Nationality British Website johnreesevans.uk Service number 24965344 Service/branch British Army | Allegiance United Kingdom Party UK Independence Party | |
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Spouse Rebecca Rees-Evans (m. 2001) Unit Parachute Regiment (did not complete training) Similar Paul Nuttall, Raheem Kassam, Nigel Farage, Alan Sked | ||
John Rees-Evans FRGS (born April 1978) is a UK Independence Party (UKIP) political activist and candidate who contested the party's November 2016 leadership election, coming third with 18.1% of the vote, behind Suzanne Evans, who received 19.3% share of the vote.
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Personal life
Born in Hampshire and educated overseas, including at the Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg, Rees-Evans joined the British Army Reserve at 19 after leaving school where he served for five years including a year training with the Parachute Regiment from which he was discharged without completing training. He now lives in Penrhiwceiber with his family and has a professional background in business, particularly adventure tourism. He also has houses in the south of France and Bulgaria and an interest in horses. He controversially claimed that a "homosexual donkey" had tried to rape his horse. He clarified his statement, saying that "I was asked to respond to quite a bizarre statement ... and so I tried to give the only kind of answer I knew how to give because, frankly, I do not have any experience of homosexuality, or humans copulating with animals."
Rees-Evans also owns a fortified compound in Bulgaria, where he has a shooting range. A strong proponent of the right to keep and bear arms, he once convinced an IKEA shop assistant that it would be safer to let him carry his handgun, in case terrorists laid siege to the building.
Political career
He contested the seat of Cardiff South and Penarth in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 receiving 13.8% of the vote, a swing of 11.2% to UKIP.
Rees-Evans declared his candidacy for UKIP leader on 24 October 2016. He has pledged to ensure the UK leaves the EU and that the government is reduced in size and function. He believes that the current political class in Westminster are out of touch with citizens and pledged to make politics more transparent and open if elected UKIP leader.
Rees-Evans differs radically from the other candidates advocating the introduction of direct democracy first within UKIP and then seeking to use it with intention to cause massive reform of the entire UK political system. He also supports capital punishment for child killers and sexual abusers of children, but only if the victims were "pre-pubescent" and looked under the age of 18 (the age of consent in the UK is 16 years), saying that 13-year olds were "fair game for the current punishment".
He was the last remaining Faragist candidate in the race, which was won by the self-described "unity candidate" Paul Nuttall. After walking out of tightly controlled hustings after being told "not to rock the boat", he has embarked on a nationwide tour of membership similar to that of Nigel Farage prior to the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016. Sam Gould, the Chairman of UKIP Caerphilly confirmed this commenting "Policy-wise he is similar to Raheem. John is a gentlemen and has done so much for UKIP, helping them produce party political broadcasts and has raised a lot of money for the party, too." He also received the endorsement of boxer Tyson Fury.