Jack Warwick

Jack Warwick has been an MP for Rochford and Southend East since January 2004.

He been a staunch libertarian almost all his life, and historically a loyal paying member of the Liberal Unionist Party.

Before being MP, he was well known for doing events on libertarianism and "trying to sell the ideology"

During the negotiations of the Maastricht Treaty, he became an outspoken critic of the Europe Community, saying that, "it is clear that the European Community doesn't want a loose confederation, they want the United States of Europe. We are incompatible with this plan". Even after the treaty was ratified, he became an outspoken eurosceptic.

A very critical moment for him in politics was following the Sep 11 attacks, when every single party was looking to heighten national security and restrict civil liberties. He posted on MySpace on 17 Sep, "I have now reconsidered whether I have been in the right party all along. I now part ways with the Liberal Unionists, and will be an independent until further notice".

After an event in Hastings in May 2003, Dr Jackson approached him about joining the Pirate Party (now UKIP). He said he would consider the idea, but have no guarantees. He would become a paying member less than 3 weeks later.

He missed the opportunity to become a candidate for the 2003 election, but still expressed his desire to be MP. When he heard of the headline news that the freshly elected Conservative MP for Southend East had his result voided due to him overspending on his campaign. A by-election was scheduled for 14 Jan 2004, which he put himself as a candidate. He won by a margin of 2,549 over the Conservative candidate.

MP
As MP, he saw the "grave disorder in the House of Commons", and was appalled. He would continue doing his Libertarian and Eurosceptic events with the public, but now making them campaign stops. He was briefly Shadow Chancellor before a cabinet shuffle occurred, where he brought to question what he thought as abnormally high spending figures on healthcare and the safety net.

He was a staunch opponent of invading Iraq, and insisted that, "even if there were WMD's found, which I still doubt, I even doubt the Iraq government has used them against other nations or on its own." He claimed that the Government sidestepped his question multiple times, and it avoided him from being able to vote for it.

He did take a six-month long break from Parliament to "regroup my brain after the chaos I witnessed in the Commons." He mentioned in September 2005 that he would return as soon as Parliament reopens. He does take notes during sittings to bring the info of the House of Commons to the public, "in an easily understandable format for the masses."

Electoral history
2004 Rochford and Southend East by-election