Jeff Wyatt RIP

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Jeff Wyatt RIP

Richard Fullerton • 2 October 2022

A true Englishman

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jeff Wyatt, who died suddenly on 16th September 2022. Jeff had been a stalwart in the UKIP Milton Keynes branch for many years and then along came Brexit. After that, Westminster was never the same because he was such a dominant and visible protester there. He was no doubt very active in the campaign up to the referendum but I first met him outside the Houses of Parliament, and elsewhere, in the years after the vote in 2016 when the Remainer establishment was trying to thwart Brexit.

I would turn up and there he was either at College Green by the temporary barriers or outside the entrance to the House of Commons, often in freezing weather. It was so entertaining to hear him castigate and mock – politely – those MPs coming and going who were in the plot to stop Brexit.

Quite often he’d be dressed up as St George, and he always had a hand-made placard on a pole with a hugely impactful message. He was completely dedicated to the cause and was often interviewed by independent media. I used to joke with him that he looked just like the guy from the Green Cross Code ads in the 70s, actor Dave Prowse, or Flash Gordon with his long shock of blond hair.

But Jeff was much more than presentation, he was action. He was totally devoted to the causes he espoused - Brexit, free speech, anti-vax and anti-lockdown, and anti-radical Islam. I didn't always agree with his views but I was in awe of his dedication and energy. Nothing would stop him from doing what he felt was right.

During the COVID period, Jeff took his protesting to another level. Outraged by the trampling of civil rights that lockdowns brought about, he formed a very powerful bond with others such as Piers Corbyn. Together this group was a thorn in the side of the COVID Establishment and it was inevitable that it moved on them. Arrested at May gathering in 2020 at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park when restrictions were in force, he endured the weight and worry of arrest and court action with his usual strength and determination.

He seemed to bamboozle the justice system by fighting the charges against him using Common law. I never found out what happened to him but he carried on regardless. But I did worry for him as to how he made a living as he seemed to spend his whole time protesting. I remember meeting him in Milton Keynes and together placing an enormous anti-lockdown banner in full view of the traffic on the M1. Job done.

It is because of people like Jeff that we enjoy a freedom - of sorts - today. He was one of a few who showed that you can take on the Establishment and if not win, then stop it from totally taking over our lives. Britain is less safe without him. Shakespeare's phrase in his speech by Henry V could have been written for Jeff: "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; / Or close the wall up with our English dead.”

Jeff was a former motor racing driver and it was whilst attending a rally on the Isle of Man that he was taken from us. But it is a comfort that he died whilst close to his passion.

Jeff Wyatt was born on 7th May 1964. We offer our condolences to his daughter Lucy and his partner Sasha.

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