Pirate Party Enjoys Membership Boost

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The pro-filesharing party has seen applications soar after declaring its intention to stand for election in the UK.

A political party which is campaigning to legalise online filesharing has boasted of a membership surge after announcing plans to fight the next UK general election.

The Pirate Party was first recognised officially as a political party in Britain on 30 July, although it already operates independently in 37 other countries, such as Sweden and Germany. Indeed, in June the Swedish Pirate Party even scooped a seat in the European Parliament after winning 7.1 per cent of the national vote.

All groups share common aims, including the legalisation of non-commercial file sharing, plus reform of intellectual property and the “excessive length” of copyright protection. UK Pirate Party leader Andrew Peter Robinson said that it had been swamped by applications after announcing its intention to contest seats at the next election.

At one stage, some 100 people were signing up to the party every hour, he told the Telegraph.co.uk, saying: “It has exceeded all expectations.”

“Put it this way – donations have been coming in so fast that PayPal were concerned we were a fraudulent site,” he added.

Other policy issues for the UK Pirate Party include looking at alternative revenue streams for artists previously reliant on royalties and reform of the patents system to prevent the stifling of innovation and to allow life-saving drugs to be sold more cheaply. Mr Robinson predicted that “we’re not going to win any seats but we can get these issues discussed”.

The Pirate Party is aiming for a membership of 5,000-plus by the time of the next European elections in 2014. In Britain’s next general election it hopes to stand as many candidates in as it can afford.