Loz Kaye
Leader of Pirate Party UK
In office
26 September 2010 – 9 May 2015
Preceded byAndrew Robinson
Succeeded byGeorge Walkden (Interim Leader)
Cris Chesha (Elected Leader)
Personal details
Political partyPirate Party UK (since 2010)
Other political
affiliations		Labour Party (until 1993)

Laurence "Loz" Kaye is a British musician, composer, activist and politician. Kaye was Leader of Pirate Party UK from 26 September 2010 to 9 May 2015.

Kaye has spoken and campaigned on digital rights, copyright law and civil liberties in the past.[1]

Professional career

Kaye has worked as a lecturer at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts[2] and has also taught extensively in Denmark in the past, including at the Danish department of the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in Aarhus.[3] He is a Visiting Lecturer at Salford University on the Physical and Dance Theatre Degree,[4] and is currently the Musical Director at Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus.[5] and the artistic director of the community music and education charity More Music [6]

As a composer his work is particularly associated with visual theatre company Horse and Bamboo Theatre, Huddersfield-based Darkhorse Theater and mask theatre company Thalias Tjenere.[7]

Political career

Kaye was a Labour Party activist until 1993, when he left the party.[8]

Kaye was first elected as a Governor on the Board of Governors of the Pirate Party UK in July 2010.[9] was the Election Agent for Tim Dobson in the 2010 general election, Dobson being the Pirate Party UK candidate to receive the most votes in that election. Following the resignation of Andrew Robinson as Leader of the party on 23 August 2010,[10] Kaye was one of four people to put their names forward as candidates in the ensuing leadership election. Two candidates withdrew before nominations closed, leaving only Kaye and Peter Brett as candidates. Kaye won the election with nearly 74% of the vote, with Brett getting 17% and 8% voting to re-open nominations.[11] On 13 March 2011, Kaye left his role as a Governor on the Board of Governors.[9]

As Leader of Pirate Party UK, Kaye has been a regular contributor to The Guardian.[12] Kaye is also Chairman of the Greater Manchester branch of Pirate Party UK. He opposed the creation of the directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester.[13] In March 2014, Kaye was a signatory to a letter calling for the resignation Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd.[14]

In January 2012, the British Phonographic Industry threatened to sue Kaye and other National Executive Committee Officers for creating a proxy server that bypassed a court-ordered block of Pirate Bay.[15][16] Following legal advice, Kaye decided to close the proxy server as a court battle would have incurred huge financial costs.[17]

Kaye was chosen as the Pirate Party's candidate in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election on 11 January 2011. One of the main issues that he campaigned on was better rural broadband.[18] He won 96 votes, or 0.3% of the votes, beating only the candidate from the Church of the Militant Elvis Party. Kaye stood in the 2012 local elections in the ward of Bradford on Manchester City Council. He received 127 votes, or 5.2% of the vote, the highest percentage of votes the Pirate Party UK have received in an election to this date. Kaye proceeded to stand as the Pirate Party candidate in the Manchester Central by-election on 15 November 2012.[19] Kaye received 308 votes or 1.9% of the vote, beating candidates from Respect and the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition.

In the 2015 general election, Kaye stood as the Pirate Party UK candidate in Manchester Central. He won 346 votes, or 0.8% of the votes cast. On 9 May 2015, the day after the final results of the 2015 general election were known, Kaye resigned as Leader of Pirate Party UK.[20]

Electoral performance

Parliamentary elections

Date of election Constituency Party Votes  % of votes Result
2011 by-election Oldham East and Saddleworth Pirate Party UK 96 0.3 Not elected
2012 by-election Manchester Central Pirate Party UK 308 1.9 Not elected
2015 general election Manchester Central Pirate Party UK 346 0.8 Not elected

Local elections

Date of election Ward Council Party Votes  % of votes Result
2012 local elections Bradford Manchester City Council Pirate Party UK 127 5.2 Not elected
2014 local elections Ancoats and Clayton Manchester City Council Pirate Party UK 129 3.2 Not elected

References

  1. ↑ "UK copyright law: a change for the better?". World Intellectual Property Review. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Geere, Duncan (28 September 2010). "Loz Kaye elected leader of UK Pirate Party". Wired.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Teaching". Laurence 'Loz' Kaye. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Loz Kaye". Conway Centres Arts and Outdoor Education. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "MLGC". Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "More Music welcomes Loz Kaye!". More Music. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Meet our Musical Director". Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus. Retrieved 5 Dec 2015.
  8. ↑ Silvera, Ian (21 January 2015). "General election 2015: Three things we learnt about the UK Pirate Party". International Business Times. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  9. 1 2 "The Board". Pirate Party UK. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Robinson, Andrew. "The Pirate Party UK, One Year On". Pirate Party UK. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  11. ↑ Geere, Duncan (28 September 2010). "Loz Kaye elected leader of UK Pirate Party". Wired.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Loz Kaye Profile". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  13. ↑ Kaye, Loz (12 November 2014). "Greater Manchester: a right Mayoral stitch up". Open Democracy. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner, Tony Lloyd, must go". Manchester Green Party. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Geere, Duncan (16 December 2012). "British record industry threatens to sue politicians". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  16. ↑ Kaye, Loz (11 July 2012). "Why we are breaking the Pirate Bay ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Pirate Bay proxy gets shut down after music industry legal threat". Pirate Party UK. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  18. ↑ Littleford, Stuart (2011). "Candidate Interview: Loz Kaye (Pirate Party UK)". Saddleworth News. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  19. ↑ Kaye, Loz (1 August 2012). "Why I'm standing in Manchester Central". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  20. ↑ Kaye, Loz. "Moving On". Pirate Party UK. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
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