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In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties or a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do not feel that any major party addresses. Other independent politicians are associated with a political party and may be former members of it, but choose not to stand under its label. A third category of independents are those who may belong to or support a political party but believe they should not formally represent it and thus be subject to its policies. Finally, some independent candidates may form a political party for the purposes of running for public office.

Australia[link]

Independents have rarely been elected to the federal Parliament of Australia, although they are more commonly elected to state parliaments. A large number of independents are former members of one of Australia's main parties, the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia.

Currently, five independents sit in the Australian House of Representatives. Andrew Wilkie from Tasmania is a former Greens candidate, while both Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor from New South Wales are both former members of the National Party. Bob Katter is from Queensland and a former member of the National Party, but ceased being an independent after forming his own party, Katter's Australian Party. Peter Slipper of the Liberal National Party of Queensland became an independent and Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. Labor's Craig Thomson moved to the crossbenches as an independent.

Independent Senators are quite rare. In modern politics, independent Brian Harradine served from 1975 to 2005 with considerable influence at times. Nick Xenophon has been the only independent Senator since his election to the Senate at the 2007 federal election. With Senators elected for 6-year terms, Xenophon will be required to recontest his South Australian seat at the next Australian federal election due by 2013.

Canada[link]

Independent Members of Parliament were numerous in the last decades of the 19th century but diminished as the party system solidified. It remained common, however, to have a small number of Independent Liberal or Independent Conservative MPs into the 1950s.

Independent politicians have held considerable sway in the Canadian House of Commons in recent years as Canada has been governed by successive minority governments with independent Members of Parliament (MPs) sometimes sharing in the balance of power.

In the 2004 federal election, Chuck Cadman was elected to federal parliament as an independent MP representing the British Columbia riding of Surrey North. Cadman had previously represented that riding on behalf of the Reform Party of Canada and Canadian Alliance, but after the Canadian Alliance merged with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to form the new Conservative Party of Canada in 2003, Cadman lost the nomination to represent the Conservative Party in that riding to Jasbir Singh Cheema. Cadman then stood in the subsequent election as an independent and defeated Cheema, as well as the candidates of other Canadian parties, by a significant margin.

In the spring of 2005, Cadman cast the tying vote in favour of a budget supported by the Liberal Party government of Paul Martin as well as the New Democratic Party (NDP), but opposed by the opposition Conservatives and Bloc Québécois. Two other independents also voted on that budget. Carolyn Parrish, independent MP for Mississauga—Erindale, had recently been kicked out of the Liberal Party for criticizing US president George W Bush, but nonetheless sided with the Liberals on the budget vote. David Kilgour independent MP for Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, had previously quit the Liberal caucus and voted with the opposition parties against the budget. The tie vote required the Speaker of the House Peter Milliken to cast the deciding vote, and he did so in favor of the budget, allowing the government to survive.

Cadman was terminally ill with cancer at the time he cast his crucial vote, and he died later in 2005. In the 2006 federal election, his riding was won by NDP candidate Penny Priddy. Neither Parrish nor Kilgour (nor Pat O'Brien, MP for London—Fanshawe, who quit the Liberal Party to sit as an independent after the 2005 budget vote) stood for re-election in 2006.

Another independent candidate, André Arthur, was elected in the Quebec riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier in 2006, and was the only independent to win a seat in that election. He was re-elected in the October 14, 2008 federal election. Former Progressive Conservative and Conservative MP Bill Casey, who was expelled from the Conservative Party for voting against the 2007 Federal Budget, also ran as an independent in the 2008 election, easily retaining his seat.

Candidates in federal elections who are not affiliated with a party have two options: independent or no affiliation. In the former case, they appear on the ballot with "Independent" following their name; in the second case, they appear with their name only. The two options are otherwise equivalent.

The territorial legislatures of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are consensus governments with no political parties, so that all members sit as independents. There are a few independent members of the other subnational legislatures, which are similar in principle to the federal House of Commons; for example, in the 2009 election in British Columbia, independent candidate Vicki Huntington narrowly defeated incumbent Attorney General Wally Oppal as MLA for Delta South.

True independents should not be confused with members of parties without official party status in a legislature. Most legislatures provide that a party must hold a certain number of seats to enjoy certain advantages in staffing, budget, ability to ask questions in Question Period, and the like. Although members whose parties do not hold this status may have no more privileges than independent members, they remain representatives of political parties.

Also, members who are expelled from or choose to leave their party caucus may sit as "Independent" with some designation, e.g. "Independent Liberal" or "Independent Conservative," to indicate their affiliation to that party even if it is not officially recognized.

Election as an independent is far more common at the municipal level. Many municipalities have no tradition of political parties.

Hong Kong[link]

More than half of Hong Kong's Legislative Council is made up of independents, or members whose political groups are represented by one sole member in the legislature. They are common in functional constituencies, and are not rare among geographical constituencies. All of them are nevertheless belonging either to the 'Pro-democracy' camp or the 'Pro-Beijing' camp.

Iceland[link]

The current president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, is independent. The 9th prime minister of Iceland, Björn Þórðarson, was also independent.

India[link]

Independents are often criticized in India as being dummy candidates put forward by political parties to get around the spending ceiling imposed by the Election Commission. Independent candidates are sometimes also rebel candidates from a party contesting the election, who were unable to secure their party's nomination.

