Why are we so popular? Maybe this is not a question you would expect from a newly-elected Member of the European Parliament. I stood for The Brexit Party in North West England and was one of three Brexit Party candidates who was elected there in May 2019. The Brexit Party received almost one third of the votes at the election, even though the party had only been launched six weeks before. Currently we are sifting through well over 3,000 CVs of potential candidates for the next general election. Obviously this is down to us all being absolutely fabulous at what we are doing – or is it? We do have a very diverse, dynamic team headed by people who have been committed over decades to bringing government back to the UK from Brussels. We all work hard and collaboratively. And some of the party’s popularity is due to an ever-increasing number of voters who feel cheated that their vote has been contemptuously ignored after the 2016 referendum. Let us not forget the democrats who voted to Remain in 2016 but who are embarrassed by the political elite’s behaviour. But unfortunately I do not believe that these are the only reasons for our success. I am astonished at the number of people who tell me that they have been Labour or Conservative for decades but no longer feel they have a home in politics. It does happen with Lib Dem voters as well, but not as often – maybe that is because, judging from the 2017 election, there aren’t that many consistent Lib Dem voters around! Voters feeling that they do not have a party that represents them any more concerns me deeply. If people do not feel that they have any democratic influence then it is every man for himself and our society divides along ethnic, religious and tribal faultlines. It is not leaving the EU that is causing a rift in our society, it is staying in the EU, the lack of democracy and the refusal of politicians to honour their manifestos that causes the rift. And, by the way, the lack of democracy is exactly the reason why I am against the EU both as a concept and in practice. It distances the electorate from the seat of power, geographically and administratively – and with no accountability. If our two old parties are failing such a huge number of people in this country, then we need to do something about it quickly. The old parties will need to change their ways, their MPs in Westminster will have to listen to their constituents rather than only listening to their colleagues (or more to the point, their whips) in the Westminster bubble. So I have a simple message for them: be warned, if you don’t change your ways, the voters will do it for you and vote for The Brexit Party.