The 21st Century has seen many bizarre things but Andrew Tate throwing his hat in the electoral ring may take the cake. The controversial social media star, known for his hypermasculine and misogynistic views, gained traction worldwide as a major ‘Alpha Male’ figurine over mainstream social media platforms. Not short of controversy, Tate was arrested last year in Romania over grooming and sexual abuse allegations, begging the question of whether his moral compass is finetuned enough to guide UK governance. His political vehicle? The Bruv party.
The Bruv Party is unironically an acronym for ‘Britain Restoring Underlying Values’, which is exactly what it says on the tin. If not, a little bit more! Already, questions have to be asked: is this a self-promotional stunt in order to stay relevant in the eyes of the media, or is this a genuine attempt to throw himself into the world of mainstream British politics?
The Bruv party holds a peculiarly draconian outlook on knife crime, referencing in their manifesto data claiming there had been 137 knife crimes per day between 2023 and 2024. Tate’s lightbulb moment is to create a new BBC broadcasting channel – “BBC Punishment“ – that livestreams convicts in solitary confinement 24/7. Tate claims on X, that this is “not cruelty… it’s deterrence”, proposing that it will deter the younger, more impressionable members of society from picking up a blade. The idea to livestream the retribution of knife crime offenders to the populace is nothing short of ludicrous and dystopian; not a million miles away from a George Orwell novel.
Tate also reiterates zero tolerance for illegal immigrants, claiming a clear solution: not one more boat lands on British soil. He largely leaves the rest of his policy to the imagination, offering little insight into how this policy will be implemented, though maintaining the onus will be on the Royal Navy.
The Bruv party also wants to reinvent the BBC with an emphasis on factual reporting, moving away from supposed ‘propaganda’. Tate claims that the current BBC is a stain on our nation’s name, hypocritically citing reports of “sexual abuse scandals” and “pornographic content”. The Bruv party also hopes for a BBC “public trust score” which will make funding for the BBC conditional on accuracy ratings from the UK’s populace.
On top of this, Tate wants to reform the schooling of LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’, banning all reference to “[non] traditional family values”. What a surprise! Furthermore, Tate claims that ‘30%‘ of Members of Parliament (MPs) do not meet their attendance charter, and thus advocates for weekly referendums in which all members of the electorate may vote – deeming these weekly ‘daddy‘ referendums.
While this could be argued as a leap forward when compared with the traditionally undemocratic Westminster model of political participation, this policy comes with few details on how it would be logistically implemented, besides a brief reference to the referendums being powered by ‘blockchain technology‘.
Bruv’s answer to the NHS crisis is also quite simplistic: prioritise British passport holders and taxpayers. Tate holds “Health Tourism” accountable for the regression of the NHS, but not the consistent underfunding of public services by decades of successive governments.
For the Bruv party, the protection of our borders and sovereignty comes at a cost. That cost is completely cutting foreign aid, instead claiming that resources should be spent on the rejuvenation of domestic infrastructure and schools. The premise of protecting our sovereignty is a funny one; surely by axing foreign aid, we are loosening ties with many foreign relations in a period where global security is at its most uncertain.
Andrew Tate is undeniably a huge public figure. Whether his party will be able to effectively mobilise an army of tech-bros to march to the polling stations remains to be seen. Thus far, however, there is no doubt his influence on society has been nothing short of detrimental, and that’s before ‘Prime Minister Tate’ has even made it behind the doors of Number 10.