Dummy candidates running as independents who bear the same or a similar name to a party candidate have also been put forward by political parties to confuse voters. For example, in the 2009 general election an independent named Bhakti Adhikary contested the Tamluk constituency, allegedly to confuse voters; the eventually elected contestant was Suvendu Adhikary of the All India Trinamool Congress.^{[citation needed]}

Ireland[link]

After the Irish general election in 2011, there were 16 independent TDs (Members of Parliament) in the Dáil (the lower house of the Irish parliament), representing 10% of the total, excluding the three members of the United Left Alliance are also members of the Dáil Technical Group of Independent TDs.^[1] A further 3 TDs became Independent in the Dáil after Tommy Broughan TD and Willie Penrose TD left the Labour Party Parliamentary whip along with Denis Naughten TD who left the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party whip.

There are twelve independent senators in the 24th Seanad (the upper house of the Irish parliament), representing 20% of the total. Three of these are elected by the graduates of the National University of Ireland and two from Dublin University. There are also seven senators who are nominated by the Taoiseach who have also formed an independent technical grouping.

Italy[link]

The current Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Monti, is independent.

Kosovo[link]

Kosovo^[a] president Atifete Jahjaga was elected the first female and Independent President not just for Kosovo but for the whole Balkans.

Malaysia[link]

There are four independent Members of Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat as of March 2010. In the 2008 general election, Ibrahim Ali, Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, Tan Tee Beng and Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri were each elected on the tickets of parties in the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition. Each since left their parties to sit as independents.

New Zealand[link]

Originally, all members of the New Zealand parliament were officially non-partisan, although loose groupings did exist informally (initially between supporters of central government versus provincial governments, and later between liberals and conservatives). The foundation of formal political parties around the beginning of the 20th Century considerably diminished the number of unaffiliated politicians, although a smaller number of independent candidates continued to be elected up until the 1940s. Since then, however, there have been relatively few independent politicians in Parliament, none of whom gained their seats in general elections — all either won by-elections or became independents after having been elected as a member of a party.

The last person to be directly elected to Parliament as an independent in New Zealand was Winston Peters (originally elected as a National MP), who won the 1993 by-election in Tauranga electorate. By the time of the next general election, he had formed his own party (New Zealand First), and thus was no longer standing as an independent. Since that time, all independents in Parliament have been those originally elected under a party banner. Some, like Peters, have gone on to found or co-found their own parties, with varying levels of success — examples include Peter Dunne, Taito Phillip Field, Gordon Copeland, Tau Henare, and Alamein Kopu. Others have joined parties which were then outside Parliament, such as Frank Grover and Tuariki Delamere.

There were two independent MPs in the last Parliament; Chris Carter and Hone Harawira. Carter became an independent after his criticisms of the Labour Party's leadership resulted in his being expelled from the Labour caucus, while Harawira resigned from the Māori Party and, after a short period as an independent, also resigned as an MP in order to force the 2011 by-election when he was re-elected as representative of his new political party, Mana. There are also two parties other which have only a single MP United Future with Peter Dunne and ACT with John Banks. Neither Dunne nor Banks are classed as independents — Dunne's presence in Parliament is due to personal votes in his home electorate, and Banks' presence is as the sole elected MP of ACT due to a collapse in their support in the 2011 election.

Niue[link]

In Niue, there have been no political parties since 2003, and all politicians are de facto independents. The government depends on an informal coalition.

Poland[link]

Polish Sejm election ordination in practice does not allow lone candidates to run. Tickets always have multiple candidates as every district is represented by multiple Sejm Members. Hence, almost all tickets are partisan. However, during a Sejm term many Sejm Members switch parties or become independents.

Tickets like Civic Platform during the 2001 election were formally non-partisan, Civic Platform was widely viewed as a de facto political party, as it is now.

The situation in the Senate is different, as the voting system allows independents to run as single candidates and some are elected in their own right. However, only Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz is independent.

Three Presidents since 1990 have technically been independents. Lech Wałęsa was not an endorsed candidate of any party, but the chairman of the Solidarity and he was elected without full support of this union (Solidarity votes split between him and Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki). Aleksander Kwaśniewski was a leader of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland, but formally resigned from the party after he was elected, as did Lech Kaczyński, who was the first leader of Law and Justice, but also resigned from the party on getting elected.

Philippines[link]

Noli de Castro, the Philippines' former vice president, ran as senator in 2001 with no political party affiliation. He was a guest candidate of the opposition Pwersa ng Masa coalition but he never joined their campaign rallies. He won in the senate race with the highest votes (then) in Philippine history. In 2004, he ran as vice president as a guest candidate of the administration K-4 coalition and won with just under majority of the vote.

Starting in 2001, senators had also resigned from their respective parties to become independents; currently there are more independent senators than any other single political party. However, in contesting elections, all elected independents had been members of either the administration or the opposition coalition, until in the 2007 Senate election when Gregorio Honasan (a former senator) was elected as an independent while not a being member of any coalition. Honasan was earlier elected in 1995 as an independent as a member of the Nationalist People's Coalition-led coalition to become the first elected independent senator since Magnolia Antonino in 1967, although Antonino was a guest candidate of the Liberal Party then.

In the local level, former priest Eddie Panlilio was elected as governor of Pampanga in 2007, defeating two administration candidates. When Panlilio eventually transferred to the Liberal Party in time for the 2010 election, it was ruled that he was beaten in the 2007 election; in 2010, he was defeated.

In the 2010 House of Representatives elections, seven independents were elected, although all but two joined a political party after the elections.

In contesting elections, independent candidates are required by law to spend less than candidates nominated by a party.

