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Cameron shows true colours in Brussels

2012-01-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

Monday, 30th January 2012

Monday, 30th January 2012 should be remembered as the day that David Cameron showed the British people his true colours.

Last month he was painted as the returning hero from Brussels when he supposedly used his veto over a new treaty. There was no treaty text so technically a veto could not be used.

He also made it clear he would not allow EU institutions to be used to co-ordinate and administer any new pact.

How much can change in a few weeks.

His actions are no more than another example of eurosceptic posturing.

It is now clear that the Government has committed a U-turn on December's stance, with David Cameron now happy for various EU institutions to be used by the 26other member states for a new treaty.

The U-turn has even been confirmed by a leading Conservative MEP in Brussels.

Martin Callanan, leader of the Conservative MEPs, said: "There is no doubt that the government's position has altered since the December summit when they were insisting the Institutions could not be used."

Some might argue that this has been done to pacify his coalition partners, others might say that he is not as tough on the EU as he would like you to think.

One thing is for sure: you can not trust David Cameron or the Conservative Party to stand up to the EU.

His actions speak louder than words.

If you care about Britain and are fed up with the empty promises of Dave and his mates, then please support UKIP.
Join us, donate if you can, and vote for us in 2012 – it is the only way to get your message heard.

EU warned over Turkey's Fergie threat

2012-01-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

Saturday, 14th January 2012

UKIP MEP William Dartmouth has slammed Turkey's EU ambitions following that nation's threats to pursue Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, following a documentary she made on conditions inside Turkish orphanages.

The Earl of Dartmouth today said: "The Duchess of York has done trojan work exposing the inhuman conditions of Turkish orphanages for which we should all be thankful.

"In response to her expose the Turkish state has disgracefully threatened her with jail.

"Given Turkey's disgraceful human rights record, its continued occupation of Cyprus with 40,000 troop and its current threat to the Duchess of York it is now time for Mr Cameron as well as leaders of the Labour and LibDem parties to halt their fervent support for Turkish membership of the EU.

"It has been suggested that the Duchess is unlikely to be extradited as the offense is not a crime under British law.

"However, if Turkey was today a member of the European Union the Duchess would be subject to the European Arrest Warrant . In which case there would be no legal process of extradition and the Duchess would be carted off to a Turkish jail - there to languish possibly for two years or more before trial. If the three party leaders do not want a rerun of the 1978 film Midnight Express about a person's treatment in a Turkish prison they must, like UKIP, say no to Turkish accession to the European Union."

UKIP's Agnew triumphs in Oxford debate

2012-01-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

Friday, 6th January 2012

UKIP MEP and agriculture spokesman Stuart Agnew scored a resounding victory at an Oxford Union Conference debate, significantly changing the majority view held before the event.

Debating the motion earlier this week, “This House believes that British Agriculture could thrive outside of the European Union,” Mr Agnew found himself pitted against Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George and Young Farmers Club Agriculture Committee Member, Mark Houlton.

In a straw poll taken before the debate, 80% of the delegates voted against the motion. By the end of the evening Mr Agnew and his seconder, Milly Wastie, East Midlands Regional Officer of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, had turned the audience around and achieved a shock victory by 195 votes to 186.

In an at times heated debate, Mr Agnew outlined how the Common Agricultural Policy is letting farmers down. He commented on the chaos being created by the EU’s failure to enforce its own ban on battery cages and the huge burden of red tape Brussels places on the agriculture sector. Mr Agnew said: “UK farming policy should focus on producing more food for its population” and asked “Can we trust the EU to produce our food?”

Ms Wastie backed Mr Agnew in her remarks about the very complex nature of EU red tape which ties farmers in knots.

Mr George and his seconder attempted to convince delegates that the EU is essential to the future of British agriculture, while acknowledging the flaws in some EU policies.

Commenting after the debate: Mr Agnew said: “I am delighted with the result, not least because I have long wished to convince the farming community that dependence on the CAP is not in its best interests. In fact, its increasing disadvantages including the latest reform proposals coming from Brussels which betray a complete lack of understanding of the way farms work, have begun to make it untenable.”

