Peter Whittle (politician)

Peter Whittle
Whittle in 2017
Leader of the Brexit Alliance in the London Assembly
In office
13 December 2018 – 6 May 2021
DeputyDavid Kurten
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party
In office
28 November 2016 – 18 October 2017
LeaderPaul Nuttall
Steve Crowther (Acting)
Preceded byPaul Nuttall
Succeeded byMargot Parker
Leader of UKIP in the London Assembly
In office
6 May 2016 – 22 January 2018
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Member of the London Assembly
In office
6 May 2016 – 8 May 2021
UKIP portfolios
2014–2017Culture
2014–2017Communities
Personal details
Born (1961-01-06) 6 January 1961 (age 63)
London, England
Political partyIndependent (2018–present)
Other political
affiliations
Alma materUniversity of Kent
CommitteesConfirmation Hearings Committee
GLA Oversight Committee
Police and Crime Committee

Peter Robin Whittle (born 6 January 1961) is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who served as a Member of the London Assembly from 2016 to 2021 and as Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to Paul Nuttall from 2016 to 2017. He is the founder and director of the New Culture Forum think tank and host of So What You're Saying Is..., a weekly cultural and political interview show on YouTube.

After a career in media in the United Kingdom and United States, Whittle founded the New Culture Forum in 2006. He joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and was the party's candidate for the 2016 London mayoral contest, which was held at the same time as his election to the London Assembly. He served as the party's deputy leader between November 2016 and October 2017 and was a prominent, but unsuccessful, candidate in the 2017 UKIP leadership election.

Whittle resigned as UKIP's London Assembly leader in January 2018, following Henry Bolton's refusal to stand down following a vote of no confidence in his leadership by UKIP's National Executive Committee. He resigned his membership of UKIP in protest at Gerard Batten's leadership in December 2018, after which he served as leader of the new Brexit Alliance in the London Assembly and as chairman of the Assembly's audit panel.