Andrew Bridgen

Andrew James Bridgen (born 28 October 1964) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Leicestershire from 2010 until 2024. He was a member of the Conservative Party until his expulsion in April 2023, having had the whip suspended in January after criticising the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and saying that a cardiologist told him it constitutes "the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust". He was a member of the Reclaim Party in 2023 and joined Restore Britain in 2026. During his parliamentary career, Bridgen supported Brexit and efforts to remove Conservative prime ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss from office. In January 2023, Bridgen was suspended from the House of Commons for five days after the house voted in favour of the recommendations of the Commons Select Committee on Standards, which found that he had repeatedly breached rules over paid lobbying and declaring interests, and that he also attempted to pressure the commissioner investigating his lobbying breaches. After leaving the Reclaim Party in December 2023, Bridgen sat as an independent MP for the rest of the term of the 2019 Parliament, announcing his decision to run as an independent for his constituency of North West Leicestershire at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, where he lost his seat and deposit.