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New Year message from Nigel Farage

2011-12-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

Thursday, 29th December 2011

2012 will be the year of reckoning for the European Project. It is extremely unlikely that the Euro can be held together in its current form, and that that will be the most positive scenario. The worst case scenario will be that the markets overwhelm the whole thing leading to wholesale natonalisation of the banks. Either way Eurosceptic opinions and anti EU voting will continue to grow, not just in Britain bit across the whole European Union.

The EU project is a failure.

For UKIP 2011 saw us clearly establish ourselves as the 4th party in domestic politics. Highlights for us included Stuart Wheeler becoming our Treasurer, lending us great credibility. Lord Hesketh joining us later in the year was a coup, having the former Chief Whip in the Lords during the Maastricht debate come over shows us quite how far the argument over Europe is moving in our direction. Then there was the second place for Jane Collins in the Barnsley by-election that ruffled feathers across the whole political class. And the consistent week by week improvement of our poll ratings in council by-election after by-election the length and breadth of the country, and in December one national opinion poll had us overtaking the Lib/Dems.

It is true that the end of the year saw a dip in our polling as Cameron gained a bounce. While I congratulate David Cameron, what is in all honesty could have done differently? The slow realisation will however dawn, that not a single power has been brought back from Brussels and that amidst the new mood of retribution in Brussels, British businesses are under greater threat than they were before the 'veto'.

There is now an overwhelming desire of the British people to have a referendum on this issue, a referendum that Cameron, Clegg and Milliband steadfastly refuse to grant.

In 2012 we will continue our progress in local government elections and focus heavily ont hej London Assembly polls in May.

London needs growth, London needs jobs, London needs the deregulation of employment legislation, and London needs control of the mass legal and illegal immigration. UKIP will provide that voice and win seats at the London Elections.

Given my views I sadly cannot promise you a prosperous New Year, but one in which the political class further lose their grip on both reality and the country.

With all best wishes for 2012,

Nigel Farage MEP,
Leader UKIP

Cost of EU goes to MP debate

2011-12-23T14:50:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

A plan by the UKIP to force the Government to carry out a cost/benefit analysis of Britain's EU membership has been sent to the Commons.

UKIP peer Lord Pearson saw his European Union Membership (Economic Implications) Bill agreed by the House of Lords, meaning it will go to MPs to consider.

Before being picked up in the Commons, an MP will have to sponsor the Bill - but a Party spokesman said UKIP was "very confident" an MP could be found.

Following the third reading vote, Lord Pearson said: "For far too long the Government has simply maintained that the benefits of membership are so overwhelmingly obvious that such an analysis would be a waste of time and money.

"The people of Britain are no longer prepared to accept this. All great debates require knowledge, and there is no greater debate than the future governance of this country.

"It is in the interests of every single one of us that this ongoing debate is conducted from a position of knowledge rather than in a cloud of ignorance, obfuscation and dishonesty.

"My Bill provides for an independent panel, comprising of people from across the spectrum of opinion, to weigh up the evidence.

"We must know what the costs, and what the benefits, really are. This debate is long overdue."

Lord Pearson's Bill is unlikely to become law unless it wins Government support.

Euro-MPs attack UK coastguard cuts

2011-11-19T04:18:00.000-08:00

(UKPA) – 1 day ago

British and French Socialist Euro-MPs have joined forces to attack UK Government cuts to the coastguard service.

"UK ships will now have to rely on the French to come to the rescue if they get into trouble in the waters of the Channel," said Brian Simpson MEP, chairman of the European Parliament's transport committee. "This is further proof, if ever we needed it, that the UK Government's cuts are going too far and it's a sorry state of affairs.

"The British have been able to ensure safety of stricken vessels at sea in our coastal waters in one way or another for many hundreds of years, and this is a sad day for British pride as we now abandon the English Channel and cut coastguard services around the rest of the British coast."

French MEP for North-West of France Estelle Grelier said: "It is unfair for the British Government to expect their work to now be financed by the French national budget. Privatising the UK coastguard service clearly undermines its efficiency."

