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| − | '''David Michael Kurten''' (born 1971) is an English politician who has been a members of the London Assembly since 2016. He is the current leader of the Heritage Party. | + | '''David Michael Kurten''' (born 1971) is an English [[social conservative]] and politician, who has served as leader of the [[Heritage Party]] since September 2020. |
| | == Early life and work == | | == Early life and work == |
| | David Michael Kurten was born on 22 March 1971 in Littlehampton, Sussex, England. His parents are Reginald Kurten, a [[Jamaica|Jamaican]], and Patricia Kurten (née Robinson), who is British. He grew up in Sussex and was raised by his single mother and maternal grandparents. | | David Michael Kurten was born on 22 March 1971 in Littlehampton, Sussex, England. His parents are Reginald Kurten, a [[Jamaica|Jamaican]], and Patricia Kurten (née Robinson), who is British. He grew up in Sussex and was raised by his single mother and maternal grandparents. |
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| | From 1995 until 2016, Kurten was a teacher, teaching chemistry at schools in the UK, Botswana, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bermuda, and the United States. | | From 1995 until 2016, Kurten was a teacher, teaching chemistry at schools in the UK, Botswana, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bermuda, and the United States. |
| | == Political history == | | == Political history == |
| − | Kurten joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 2012, at which time the party was under the leadership of [[Nigel Farage]]. | + | Kurten joined the [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP) in 2012, at which time the party was under the leadership of [[Nigel Farage]]. |
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| − | Kurten was elected to the [[London Assembly]] in 2016 as a [[UK Independence Party]] candidate. He left the party in January 2020 and established the socially conservative Heritage Party later that year. | + | As part of he 2015 UK general election, which took place on 7 May 2015, David Kurten stood unsuccessfully for UKIP as that party's candidate for the London seat of Camberwell and Peckham, coming 5th overall in the contest. |
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| | + | Kurten, then still a member of UKIP, was elected to the London Assembly, a body elected to scrutinize the activities of the Mayor of London, in the 2016 London Assembly election which was held on 5 May that year. |
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| | + | Kurten left UKIP in January 2020 and established the socially conservative Heritage Party later that year. |
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| | == Views == | | == Views == |