Andy Halsall

Andrew John Edward Halsall
Pirate Party UK Campaign Manager
In office
5 June 2011 – 26 November 2014
Preceded by Peter Brett
Succeeded by William Sizen Bell
Personal details
Born 4 June 1981
Germany
Citizenship British
Nationality British
Political party Pirate Party UK (2010–2015)
Labour Party(2015–present)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance British
Service/branch Army

Andrew (Andy) John Edward Halsall[1] (born 1981 in Germany) is a British politician and the former campaigns officer of the Pirate Party UK.[2] Halsall was elected to the position after the resignation of Peter Brett in 2011, defeating Graeme Lambert in a membership election[3] and stepped down from the position in November 2014 to stand in the General Election in Sheffield.[4]

He is a former soldier.[5] Between 2010 and 2015 he worked on campaigns for the Pirate Party UK, acted as election agent for Pirate Party UK Leader Loz Kaye and stood as a candidate in the 2015 General Election in Sheffield.

Halsall designed and ran the Pirate Party's 2011 Policy Process[6] and is listed as the principal author of the Pirate Party UK's 2012 Manifesto.[7] During his time with the Pirate Party UK he was instrumental in expanding Pirate Party UK policies beyond its core positions and toward a broader political platform.

Early life

Halsall grew up outside of the UK, living primarily in Germany and Hong Kong. He did not go to university, instead enlisting in the military after leaving college.[5]

Political career

Halsall began his political career working on Tim Dobson's 2010 General Election campaign. It was the first time that the Pirate Party had stood candidates in the UK. His influence can be seen in the manifesto issued by Dobson for that campaign which was far broader than those used by other Pirate Party candidates in 2010.[8]

In late 2011 and early 2012 he was one of the instigator of the Pirate Party UK's drive to broaden its platform and produce a wide-ranging manifesto;[7] his name appears at the top of the acknowledgements and as the person responsible for compiling the Pirate Party's 2012 Manifesto. Halsall's interest in expanding policy came to prominence after his election to the National Executive Committee[9] and continues to be a focus for Halsall, pushing for the party to take up positions on issues like energy, the environment, health, defence and gender politics.

Halsall has been re-elected to the Pirate Party UK National Executive Committee as the party's Campaigns officer three times, most recently in December 2013 [10] since he initially stood for the post in 2011.

Halsall chaired the Pirate Party UK's Conference[11][12] in London in September 2012, announcing the party's new manifesto and approach to politics in the UK.[13]

Halsall was threatened with legal action alongside other members of the Pirate Party National Executive Committee in 2012.[14] Halsall spoke to the BBC, claiming that the Pirate Party UK proxy had had more than 2 million hits in a 24-hour period.[15]

In May 2012 Halsall coordinated local elections in Manchester together with his then newly appointed deputy Jack Allnutt. The result of those elections included the first time that the Pirate Party received more than 5% in a poll and were the best result for the party in the UK.[16]

In November 2012 Halsall acted as election agent for Loz Kaye in the Manchester Central by-election, running the most expensive and most comprehensive[17] election campaign that the Pirate Party had run to date in the UK.[18] Halsall worked closely with Kaye, speaking daily on the phone.[19][20]

In early 2013 Halsall argued that the Pirate Party UK should withdraw from Pirate Parties International,.[21] The Pirate Party UK then conducted a vote to determine whether they should remain a member, voting to remain. Halsall is also now responsible for the Pirate Party UK's international relationships as the head of the international team.[22]

In October 2013 Halsall acted as election agent[23] for Loz Kaye again in the Manchester City Council Ancoats and Clayton elections. Halsall also chaired the Pirate Party UK 2013 Conference in Manchester at which it was announced that the Pirate Party UK was definitely going to participate in European elections in 2014 and that the Pirate Party UK would seek to elect a Deputy Party Leader.[24]

Halsall has appeared on television[25] and radio[26] in the UK to talk about policy and cybersecurity in his capacity as a spokesperson for the Pirate Party in the UK.[27] Halsall writes regularly for Public Service Europe[28] a British European-focused magazine with eurosceptic leanings. Halsall also gives talks at events and conferences.[29]

In 2015 Halsall stood in the May General Election as a candidate for the Pirate Party UK in Sheffield Central.