Russia[link]

All of Russia's Presidents have been independents. Former president Dmitry Medvedev was offered to join United Russia but politely declined, saying that he believes the President should be an independent so that he serves the interests of the country rather than his political party.

Vladimir Putin, the current president of Russia, is the head of the United Russia party, but is not its member, thus formally is independent.

United Kingdom[link]

Independent Members of Parliament were once frequently elected in the United Kingdom, but they have been much less successful in the last half-century. (See List of UK minor party and independent MPs elected.)

One independent MP was elected in the 2010 election:

• Sylvia Hermon (MP for North Down), having left the Ulster Unionist Party over its link with the Conservatives.

Two independent or local party MPs were elected in the 2005 election:

• Peter Law (MP for Blaenau Gwent), who died on April 25, 2006 - after which the by-election yielded another independent MP - Dai Davies.
• Dr. Richard Taylor, sole MP of the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern party (for the constituency of Wyre Forest). Taylor's election to Parliament was most notable for the fact that he was the only independent in recent times to have been re-elected for a second term.

There have also been several instances of MPs being elected under the auspices of a particular party, then resigning the party whip, or having it withdrawn: examples in the 2005-2010 parliament included Clare Short and Robert Wareing (formerly Labour) and Derek Conway (formerly Conservative).

News reporter Martin Bell was elected as an Independent MP for Tatton from 1997 to 2001 having stood on an anti-corruption platform.

The House of Lords includes a large number of independent peers, who are usually known as crossbenchers.

The introduction of directly elected mayors in several parts of England has witnessed the election of independent candidates to run councils in Stoke-on-Trent, Middlesbrough, Bedford, Hartlepool and Mansfield. The first Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was originally elected as an independent, having run against the official Labour candidate Frank Dobson. He was subsequently re-admitted to the Labour Party before his first re-election campaign.

Independent candidates frequently stand and are elected to local councils. There is a special Independent group of the Local Government Association to cater for them.

Independent candidates frequently stand in parliamentary elections, often with platforms about specific local issues, but usually with little success. A typical example from the 2001 general election was when Aston Villa supporter Ian Robinson stood as an independent candidate in the Sutton Coldfield constituency, in protest at the way chairman Doug Ellis ran the club. Another example, in the Salisbury constituency, of an independent candidate is Arthur Uther Pendragon - British activist and self-declared reincarnation of King Arthur.

At the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary elections, three MSPs were elected as Independents: Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West), Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) and Margo MacDonald (Lothians). In 2004 Campbell Martin (West of Scotland region) left the Scottish National Party to become an independent and in 2005 Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) left the Conservative Party to become an independent. At the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary elections Margo MacDonald was again returned as an independent MSP.

Other independent candidates are associated with a political party and may be former members of it, but are not able to stand under its label. For instance, after being expelled from the Labour Party but before joining the Respect Coalition, British Member of Parliament (MP) George Galloway described himself as "Independent Labour".

A third category of independents are those who may belong to or support a political party but believe they should not formally represent it and thus be subject to its policies. This was common among members of most political parties for the purpose of British local government elections until the last quarter of the twentieth century.

Some independents in the United Kingdom have registered locality-based political parties. British examples include Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern, Epsom and Ewell Residents Association, Loughton Residents Association, Derwentside Independents, East Yorkshire Independents ; many are local residents' or ratepayers' associations that contest elections. They are usually considered independent as they have no alignment in national politics.

On 23 March 2005 the Independent Network was set up to support independent candidates in the General Election.^[2] The Independent Network still supports Independent candidates in local, regional, national and European elections. It has an organic set of principles known as the Bell Principles and are very closely related to Lord Nolan's Standards of Public Life. The Independent Network does not impose any ideology or political influence on their candidates.

In March 2009, Sir Paul Judge established the Jury Team, an umbrella organisation dedicated to increasing the number of Independent candidates standing in the UK, both in domestic and European elections.^[3]

United States[link]

President[link]

Historically, George Washington was the only president elected as an independent, as he was not formally affiliated with any party during his two terms.

John Tyler was expelled from the Whig Party in September 1841, and remained effectively an independent for the remainder of his presidency, later returning to the Democrats. He briefly sought re-election in 1844 as a National Democrat, but withdrew as he feared to split the Democratic vote.

Recent prominent independent candidates for president of the United States include John Anderson in 1980, Ross Perot in 1992, and Ralph Nader in the 2004 and 2008 elections. In 2008, independent Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader formed Independent Parties in New Mexico, Delaware, and elsewhere to gain ballot access in several states. This strategy has been pursued by several 'independent' candidates for Federal races, including Joe Lieberman (Connecticut for Lieberman), because in some states it is easier to gain ballot access by creating a new political party than to gather signatures for a nominating petition.

Governor[link]

Illinois, Maine, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas and Minnesota are the only states to have elected formally independent candidates as governor: Illinois' first two governors, Shadrach Bond and Edward Coles; James B. Longley in 1974 as well as Angus King in 1994 and 1998 from Maine; Lincoln Chafee in 2010 from Rhode Island; Julius Meier in 1930 from Oregon; and Sam Houston in 1859 from Texas. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. is sometimes mentioned as an independent governor, though this is not technically correct; he ran as A Connecticut Party candidate (which gave him better ballot placement than an unaffiliated candidate would receive), defeating the Democratic and Republican party nominees. Another former governor who is sometimes mentioned as an independent is Jesse Ventura, who actually ran as a member of the Reform Party's Minnesota affiliate, which later disaffiliated from the party and reverted to their original name the Independence Party of Minnesota.