Four British tugs were withdrawn from service in the Dover Straits - one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world - at the end of September. One of their main tasks was to get any stricken vessels, many carrying oil and chemical waste, out of the shipping channels and to safety to avoid an environmental disaster.

Security in the area is now financed by France, with Britain able to pay for the use of the service in an emergency.

Calls for the creation of an EU Coastguard have been opposed by Ukip. Derek Clarke, Ukip MEP, said: "The British Government must scupper this idea immediately. The EU has already taken control of our fisheries and they now wish to float a proposal to take over control of our coastguard."

He also criticised the reduction in UK coastguard services, saying: "The coalition Government has already decided to close eight British coastguard stations to leave the total number of open centres at eleven - a dangerous move for the safety of our fishermen."

A Department for Transport spokesman said the towing service arrangements involving tugs was not the best way of using taxpayers' money - and the Government is now adapting co-ordination of coastguard rescues to ensure a "resilient" coastguard service for the future.

"The primary function of these towing vessels is to assist other ships which have experienced problems." he said. "Frontline rescues are carried out by volunteer coastguards, the search and rescue service and other rescue providers. We do not believe this towing service represents a correct use of taxpayers' money, and that ship salvage should be a commercial matter between a ship's operator and the salvor."

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
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Some truths about the EU…

2011-10-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Britain is deeper in debt than an ANY time in its history and yet we're borrowing MORE money to pay for the EU. In fact the EU is now costing Britain £45 million a day!

The £300 billion paid to date would pay for thousands of doctors, nurses, teachers, hospitals and schools. Without the EU, tuition fees could be scrapped, VAT slashed, immigration could be controlled.

Here are some common myths and truths about the EU...

'The EU is good for the economy'

THE TRUTH: It costs us around £45 million a day to be part of the vast European bureaucracy, yet the benefits are hard to define and especially hard to justify when we're already deep in debt. We're borrowing money to pay for the EU. And with 70% of our laws now made in Brussels, we’re being strangled by red tape. And we’re bailing out the Eurozone, even though we aren’t in the Euro.

Blind panic in Downing Street

2011-10-20T10:24:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, 19th October 2011

“Tonight’s decision to bring forward the debate and vote on having a referendum on our membership of the EU smacks of blind panic in Downing Street,” said Nigel Farage MEP the leader of UKIP.

The vote had been scheduled for Thursday next week but has now been brought forward to Monday because David Cameron and William Hague are to fly out to Australia.

“The plain fact is that the Prime Minister is horrified at the momentum that is growing across the country for such a vote. Despite him ordering a three line whip he does not have the confidence that it will work without him there to twist arms personally," Mr Farage said.

"Rather than delay the vote until he had returned from the Commonwealth meeting he has brought it forward. He has done this simply to try to stem the flow of ordinary members of the public trying to persuade their so called representatives to do just that, represent their views”, he said.

Despite this change of date, UKIP voters will be outside and inside the House of commons in force."

Earlier this week, Mr Farage said he holds little hope of a 'Yes' vote in the EU Referendum debate.

"Having this debate in Westminster is a good start, but with all party leaders demanding that their MPs reject the motion, I hold out little hope of a yes vote," he said.

"The timescale is deliberately short to make it hard for people to lobby their MPs, and the space for debate on such a massive issue is limited.

"The real debate is going on out there in the country, in people's homes, businesses and pubs.

"We know from many polls that a vast majority of people want this referendum, we learn next week how many of the MPs have the courage to support their constituents.

"I urge everybody to write to their MPs as soon as possible, they must be made aware of the strength of feeling on this matter. You can do so via www.theyworkforyou.com or directly to the House of Commons.

"I also call on Ed Miliband and his party to vote in favour of a referendum to apply the maximum pressure possible on David Cameron. This is Ed's chance to show that he is in tune with the British people and is a proper democrat."

The motion to be put to the House of Commons on October 24 reads:
"This motion calls upon the government to introduce a bill in next session of Parliament to provide for the holding of a referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the EU on the current terms, leave the EU, or renegotiate the terms of its membership in order to create a new relationship based on trade and cooperation."

