Laurence Fox announces he’s standing for London Mayor to fight against ‘extreme political correctness’

Laurence Fox is standing for London Mayor

(PA)

Laurence Fox has said he is standing for London Mayor to “offer a voice to those who are being dominated into silence”.

The actor announced in September that he was launching a political party for the “reclamation” of British values.

His anti-Woke Reclaim Party was approved by the Electoral Commission last month and he has previously spoken about his mission to oppose being “woke” for the “rest of his days”.

Mr Fox told the Telegraph that “public debate has been strangled”.

He referenced the recent statue protests which saw campaigners call for statues, many of which are dedicated to famous Britons who profited from the Transatlantic slave trade, be removed.

Mr Fox said he was angered by the “disrespect being shown to the sacrifices made by previous generations to protect our values, tolerance and freedom”.

Writing for the Telegraph about his campaign to be the next Mayor of London, Mr Fox said: “This extreme political correctness must be resisted”.

“I look forward to speaking up for those who are being dominated into silence,” he added.

Mr Fox said he will campaign on a platform that calls for lockdown restrictions to be lifted in May rather than waiting until June as has been outlined in Boris Johnson’s roadmap.

The father-of-two recently came under fire for boasting on social media about having a “large group over to lunch” in defiance of lockdown rules.

Mr Fox has already raised £1 million for his new political party, including substantial sums from ex-Tory donors, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

He has courted controversy by taking aim at “woke” culture and said he had broken up with an ex when she praised a Gillette advert which highlighted “toxic masculinity”.

The actor sparked backlash after appearing on BBC Question Time in January last year, where he said the media treatment of the Duchess of Sussex was not racist, saying such allegations were “boring”.

He added that it was “racist” for an audience member to refer to him as a “white privileged male”.

Mr Fox is a former star of TV detective series Lewis and ex-husband of actress Billie Piper.

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