In 1971, State Senator Henry Howell of Virginia, a former Democrat, was elected lieutenant governor as an independent. Two years later, he campaigned for governor as an independent, losing the election by only 15,000 votes.

There were several unsuccessful independent gubernatorial candidates in 2006 who impacted their electoral races. In Maine, state legislator Barbara Merrill (formerly a Democrat) received 21% of the vote in Maine. In Texas, country music singer and mystery novelist Kinky Friedman received 12.43% of the vote, and State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn received 18.13%. Strayhorn and Friedman's presence in the race resulted in a splitting of the ballot four ways between themselves and the two major parties.

In 2010, Florida governor Charlie Crist left the Republican party and became Independent rather than face former state house Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican primary (Rubio won, though Crist came in ahead of Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek).

Congress[link]

There have been several independents elected to the United States Senate throughout history. Notable examples include David Davis of Illinois (a former Republican) in the nineteenth century, and Harry F. Byrd, Jr. of Virginia (who had been elected to his first term as a Democrat) in the twentieth century. Some officials have been elected as members of a party but became independent while in office (without being elected as such), such as Wayne Morse of Oregon or Virgil Goode of Virginia. Vermont senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent in 2001. Jeffords's change of party status was especially significant because it shifted the Senate composition from 50-50 between the Republicans and Democrats (with a Republican Vice President, Dick Cheney, who would presumably break all ties in favor of the Republicans), to 49 Republicans, 50 Democrats, and one Independent. Jeffords agreed to vote for Democratic control of the Senate in exchange for being appointed chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Democrats held control of the Senate until the Congressional elections in 2002, when the Republicans regained their majority. Jeffords retired at the end of his term in 2007. Wayne Morse after two years as an independent became Democrat, while Goode switched to Republican.

Representative Bernie Sanders was an independent member of the United States House of Representatives for Vermont-at-large from 1991 to 2007. Sanders later won the open Senate seat of Jim Jeffords as an independent. Joe Lieberman a former Democrat who ran, like Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., under a third party (Connecticut for Lieberman Party) in the 2006 election. Though both representatives are technically independent politicians, they caucus with the Democrats. In 2006, Sanders and Lieberman were the only two victorious independent candidates for Congress.

State and local offices[link]

In August 2008, there were twelve people who held offices as independents in state legislatures. There were four state senators, one from Kentucky, one from Oregon, one from Tennessee, and one from New Mexico. The representatives came from the states of Louisiana (two), Maine (two), Vermont (two), and Virginia (two). In the 2008 general elections, Wisconsin State Assemblyman Jeffrey Wood left the Republican Party and won reelection as an independent. After the 2008 primary election, New Mexico State Senator Joseph Carraro left the Republican Party and registered as an Independent. He did not run for reelection.

In November 2005 Manny Diaz was elected Mayor of Miami, Florida as an independent.^[4] On June 19, 2007, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent. Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada switched his affiliation to Independent from Democrat in December 2009.^[5]

Yugoslavia[link]

On 15 June 1992, Dobrica Ćosić was elected Federal President as first non-partisan head of state in Yugoslav history. Ćosić held the position until 1 June 1993, when he was removed from the position.

See also[link]

• Swing voter
• Independent (voter)

Notes and references[link]

Notes:

References:

External links[link]

• Independent Political Candidate Directory

Martin Bell OBE
Martin Bell addresses a Frontline Club forum
Member of Parliament for Tatton
In office 1 May 1997 – 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Neil Hamilton
Succeeded by	George Osborne
Majority	11,077
Personal details
Born	(1938-08-31) 31 August 1938 (age 73) Redisham, Suffolk
Nationality	British
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	King's College, Cambridge
Occupation	War reporter

Martin Bell, OBE, (born 31 August 1938, Redisham, Suffolk) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001.

Background[link]

Bell is the son of author-farmer Adrian Bell, the brother of literary translator, Anthea Bell OBE and the uncle of weblogger-banker Oliver Kamm, who served as his political adviser during his term as a Member of Parliament (MP).

He was educated at The Leys School in Cambridge^[1] and King's College, Cambridge, where he achieved a 1st Class Honours Degree in English.^[2] At Cambridge, he served on the committee of Cambridge University Liberal Club, including a term as Publicity Officer.^[3] He failed to obtain a commission during his two-year national service and served out his time as an acting corporal in the Suffolk Regiment serving in Cyprus during the emergency.^[4]

BBC correspondent[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

Martin Bell joined the BBC as a reporter in Norwich in 1962 as a 24-year-old, following his graduation.

He moved to London three years later, beginning a distinguished career as a foreign affairs correspondent with his first assignment in Ghana. Over the next thirty years, he covered eleven conflicts and reported from eighty countries, making his name with reports from wars and conflicts in Vietnam, Middle East, Nigeria, Angola, and in Northern Ireland (during the "Troubles").

He won the Royal Television Society's Reporter of the Year award in 1977 and 1993, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992. That same year, whilst covering the war in Bosnia Bell was seriously wounded by shrapnel while recording a report.

He remained an official BBC correspondent, although from the mid-1990s he filed relatively few reports, and became disillusioned with the BBC.

