously preferred lucky generals. A lucky general ruthlessly exploits an advantage for victory. Or, if disadvantaged he retrieves the situation. Napoleon didn’t like generals who squandered advantages.

Damian was triumphant in 2018. Romford’s Conservative heartlands provided a core of councillors but not a majority. He was prepared for this eventuality. Three Harold Wood Resident Association (RA) councillors were squared off and came on board. A further coup enticed Michael Deon Burton (RA) into the Conservative fold. Sally Miller (RA) followed Michael.

Damian was lucky with his opponents who are a splintered opposition. He controlled the agenda without a majority. The political sun shone on Damian in 2018.

Unfortunately Damian caught a nasty dose of hubris.

Damian doesn’t do ‘arm round the shoulder’ TLC. He should. Stomping on people’s finer feelings is fun but usually rebounds. Bob Perry’s expert, unpleasant and notorious secret recording of Damian’s bragging about his political genius was a coup. Bob’s recording added to Damian’s own goals and may have given other Conservative councillors ideas. Will he ever speak freely again?

Damian’s personal decision to get the council to invest £14.7M for the Marks and Spencer site wasn’t a great idea. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it a disaster.* As an ardent Brexiteer, Damian loved Nigel Farage’s simplicities. Unfortunately Farage’s fantasy world included ‘fighting’ every Labour seat in 2019. Damian lost the Dagenham and Rainham seat because of him. Damian’s bad luck means his future comprises of soft soaping Conservative councillors in order to prevent mutiny.

Note

* The charges for this investment are about £500,000 p.a.