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Alan Craig

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This article is about the British political campaigner. For the Scottish footballer, see Allan Craig.

Alan Craig
Leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance
In office
2004–2012
Preceded byRam Gidoomal
Succeeded bySidney Cordle
Leader Of The Opposition On Newham Borough Council
In office
2 May 2002 – 6 May 2010
Member of Newham Borough Council
for Canning Town South
In office
2 May 2002 – 6 May 2010
Personal details
Born1945 or 1946 (age 78–79)
NationalityBritish
Political partyChristian Peoples Alliance (2002–2013)
UK Independence Party (2014–2019)
Websitehttp://www.alansangle.com/

Alexander Alan Craig is a British politician and community worker who previously served as leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA) from 2004 to 2012. He stood as a candidate for Mayor of London in 2008 and was a councillor in Newham for eight years. He defected to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 2014, where he served as UKIP's spokesperson for families and children from 2018 to around 2019.

Life

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Craig was born in 1945 or 1946.[1] He studied for a Master of Business Administration.[2] He became an evangelical Christian in his mid-thirties.[1]

Political career

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Christian Peoples Alliance

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Craig first stood for Newham Council in 1998 as an independent candidate in Ordnance ward, and in 2001 he stood in a by-election for Beckton ward for the Christian Peoples Alliance.[3]

He was elected to Newham Council for Canning Town South in the 2002 local elections, becoming the only non-Labour councillor. On the same day, he unsuccessfully ran to be mayor of Newham, coming fourth.[4] In the 2006 elections he was re-elected as a councillor as part of a group of three Christian Peoples Alliance councillors, and unsuccessfully ran to be mayor of Newham, coming fourth again. As a councillor, Craig opposed the building of the London Markaz Mosque; he said that while he supports the right to worship, he had fears over the impact upon the community and on security.[5][6] He also opposed the opening of one of the regional casinos in Newham,[7] campaigned to end the DESO-funded arms fair[2] and played a leading role in the campaign to save the Queens Road Market.[8] He lost his council seat in 2010, when he unsuccessfully ran to be mayor of Newham a third time.[9]

He became leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance in 2004 and led the party in the 2005 general election and the 2010 general election, in which the party won no seats.[1][10]

In 2011 he was criticised for comparing gay rights activists to Nazis in the Church of England Newspaper.[11] In 2013 Craig became the spokesperson for a campaign group against same-sex marriage called "Gay Marriage No Thanks", and compared same-sex marriage to child abuse.[12][13]

UK Independence Party

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In October 2014, Craig joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP).[13] In the 2015 general election, he was the UKIP candidate for Brent North where he lost his deposit, coming fourth with 3.9% of the vote.[14][15]

He was due to speak at an event advocating conversion therapy organised by the Core Issues Trust in April 2015.[16] The conference organisers later asked him not to speak to avoid associating the event with a political party.[17]

He was selected to be UKIP's candidate for the South West constituency in the 2016 London Assembly election.[18] The runner up in the selection, LGBT activist and former parliamentary candidate Richard Hendron, resigned from the party over Craig's selection.[19][20] UKIP's deputy chair, Suzanne Evans opposed his selection. The party's leader, Nigel Farage, removed her from her position and she was suspended for six months.[21][22][23] Craig came fifth in the election for the South West constituency, with 7% of the vote. In 2016, he wrote that he wanted to see "the gay marriage debate reopened".[24]

In the 2017 general election, he was the UKIP candidate for Witney. He finished last and lost his deposit, receiving 1.6% of the vote.[25] After the election, he was campaign manager for David Kurten's 2017 leadership campaign to be leader of UKIP.[26]

In March 2018 Craig was appointed UKIP's first Spokesperson for Families & Children, leading to resignations from the leadership of the party's LGBT group.[27] He proposed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson should be allowed to join the party.[28] He was criticised by groups including Quilliam for claiming that Muslim grooming gangs were orchestrating a "Holocaust of our children".[29][30] At UKIP's 2018 conference, he described LGBT-inclusive education as child abuse.[31]

Craig stood for UKIP in the Canning Town North ward in the 2018 local elections in Newham and was the last-placed candidate on UKIP's list for the North West England constituency in the 2019 European Parliament election.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Wheeler, Brian (4 November 2004). "Rousing the party faithful". BBC News.
  2. ^ a b "Profile: Alan Craig". Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  3. ^ Muir, Hugh (28 March 2001). "Labour's fortress threatened by a Christian soldier". The Evening Standard.
  4. ^ Graves, David (5 March 2002). "Hospital protesters win control of council". The Daily Telegraph.[dead link]
  5. ^ Johnston, Pillip (25 September 2006). "The shadow cast by a mega-mosque". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 October 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ^ Allen, Nick (30 October 2006). "Olympic-Size London Mosque May Eclipse Landmarks". Bloomberg L.P.
  7. ^ Saini, Angela (1 February 2007). "Say no to casino!". BBC London. BBC. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  8. ^ "Friend's of Queen's Market". Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  9. ^ "Local Election Results 2010 - Canning Town South". Newham.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  10. ^ "CPA makes cash pledge to couples". BBC News. 25 April 2005.
  11. ^ "Anglican newspaper defends 'Gaystapo' article" The Guardian 8 November 2011
  12. ^ "New gay marriage no thanks group launches". Pinknews. 17 June 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Ukip Defend Man Who Fears 'Gaystapo' Joining Party". HuffPost UK. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Brent North" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Election results for Brent North, 7 May 2015".
  16. ^ "Exclusive: UKIP candidate Alan Craig to speak at 'gay cure' event". PinkNews. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Ukip Candidate Dropped From 'Gay Cure' Conference". HuffPost UK. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Andy McSmith's Diary: Political incorrectness – Ukip's way of choosing a candidate" The Independent, 1 March 2016
  19. ^ "UKIP member quits over 'homophobic abuse' and selection of 'gay cure' advocate for GLA seat". Your Local Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Ukip's just selected a candidate that called LGBT activists the 'Gaystapo'". Metro. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  21. ^ "A man who once called for war against the 'Gaystapo' is now a Ukip candidate". The Independent. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  22. ^ Mason, Rowena (23 March 2016). "Ukip suspends Suzanne Evans for disloyalty". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Suzanne Evans Suspended By Ukip After She Called For Candidate Who Compared Gays To Nazis To Be Axed". HuffPost UK. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  24. ^ "UKIP vows to gut LGBT rights in extreme new manifesto". PinkNews. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  25. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Witney" (PDF).
  26. ^ "UKIP picks anti-LGBT candidate who claimed gays were 'abused as children' to run in Lewisham East". PinkNews. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  27. ^ "UKIP's LGBT officials resign in protest after anti-gay 'Gaystapo' campaigner named Families chief". PinkNews. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  28. ^ Walker, Peter (6 September 2018). "Ukip toys with lifting ban on Tommy Robinson joining party". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  29. ^ Halliday, Josh (5 March 2019). "Far right 'infiltrating children's charities with anti-Islam agenda'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  30. ^ "UKIP spokesman branded shameful over 'Holocaust of our children' Muslim jibe". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  31. ^ "UKIP MEP says homophobic extremists have hijacked party". PinkNews. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Candidates revealed for European Parliament elections". Times and Star. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
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