Independent politician[link]

In 1997, twenty-four days before that year's British General Election, Martin Bell announced that he was leaving the BBC to stand as an independent candidate in the Tatton constituency in Cheshire. Tatton was one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, where the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament, Neil Hamilton, was embroiled in "sleaze" allegations. The Labour and Liberal Democrat parties withdrew their candidates in Bell's favour in a plan masterminded by Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's press secretary.^[5][6]

Hamilton was trounced, and Martin Bell was elected an MP with a majority of 11,077 votes^[7] – overturning a Conservative majority of over 22,000 – and thus became the first successful independent parliamentary candidate since 1951.^[8]

He did not often speak in the House of Commons, and when he did, it was mostly on matters of British policy in the former Yugoslavia and the Third World. Although Bell voted with the Labour government of Tony Blair on many issues, on a few others, such as reducing the homosexual age of consent and banning fox hunting, he voted with the Conservatives. On 12 November 1997, he was cheered from the Conservative benches when he asked Blair about the Bernie Ecclestone affair, "Does the Prime Minister agree that the perception of wrong-doing can be as damaging to public confidence as the wrong-doing itself? Have we slain one dragon only to have another take its place, with a red rose in its mouth?".^[9]

He was urged by large numbers of his Tatton constituents to stand again in the 2001 general election. Bell said that the only outcome which could make him change his mind would be Neil Hamilton being re-selected by the Tatton Conservative Party as candidate for the next General Election. However, future Chancellor George Osborne was selected in March 1999, as Conservative party candidate for Tatton. Hamilton lost his libel case against Mohammed Al-Fayed in December 1999, ending any prospect of him making a political comeback. Though he regretted making the pledge of saying he would only serve for one term, Bell stuck to his promise.

In 2001, Bell was nonetheless persuaded to stand as an independent candidate against another Conservative MP Eric Pickles in the "safe" Essex constituency of Brentwood and Ongar, where there were accusations that the local Conservative Association had been infiltrated by a Pentecostal church.^[10] Although he garnered nearly 32% of the vote coming second, Bell was however unsuccessful in the 2001 election, and announced his retirement from politics, saying that "winning one and losing one is not a bad record for an amateur".

The Channel 4 drama 'Mr White Goes to Westminster' was loosely based on Bell's political career.

Post Political Life[link]

Bell made a brief return to television news in 2003 when he provided analysis of the Iraq invasion for ITN's Channel Five News. The short films he compiled from the daily video footage brought a unique historical and humanitarian perspective to the events that was in stark contrast to the coverage of much of the mainstream media.

Bell reversed his previous decision and stood for the European Parliament in the June 2004 elections, but was ultimately unsuccessful as an independent candidate in the UK's eastern region, winning only 6.2% of the vote (see European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)).^[11]

Before the 2005 election he became affiliated with the Independent Network to help promote independent candidates (its most prominent candidate being Reg Keys who fought against prime minister Tony Blair in the Sedgefield constituency).^[12]

Bell now acts as an ambassador for UNICEF^[13] and as a critic on the state of journalism today, although he describes himself as "too old" for both journalism and politics.

In April 2006, Scottish National Party MP Angus MacNeil asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate whether any law had been broken in the Cash for Peerages scandal. Bell wrote jointly with MacNeil to Prime Minister Tony Blair calling for all appointments to the House of Lords to be suspended.^[14]

In May 2009, he came out in support of the Green Party in the weeks before the 2009 European elections, supporting the Green Party's 'Clean Campaigning' pledge in the wake of the scandal over MPs' expenses.^[15]

On 21 May 2009, he appeared on the special live edition of BBC's Question Time which was held in Salisbury in the midst of the political scandal surrounding MPs' expenses.^[16]

He announced that he was considering standing against a third Conservative MP, Sir Nicholas Winterton, the MP for Macclesfield in the 2010 General Election, but following the latter's announcement that he was not going to seek re-election, did not do so.^[17] He indicated that he might stand against Hazel Blears in Salford (the first sitting MP of a party other than the Conservative party against whom he expressed an interest in standing)^[18] although in the end he did not stand in any constituency.

Publications[link]

• In Harm's Way (London, 1995, revised edition 1996) ISBN 0-14-025108-1
• An Accidental MP (Viking, London, 2000, Penguin paperback 2001) ISBN 0-670-89231-9
• Through Gates of Fire: a Journey into World Disorder (London, 2003, Phoenix paperback 2004) ISBN 0-7538-1786-1
• The Truth That Sticks: New Labour's Breach of Trust (Icon Books, London, 2007) ISBN 1-84046-822-X
• A Very British Revolution: The Expenses Scandal and How to Save Our Democracy (Icon Books, London, 2009) ISBN 978-1-84831-096-4

References[link]

Mila Kunis
Kunis on a Family Guy panel at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2009
Born	Milena Markovna Kunis/Milena Markivna Kunis[1][2] (1983-08-14) August 14, 1983 (age 28) Chernivtsi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Alma mater	Loyola Marymount University
Occupation	Actress, voice artist
Years active	1994–present
Home town	Los Angeles, California
Partner	Macaulay Culkin (2002–2010)

Milena "Mila" Kunis (Russian: Милена "Mилa" Кунис; Ukrainian: Мілена "Miлa" Куніс;^[1] born August 14, 1983;  /ˈmiːlə ˈkuːnɪs/) is an American actress. At the age of seven, she moved from Ukraine to Los Angeles, California with her family. After being enrolled in acting classes to help learn English, she was soon discovered by an agent. She appeared in TV shows and commercials, before her first significant role, playing Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show. A year later, she was cast as the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy.