Vote records expose tough talk sham

2011-10-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Friday, 7th October 2011

As speculation continues over a possible financial transaction tax for the City of London, it appears that Dr Kay Swinburne, a leading Conservative MEP, is not as dedicated to protecting one of the world''s leading financial capitals as she suggests according to UKIP's analysis of her voting records.

On the 11th November 2010, Conservative MEPs voted to support a proposal for a directive on alternative investment fund managers (A7-0171/2010). This directive saw the regulatory control of the UK financial sector pass to the newly created European Security and Markets Authority (ESMA). Previously, control of the UK financial sector was the responsibility of the UK government. The combination of increased regulation and the new powers of ESMA saw a number of hedge funds leave London for non-EU Switzerland. Supporting this directive has seen a loss of jobs and taxation from the City of London.

Dr Swinburne, Conservative MEP for Wales and spokesperson on economic and monetary affairs, supported the proposal. She was recently reported as saying that there was an urgent need for "constructive communications" over financial regulation.

Prior to this in September 2010, all but three Conservative MEPs voted in favour of a proposal for establishing the ESMA (A7-0169/2010).

Dr Swinburne also put into writing the feelings of the ECR Group, where the Conservative Party sit in the European Parliament.

On the subject of giving greater supervisory financial control she said: "The ECR fully supports the establishment of the European Supervisory Architecture, and particularly the ESRB and the single rule book for financial services within the EU. Although the group felt able to lend its support to the majority of the compromise text, there are some areas in which dialogue with the Council and Commission had advanced further than the text reflects. The ECR looks forward to continued dialogue from all sides to reach a first reading agreement which all Member States feel able to support."

The are numerous other proposals that Dr Swinburne has voted in favour of including 'A Proposal on EU Supervision of Financial Entities within a Financial Conglomerate'; the creation of an 'European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority ' and a 'Proposal for Establishing a European Securities and Market Authorities'. All of these proposals strip away regulatory control form the City of London and hand it to Brussels.

Godfrey Bloom MEP, UKIP's City of London spokesman, said: "Questions have to be asked about the Conservative Party's true commitment to protecting the City of London.

"Dr Swinburne talks a tough game but records show that she and her colleagues voted to give regulatory control to ESMA which has had a negative impact on the City. She has also supported proposal after proposal which will see the end of the City of London as we know it.

"Can the Tories be trusted to protect one of the world's leading financial capitals from further EU restriction and taxation? Given their current track record, I think not. Actions always speak louder than words."

2011-09-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

As the Tories head to Manchester for their annual conference, their mood will be soured by the news that a Conservative candidate who contested a West Yorkshire seat in the general election has defected to UKIP after becoming disillusioned with David Cameron over Europe.

Janice Small stood for the Conservative Party in the marginal seat of Batley and Spen in May 2010.

The seat was retained by Labour MP Mike Wood with a majority of nearly four and a half thousand.

Small's move represents a trend which is seeing an increasing number of activists and councillors leaving the Conservative Party and joining UKIP.

Earlier this month two Tory councillors in Hampshire joined UKIP after becoming frustrated at the government's lack of support for the armed forces.

Ms Small says David Cameron's eurosceptic narrative died the moment he was elected leader of the Conservative Party.

She said: "I left the Conservative party as I had lost the fight for an In or Out referendum on Europe.

"I voted for David Cameron as leader as he was sold to the membership as the most Eurosceptic leader we would have. Once selected his narrative died and now as PM he believes we are better off in Europe.

"It has been made quite plain by by Conservative Central office that candidates with my views will not be tolerated and those MPs who share my views are mercilessly bullied by the whips.

"UKIP under Nigel Farage is flourishing and it is conceded by Cameron that we will be the No1 party at the Euro elections. We are not just about Europe but have the right policies for Britain on immigration, education, law and order and the economy - we have to as the fourth largest party in Britain."

Cameron rules out Europe referendum

2011-09-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

Cameron rules out Europe referendum

By Sam Lister

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

David Cameron today insisted Britain must make Europe "work for us" as he again ruled out holding an "in out" referendum.

During Prime Minister's questions he was urged to listen to the calls of Conservative eurosceptics who want a swift vote on the UK's relationship with the EU.

