Led by Donkeys aims for £1m+ donation to JCWI through domain name sale
Howard Lake | 22 November 2019 | News
Anti-Brexit campaign group Led By Donkeys is offering to sell the domain name thebrexitparty.com for over £1 million to Nigel Farage. They say they will then donate the fee to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
The group bought, registered and used the domain name and other similar versions as part of their campaigning activity ahead of the May 2019 European elections.
They are using the site to highlight “examples of lies, lunacy & hypocrisy from the Conservatives and their new allies, the Brexit Party”.
They are increasing the fee for the domain name by £50,000 a day. The Brexit Party, run by Nigel Farage, uses thebrexitparty.org as its main web presence.
Dunno if he'll cough up, but for now we’ve turned https://t.co/OQ5hfKpVXw into a Tory-Brexit Party electoral alliance advent calendar. Open a new door every day until Dec 12 to see examples of lies, lunacy & hypocrisy from the Conservatives and their new allies, the Brexit Party pic.twitter.com/AYNvGZoSfP
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) November 21, 2019
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Cease and desist
Led By Donkeys has received an eight-page ‘cease and desist’ letter from Wedlake Bell, the Brexit Party’s lawyers, asking them to stop using the Party’s logo and materials on their campaigning documents and presences, and to hand over the domain name thebrexitparty.com. Led By Donkeys have complied in terms of the logo but are not handing over the domain name.
The campaigners took pleasure in pointing out the irony that the law firm’s letter on behalf of the Brexit Party cites European Union law five times as justification of its claim.
We own https://t.co/OQ5hfKpVXw. Farage and co have sent us a long legal letter demanding we give it to him. Well, he can have the website… for a million quid, all proceeds to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (price goes up £50k a day)
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) November 21, 2019
General Election Advent calendar
The site at thebrexitparty.com features a General Election Advent calendar. Behind each door is an example of “the collaboration and highlighting the lunacy and hypocrisy of their Brexit position over the past few months,” said co-founder Oliver Knowles.
Past billboards have featured quotes, such as “I’m not in the least bit worried by chlorinated chicken” by Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Led By Donkeys has achieved prominence for their anti-Brexit campaign by crowdfunding to fund large posters and projections featuring politicians’ volte-face and contradictory promises and claims for what Brexit will achieve.
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
The group are also encouraging people to donate directly to the JCWI, with the message “Don’t wait for Farage to give £ to @JCWI_UK – throw them some love yourselves”.
Don't wait for Farage to give £ to @JCWI_UK – throw them some love yourselves.
Also, let's #GetJohnsonGone
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) November 21, 2019
The charity welcomed the offer of support and a donation, saying that it was “surprised and touched that Led By Donkeys would like to contribute such a large sum to our work at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.”
In a statement the charity added: “Since 1967 we’ve held 27 Home Secretaries to account on immigration without fear or favour. Whatever the eventual Brexit outcome, or the result of the General Election, the moment to rebuild the immigration system from the ground up is now.”
A million would be UNREAL.🤑
REAL action from politicians to create a fairer, more humane immigration system would be even better. 😎https://t.co/R0Atwu1txN https://t.co/HmG6EIIPGH
— JCWI (@JCWI_UK) November 21, 2019
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.