Her breakout film role came in 2008, playing Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Subsequent film roles included Mona Sax in Max Payne, Solara in The Book of Eli, and Jamie in Friends with Benefits. Her performance as Lily in Black Swan gained her worldwide accolades, including receiving the Premio Marcello Mastroianni for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, and nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

She has received substantial media attention for her beauty, including often landing on the "Hot 100" lists for publications such as Maxim or FHM and routinely appearing on the cover of national magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar and GQ magazine. Her star status was further enhanced when she signed on to be the face of the Christian Dior Spring fashion campaign. At the age of 18, she began a relationship with actor Macaulay Culkin that lasted eight years.^[3]

Early life[link]

Kunis was born in Chernivtsi in the Ukrainian SSR.^[4][5] She is the daughter of Elvira, a physics teacher and drug store manager, and Mark, a mechanical engineer and cab company executive. Kunis has an older brother, Michael.^[6] In 1991, when she was seven years old, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. Kunis is Jewish and has cited antisemitism in the former Soviet Union as one of several reasons for her family's move to the U.S.^[5][7][8] She has stated that her parents "raised [her] Jewish as much as they could", though religion was suppressed in the Soviet Union.^[5]

On her second day in Los Angeles, Kunis was enrolled at Rosewood Elementary School not knowing a word of English. "I blocked out second grade completely. I have no recollection of it. I always talk to my mom and my grandma about it. It was because I cried every day. I didn't understand the culture. I didn't understand the people. I didn't understand the language. My first sentence of my essay to get into college was like, 'Imagine being blind and deaf at age seven.' And that's kind of what it felt like moving to the States."^[9]

Education[link]

In Los Angeles, she attended Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School.^[10] She was mostly taught by an on-set tutor for her high school years while filming That '70s Show.^[11] When not on the set, she attended Fairfax High School, where she graduated in 2001.^[7] She briefly attended UCLA and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.^[6][12]

Career[link]

Television[link]

At age nine, Kunis' father enrolled her in acting classes after school at the Beverly Hills Studios, where she met Susan Curtis, who would become her manager.^[13][14] Her first TV role was in 1994 as the young Hope Williams on an episode of the popular soap opera Days of our Lives.^[15] She had a minor role on 7th Heaven^[11] and supporting roles in Santa with Muscles, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, and the Angelina Jolie film Gia, as the young Gia Carangi.^[6]

In 1998, Kunis was cast as Jackie Burkhart in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. All who auditioned were required to be at least 18 years old; Kunis, who was 14 at the time, told the casting directors she would be 18 but did not say when. Though they eventually figured it out, the producers still thought Kunis was the best fit for the role.^[5][14] That '70s Show ran for eight seasons.^[16]

In 1999, Kunis replaced Lacey Chabert in the role of Meg Griffin on the animated sitcom Family Guy,^[17] created by Seth MacFarlane for Fox. Kunis won the role after auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show.^[18] MacFarlane called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.^[18] MacFarlane added: "What Mila Kunis brought to it was in a lot of ways, I thought, almost more right for the character. I say that Lacey did a phenomenal job, but there was something about Mila – something very natural about Mila. She was 15 when she started, so you were listening to a 15-year-old. Which oftentimes with animation they'll have adult actors doing the voices of teenagers and they always sound like Saturday morning voices. They sound, oftentimes, very forced. She had a very natural quality to Meg that really made what we did with that character kind of really work."^[19] Kunis was nominated for an Annie Award in the category of Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production in 2007.^[20] She also voiced Meg in the Family Guy Video Game!. Kunis described her character as "the scapegoat."^[21]

Film work, 2001–2008[link]

In 2001, she appeared in Get Over It opposite Kirsten Dunst. She followed that up in 2002, by starring in the straight-to-DVD horror film American Psycho 2 alongside William Shatner, a sequel to the 2000 film American Psycho. American Psycho 2 was panned by critics,^[22] and later, Kunis herself expressed embarrassment over the film.^[23] In 2004, Kunis starred in the film adaptation Tony n' Tina's Wedding. Although the film was shot in 2004, it did not have a theatrical release until 2007.^[24] Most critics did not like the film, which mustered a 25% approval from Rotten Tomatoes.^[25] DVD talk concluded that "fans would be much better off pretending the movie never happened in the first place".^[26]

In 2005, Kunis co-starred with Jon Heder in Moving McAllister, which was not released theatrically until 2007.^[27] The film received generally poor reviews and had a limited two week run in theaters.^[28][29] She followed up with After Sex starring alongside Zoe Saldana, who had also appeared in Get Over It.^[30] In October 2006, she began filming Boot Camp (originally titled Straight Edge).^[31] Although the film did not have a theatrical release in the United States, it was released on DVD on August 25, 2009.^[32]

Kunis at the premiere of Max Payne in 2008

Kunis starred as Rachel Jansen in the 2008 comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, co-produced by Judd Apatow. The role, which she got after unsuccessfully auditioning for Knocked Up,^[33] entailed improvisation on her part.^[34] The film garnered positive reviews,^[35] and was a commercial success, grossing $105 million worldwide.^[36] Kunis' performance was well-received; Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal praised her "fresh beauty and focused energy",^[37] while James Berardinelli wrote that she is "adept with her performance and understands the concept of comic timing".^[38] She was nominated for a Teen Choice Award.^[39] In an interview, Kunis credited Apatow with helping her to expand her career from That '70s Show.^[33]