But Mr Cameron, who is meeting President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy today, insisted there was "no case" for a vote.

Mr Cameron said: "I want us to be influential in Europe about the things that matter to our national interest - promoting the single market, pushing forward for growth, making sure we get lower energy prices.

"Those are things we will be fighting for but I don't see the case for an in out referendum on Europe.

"We are in Europe, we have got to make it work for us."

It comes as a group made up from around 80 new intake Conservative MPs plans to press the Government for significant changes in Britain's role in Europe.

Tory MP George Eustice, one of the group's conveners, insisted the initial aim was for reforms rather than a referendum.

He said: "The aim of this new group is to promote debate about creating a new relationship with the EU and reversing the process of EU integration."

The group will work closely with think-tank Open Europe and could eventually expand to take in Labour eurosceptics and possibly some Liberal Democrats.

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said: "The Prime Minster has said today that he didn't see the case for an in/out referendum on Europe. 'We are in Europe', he told us and 'we have got to make it work for us'.

"Well it is obvious that the EU is not working for us, and hasn't worked for us. So then what does Mr Cameron propose?

"By ruling out a referendum he leaves himself naked in the negotiations. Our EU colleagues must be laughing at his naivety."

Downing Street said that Mr Cameron and Mr Van Rompuy discussed the European economy and the current situation in the eurozone, as well as measures to support countries in north Africa, including Libya, through the EU's neighbourhood policies.

Meanwhile, eurosceptic Conservative backbencher Bill Cash tabled a bill which would require a referendum and act of Parliament to approve any provisions for fiscal union within the eurozone.

His proposals, in a private member's bill, stand little chance of receiving the parliamentary time required to become law.

Mr Cash said: "Allowing eurozone member states to go ahead towards fiscal union and economic governance creates two Europes, to which the United Kingdom would remain bound by treaty and law, though they are built on sand.

"The money required for all the bailouts is not within the economic capacity of Germany or the political will in the eurozone countries. It must be accepted that fiscal union within the eurozone will not work and will be unstable, damaging and not improving our own economy.

"It will have profound economic, political and constitutional consequences for our vital national interests. This will fundamentally change the UK's relationship with the whole of the European Union, not only our relationship with the eurozone.

"We must have a referendum in the light of such a profound change in our political relationship with Europe."

PM: No need for referendum

2011-08-07T11:22:00.001-07:00

Sunday, 7th August 2011

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage has reacted angrily to an article in the Sunday Express that reveals the Prime Minister has no intention of granting the British people a referendum on continued membership of the European Union.

An Oxfordshire Conservative Party activist wrote to David Cameron requesting a referendum. The response, written by the Prime Minster's Private Secretary, rules out giving the UK the opportunity to have their say by claiming a "very clear result" was delivered on the issue 36 years ago. He then went on to write that the British people did not want another in or out vote on the EU because it would be "artificial and simplistic".

In response to this clear snub of the will of the electorate, Mr Farage said: "I think we have finally seen the Prime Minister's true colours when it comes to the EU - he's a fan and despite the weak euroscpetic posturing we have witnessed recently by parts of the Conservative Party, it is clear that Mr Cameron has no intention of letting us have our say on future EU membership.

"The argument that the 1975 referendum delivered a clear mandate for membership is incredibly poor. Firstly, that was when the British people were asked about the European Economic Community. Over the last 36 years the EEC has morphed into the EU with its tentacles now reaching far and wide. Secondly, anyone under the age of 53 was not able to vote in 1975. By refusing a referendum it shows utter contempt for a massive chunk of the population."

To read the full text of the letter sent by Laurence Mann, the Prime Minister’s political private secretary, to Conservative activist Anita Segar on July 20 click here.

Sign the Express petition now!

2011-07-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 31st July 2011

UKIP has thrown its weight behind the Daily Express ePetition calling for a referendum on the EU, with just 100,000 names needed before the Government considers a debate in Parliament on the issue.

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage urged all Party members and supporters to add their names to the ePetition as soon as possible.

He said: "This is a real chance to force the Government into a proper, Parlimentary debate on an issue that affects everyone in the UK, every single day of their lives but on which they have been denied a say so far.