Political views

On 24 April Halsall discussed the UK Party's aims, manifesto, their goals with Kenney Jones on Talk Radio Europe,[30] spelling out a radical departure from traditional Pirate Policy, including the party's support for a referendum on the UK's EU membership.

In 2015 Halsall endorsed and published a separate manifesto for his election campaign in Sheffield, saying that "It's important for candidates to be clear about where they stand, especially where they have differences with their party.".[31] The Pirate Party Sheffield 2015 Manifesto,[32] authored by Halsall, included a number of differences to the Pirate Party Manifesto 2015.[33] In July 2015, Halsall gave a statement to JUS News saying he intended to leave the Pirate Party and join the Labour Party.[34]

Published documents

External links

References

  1. ↑ https://pefonline.electoralcommission.org.uk/Search/EntitySearch.aspx Electoral Commission party registration search
  2. ↑ "Administrative details of the Pirate Party UK". Wiki.pp-international.net. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  3. ↑ https://www.pirateparty.org.uk/vote/54/[] Pirate Party UK Campaigns Officer Elections in June 2011
  4. ↑ http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/first-pirate-party-candidate-for-sheffield-1-7157750 Sheffield Star First Pirate Party candidate for Sheffield
  5. 1 2 "Overview of Andy Halsall from". the Pirate Party. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  6. ↑ Fish, Adam (2015). "Internet parties: the internet as party, policy, platform, and persuasive symbol'". Civic media project. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
  7. 1 2 "The Pirate Party Manifesto" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  8. ↑ "Tim Dobson's 2010 Manifesto" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  9. ↑ https://www.pirateparty.org.uk/wiki/NEC/Minutes/18th_September_2011#Policy NEC Minutes 18 September 2011
  10. ↑ "New NEC ready to take PPUK to next level". Pirate Party UK. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  11. ↑ http://piratetimes.net/piratecon-the-ppuk-conference/ Pirate Times reporting on the PPUK Conference 2012
  12. ↑ "Artículos del movimiento pirata en el mundo - PirateCon – the PPUK conference". Pirata.jmgoig.org. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  13. ↑ http://thenextweb.com/uk/2012/09/17/pirate-party-uk-the-reluctant-politicians/ The Next Web 'Pirate Party UK, the reluctant politicians'
  14. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20668699 BBC - Pirate Party threatened with legal action over Pirate Bay proxy
  15. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18016819 BBC - Dutch court bans Pirate Party links to The Pirate Bay
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-30. Manchester Council Election Results 2012
  17. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-19. Manchester Council By-election Results, November 2012
  18. ↑ http://manchester.pirateparty.org.uk/fundraising-for-november-2012/campaign-spending/ Pirate Party of Manchester
  19. ↑ Public Service Europe - Seven days a week in the Life of Loz Kaye Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ↑ "Interview with Andy Halsall, Manchester". Euronews. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  21. ↑ http://piratetimes.net/ppuk-ppi/ Pirate Times - UK Pirates to decide PPUKs international direction
  22. ↑ "PiratenPartei Wiki - Piratenpartei Großbritannien" (in German). Wiki.piratenpartei.de. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  23. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02. Manchester City Council
  24. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02. Pirate Party UK, Keynote Speech, 2013 Conference
  25. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmg9bqXPlCw Russia Today - Cyber-attacks grow every year in size & scale
  26. ↑ "OutridersPodcast-20120918" (Interview). Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  27. ↑ http://rt.com/news/web-slowdown-spamhaus-cyberattack-011/ Russia Today - Web Slowdown, Spamhaus Cyberattack
  28. ↑ http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/3611/the-internet-blame-game-watching-the-watchers[] Public Service Europe - The Internet Blame Game, Watching the Watchers
  29. ↑ "Open Rights Group North Conference". Openrightsgroup.org. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  30. ↑ "Talk Radio Europe Official". Facebook. 2013-07-26. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  31. ↑ "Standing on the Right Ideas.". Pirate Party UK.
  32. ↑ "2015 Pirate Party Sheffield Manifesto" (PDF). Pirate Party UK - Sheffield.
  33. ↑ "Our Manifesto for the General Election" (PDF). Pirate Party UK.
  34. ↑ "Sheffield Central Election Blues.". JUS News.
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