Also in 2008, she portrayed Mona Sax, an assassin, alongside Mark Wahlberg in the action movie Max Payne, based on the video game of the same name. Kunis underwent training in guns, boxing, and martial arts for her role.^[40] Max Payne was relatively successful at the box office, grossing $85 million worldwide^[41] but was panned by critics,^[42] with several reviewers calling Kunis miscast.^[43][44] Travis Estvold of Boise Weekly wrote that she's "horribly miscast as some sort of undersized, warble-voiced crime boss".^[45] Director John Moore defended his choice of Kunis saying, "Mila just bowled us over...She wasn't an obvious choice, but she just wears Mona so well. We needed someone who would not be just a fop or foil to Max; we needed somebody who had to be that character and convey her own agenda. I think Mila just knocked it out of the park.".^[40] She was nominated for another Teen Choice Award for her role in the film.^[46]

2009–present[link]

In 2009, she appeared in the comedy Extract with Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman. The film received mostly positive reviews,^[47] and grossed $10.8 million at the box office.^[48] Roger Ebert, while critical of the film itself, wrote that Kunis "brings her role to within shouting distance of credibility."^[49] Director Mike Judge commented that part of what was surprising to learn about Kunis was her ability to make references to the cult animation film Rejected. Judge said: "As beautiful as Mila is, you could believe that maybe she would cross paths with you in the real world."^[50] After seeing Kunis perform in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Judge wanted to cast her in the role of Cindy in Extract: "I just thought, 'Wow, this girl's perfect.' And she really wanted to do it, which was fantastic." Said Kunis, "I'm a huge fan of Mike Judge's from Office Space, so I was, like, 'Okay, this is a very easy decision.' I told them I would do anything needed to be in this production – like craft service, or, say, acting."^[51]

In 2010, she starred alongside Denzel Washington in the action film The Book of Eli. Although the film received mixed reviews,^[52] it performed well at the box office, grossing over $157 million worldwide.^[53] Film critic Richard Roeper praised Kunis' performance, calling it a "particularly strong piece of work".^[54] Several other reviews were equally positive of her performance, including Pete Hammond of Boxoffice magazine, who wrote that she is "ideally cast in the key female role"^[55] Even reviewers who did not necessarily like the film complimented her performance, such as James Berardinelli, who stated that "the demands of the role prove to be within her range, which is perhaps surprising considering she has been thus far pigeonholed into more lightweight parts",^[56] and Colin Covert of the Star Tribune, who wrote that she "generated a spark and brought a degree of determination to her character, developing an independent female character who's not always in need of rescuing."^[57] Other critics, such as Claudia Puig of USA Today felt she was miscast, stating "she looked as if she dropped in from a Ray-Ban commercial".^[58][59][60] Kunis received another Teen Choice Award nomination for her performance.^[61][62] Kunis was also cast in a minor role in the 2010 comedy Date Night, starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell.^[63] She garnered several positive reviews for her performance.^[64][65][66] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune concluded her performance with James Franco helped save the film and gave it "a shot in the arm".^[67]

She and Natalie Portman played rival ballet dancers in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. Kunis, who was cast in the film based on her performance in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and on the recommendation of costar Natalie Portman,^[68] underwent a training regimen that included cardiovascular exercise, a 1,200-calorie a day diet (she lost 20 pounds that she regained after filming ended), and ballet classes for four hours a day, seven days a week.^[69][70][71] During the demanding production, she suffered injuries including a torn ligament and a dislocated shoulder.^[72] Black Swan has received widespread acclaim from critics^[73] and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.^[74] The film grossed over $100 million (106.9 million) in the US and Canada^[75] while grossing over $329 million worldwide.^[76] Reviews of Kunis' performance have been positive,^[77][78][79] with Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter stating, "Kunis makes a perfect alternate to Portman, equally as lithe and dark but a smirk of self-assurance in place of Portman's wide-eyed fearfulness."^[80] Guy Lodge of In Contention also praised Kunis, saying, "it's the cool, throaty-voiced Kunis who is the surprise package here, intelligently watching and reflecting her co-star in such a manner that we're as uncertain as Nina of her ingenuousness."^[81] Kunis' performance won her the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival,^[82] and earned her Golden Globe Award ^[83]and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.^[84] At the 37th annual Saturn Awards she was also honored with the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance.^[85]

Kunis was cast alongside Justin Timberlake in the romantic comedy Friends with Benefits.^[86] Director Will Gluck stated that he wrote the story with Kunis and Timberlake in mind.^[87] Friends with Benefits achieved success at the box office, grossing over $149 million worldwide,^[88] and received mostly positive reviews with critics praising the chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake.^[89] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Kunis is fast proving that she's a gift that keeps giving to mainstream romantic comedy" and "her energy is so invigorating and expansive and her presence so vibrant that she fills the screen".^[90]

In July, 2012 will be the release of her next film Ted, co-starring Mark Wahlberg, and directed and co-written by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.^[91] Ted will be followed in March, 2013 by the upcoming Walt Disney Pictures' prequel, Oz: The Great and Powerful, where she will play Theodora, the youngest of three witches, opposite James Franco.^[92] Also set for a 2013 release will be Blood Ties with Kunis co-starring with Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, and Marion Cotillard.^[93]

Media publicity[link]