"So we back the Daily Express call for an EU referendum and I hope every UKIP member, their families, friends anbd work colleagues will add their names to the ePetition. Use all the tools at your disposal to spread the word. Put it on your Facebook page, re-tweet on Twitter, whatever it takes, spread the word.

"The Government has said it will consider any issue for Parliamentary debate if 100,000 people put their names to it. With the weight of feeling about the EU in this country, particularly over the economic bailouts, we could easily achieve 10 times that number!

"This is also a chance for UKIP to call on support for the petition from across the board and put Nation before Party. At last, we could be given a say on the one big question: In or out?

"So, please, add your name now!"
Click here to sign the petition
http://www.express.co.uk/web/referendum

We hate to say 'We told you so!'

2011-06-21T14:45:00.001-07:00

Monday, 20th June 2011

We hate to say 'We told you so' but what is happening in Europe and Greece has a horrid fascination but comes as no surprise as UKIP has been predicting for years that the Euro project was doomed to fail.

It is like an old worn joke. There is an American, a German, a Frenchman, and a Greek. The Greek is rapidly sliding of a cliff. The American is telling the German and the Frenchman to do something, and the German and Frenchman are tied to the Greek by a thread and are shouting orders at the Greek to save himself. But on he slides. On and over the cliff. If he goes he takes the Frenchman and the German with him. All the time a Brit stands by, watching, writing ever larger cheques.

The problem is of course this isn't a joke. This is real life, and the joke is on the British taxpayer as much as it is on the Germans and French. The Greek Economy is bust, defunct. Repeated transfusions of our cash, will not resuscitate this corpse.

Although there is a way out of it the political elite of this and other EU countries refuse to accept it. The Greeks could default, leave the Euro and find their own level. This would allow them to set interest rates and wage rates that suit their economy instead of trying to emulate the Germans.

Instead, because of the terror felt in Brussels at the prospect of their beloved Euro falling apart, the taxpayers of the UK will be forced to dig even deeper into their pockets at a time when they are enduring pay freezes at best.

Chancellor George Osborne says we will not participate in a fresh bailout but one must remember that the UK also contributes to the International Monetary Fund which is also involved in the Greek rescue efforts through which it has loaned £1.9bn. And last week, in a move that received little media attention, the UK almost doubled its annual subscription to the IMF from £10bn to £19bn.

There must be no more bailouts. This must end. We have a stark choice. Money can only be spent once. Millions of people across the UK are enduring hardship and are increasingly angry at the thought of billions of pounds potentially going overseas to bailout other EU countries through the IMF or other means.

We are facing redundancies across the country. And for what? To keep the ambitions of the Euro elite to control the Continent alive.

Nothing more.

Fed up with U-turns? Vote UKIP

2011-06-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 8th June 2011

Although welcome, news that the Coalition is shelving its plans to halve sentences for the most serious criminal offenders marks yet another U-turn by the government.

First a hike in VAT provided taxpayers with an unexpected bombshell. Then we find out the Government tried to keep quiet its amnesty for a quarter of a million failed asylum seekers.

On law and order the Government has become a national embarrassment.

Justice Minister Crispin Blunt has bent over backwards to put the rights of prisoners first. Whoever would have thought a Conservative (sic) would dedicate time and resources to organising prisoner parties, IVF treatment for those inside and votes for some of the most dangerous people in the UK?

After only a year, the gulf between what the Conservatives say and what they do has become clear for all to see. No one can safely know where the Conservatives stand on anything these days.

With UKIP you know precisely where we stand, our principles abide by what works best through letting the British people have more money in their pockets, more choice in services and the freedom to live in a safe, democratic society.

For example, UKIP believe in letting families have the choice of sending their children to a grammar school as well as giving communities across the country the option to create new grammar schools. But the assault continues in Tory heartlands to phase out the best tool for social mobility the UK has ever seen, with only UKIP committed to defending the institution.

On law and order, UKIP would unravel New Labour’s Human ‘Rights’ legislation that puts the interests of offenders ahead of those who abide by the law and form the overwhelming majority of our society. UKIP would not let a single foreign court or institution instruct a sovereign parliament on what it should or shouldn’t do.