Kunis has attracted notable media attention for her physical appearance by various media outlets. Praise has ranged from GQ magazine naming her the Knockout of the Year for 2011 ^[94] to Men's Health naming her one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time". ^[95] The Spike Guys' Choice Awards have honored her twice, naming her the "Hottest Mila" at the 2009 awards ceremony^[96] and in 2011 presenting her with the Holy Grail of Hot award.^[97] AskMen.com has also lauded Kunis ranking her the second most desirable woman in 2011^[98] and following that up with a number thirteen ranking in 2012.^[99] FHM magazine ranked her number 9 on their 2012 Hot 100 list^[100] but Kunis has kept this type of media attention in perspective, saying, “You’ve got to base your career on something other than being FHM’s top 100 number one girl. Your looks are going to die out, and then what’s going to be left?”^[9] In recent years, Maxim has consistently ranked Kunis on their Hot 100 list, reaching a ranking of number 5 in both 2009 and 2011^[101]and number 3 in 2012.^[102]

In 2007, Kunis participated in a video for the website Funny or Die appearing alongside James Franco. The video was a parody of the MTV show The Hills and was a huge success for the website, with well over one million views.^[103] Shawn Levy, director of Date Night, stated that part of what made him decide to cast Kunis with James Franco in the film was the chemistry he felt they had in the Funny or Die video.^[104] In December 2008, Kunis was featured in Gap's "Shine Your Own Star" Christmas campaign.^[105] Kunis was described as one of the "most attractive geeks" by Wired.com in 2008, due to her much-publicized affinity for World of Warcraft.^[106] That same year, she was featured and on the cover of the October issue of Complex Magazine.^[107]

In 2010, she was featured in the "Women We Love" segment in Esquire with an accompanied video.^[108] For the October 2010 Elle magazine 25th anniversary special edition, Kunis was one of the women chosen to be featured for their success at a young age. The honor included a photo and video presentation on the magazine's website.^[109] Kunis was among several female stars photographed by Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams in conjunction with the Calvin Klein Collections for a feature titled American Women 2010, with the proceeds from the photographs donated to the NYC AIDS foundation.^[110] Also in 2010, Kunis was featured and on the cover of the December issue of Nylon.^[111] During the summer of 2010 Kunis served with Randy Jackson as the Master of Ceremonies for the 9th Annual Chrysalis Foundation Benefit. The Chrysalis Foundation is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization formed to help economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals to become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.^[112]

In 2011, Kunis graced the cover of the February issue of Cosmopolitan^[113] and the March issue of W magazine.^[72] For the 17th Annual Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair, Kunis was among the actors to be chosen to appear on the cover.^[114] In support of her film Friends with Benefits she landed on the cover of Elle magazine and GQ magazine.^[115][116]

Christian Dior signed Kunis in 2012 to be the face of its Spring fashion campaign^[117] and she made the cover of the April issue of Harper's Bazaar.^[118]

Personal life[link]

Kunis began dating actor Macaulay Culkin in 2002.^[119] At one time there were rumors of the couple getting married, but Kunis denied them, saying:

I've been engaged. I think I've already been married. And I'm sure I have a child somewhere. I'm waiting to have something else happen. No, I'm not married. And no, I'm not engaged. And no, I do not have a child. No one seems to listen. And next week I'll be engaged again. I think, at one point, they were like, 'Seen shopping in Beverly Hills for engagement rings.' We were in Japan working. What is wrong with these people? Half the time you can say they misconstrued facts. But, more often than not, they just make stuff up.^[120]

In an interview with BlackBook Magazine Kunis stated that marriage is "not something that's important to me".^[121] Kunis said she tried her best to protect her and Culkin's privacy, noting that "We don't talk about it to the press. It's already more high profile than I want it to be."^[122] When questioned if it was difficult to stay out of the tabloids and press, Kunis responded: "I keep my personal life as personal as I physically, mentally, possibly can." Asked if that is difficult she said, "I don't care. I will go to my grave trying. It is hard, but I'll end up going to a bar that's a hole in the wall. I won't go to the "it's-happening" place."^[123] On January 3, 2011, Kunis' publicist confirmed reports that Kunis and Culkin had ended their relationship, saying "The split was amicable, and they remain close friends". ^[3]

Kunis attending the Marine Corps Ball in 2011

She has identified herself in interviews as a fan of the online computer game World of Warcraft and has received a certain amount of attention from the game's fan community as a result. She has not released what server she is in but says she is with her close friends in the Alliance.^[124] In a 2008 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she stated she had not used voice chat in the game since another player recognized her voice.^[125] Although Kunis has described herself as a "computer nerd", she does not have a Myspace, Facebook or Twitter account.^[126] Kunis discussed her desire for privacy: "Why would I want to share my life with the world when it's being shared already, without my consent? The only problem with not having an account is that there are fake accounts, pretending to quote me. But what am I going to tweet about?"^[127]

Kunis enjoys traveling, and often goes on trips with her older brother, Michael. She and Michael have explored countries such as Fiji and Korea. "I like the way he travels," she explains. "He grabs a map, says, 'Let's walk,' and makes you explore."^[6] In an interview Kunis elaborated on how she likes to relax during her personal time: "I love to hang out with my friends....I love to sit home in my pajamas and watch TiVo. That brings me so much happiness. That's it. It's quiet and calm."^[128]

In January 2011, she revealed her struggle with an eye condition called chronic iritis that had caused blindness in one eye. However, a couple of months earlier she had surgery that corrected the problem.^[129] Kunis also has the condition heterochromia iridum, where the irises have different colors. One eye is brown, and the other is green.^[130]

In November 2011, Kunis was escorted by Sgt. Scott Moore to a United States Marine Corps Ball in Greenville, North Carolina. Kunis had accepted Moore's invitation in July after he posted it as a YouTube video while serving with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, in Afghanistan's Helmand province. The event celebrated the Marine Corps' 236th anniversary.^[131]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]