No prisoner votes. No soft sentences. Not difficult, is it?

Finally there’s the pound in your pocket. Britain is in unsustainable levels of debt. But the Coalition is sending more of your money abroad each year and chasing away job creators by hiking taxes.

Over this parliament, we will have spent more on foreign aid and EU membership than the entire government cuts package. In return, the British people get higher bills and more taxes.

A vote for UKIP is a vote to end wasteful spending and a start to digging Britain out of the trench of debt we find ourselves in.

Fed up of U-turns? Vote UKIP and make a real difference.

UKIP takes control of first council

2011-05-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

13 May 2011 Last updated at 15:25

The UK Independence Party has taken control of its first council in the UK.

The party has won control of Ramsey Town Council in Cambridgeshire.

UKIP won nine out of 17 seats in an election in which all the seats were contested.

The party already held the Cambridgeshire County Council seat for Ramsey and two of the three Huntingdonshire District Council seats for the ward.

Ramsey Town Council has the same legal status as a parish council with a brief to represent the local community, deliver some local services and improve the quality of life.

Peter Reeve, the UKIP group leader on Huntingdonshire District Council, also won a seat on the town council in the election last week.
Big society

Previously the party had just one seat on the town council.

Mr Reeve, who is also the party's Eastern region organiser, said: "Like all UKIP councillors, we believe in rolling up our sleeves and getting on with the work that needs to be achieved in our local community.

"The Conservatives talk about localism - we are actually practising it.

"We will be standing up for volunteers and the third sector and will be making grants to them to help the big society develop."

He said under UKIP the council would be inclusive and would encourage people to take an interest in their town.

"We are a libertarian party in the centre ground of public opinion," he added.

Mr Reeves' partner Lisa Duffy, also a UKIP town councillor, has become Ramsey's mayor.

She was UKIP's agent in the Barnsley Central by-election in March where the party came second to Labour.

UKIP gained its first local councillors in Newcastle in 2007.

The party now has hundreds of town and parish councillors across the UK and has 23 district councillors, having gained four more in last week's local elections.

Nigel on UN speaking rights for EU

2011-05-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 4th May 2011

The EU's speaking rights at the UN is another step on the road to the UK's international irrelevance, writes UKIP Leader Nigel Farage.

Britain, having stood alone - together with our kith and kin in The Commonwealth - against German domination of Europe and having expended a huge amount of blood and treasure in bringing about the defeat of Germany, was after WWII accorded a Permanent Seat on the Security Council of the UN, together with the right to veto UN Resolutions and activities.

Such recognition was only just in view of what we had achieved and what we had expended. Yet exactly 66 years, almost to the day, after VE-Day, a British Ambassador, in one of the most shameful acts of betrayal since Munich, voted to grant the European Union "Special Observer" status at the UN.

Why does this matter, you might ask?

It is because this is the next step along the road to Britain being deprived of its permanent seat and its voice at the UN Security Council.

This is but another product of the Lisbon Treaty, a treaty upon which each the present British Political Class conspired to prevent the British people expressing their opinion.

Much of the Lisbon Treaty was devoted to the establishment of a "common foreign and security" policy and to the creation of an EU Diplomatic Service to underpin it. And in a crucial move, the Treaty gave the EU the right to enter into foreign relations - to sign Treaties, Conventions and International Agreements and the like - thus ensuring the EU fulfils the conditions to be recognised as itself being a Sovereign Independent State in international law.

Just think for a moment what the implications of that phrase "common foreign and security policy" are.

It means that the EU will have its own foreign policy. If it does so, the UK and other member states cannot properly have a voice at the UN: for the conceit is that the EU will be talking for us. There can be no such thing as a "British Foreign Policy" if there is an EU "common foreign and security policy".

And the clear logic of that is that the UK (and France) will have to surrender their Permanent Seat at the UN and yield it up to the EU.
So, on great occasions, it will no longer be William Hague sitting there theoretically fighting Britain's corner but the second-rate used politician the European Political Class raised from considerable obscurity to be its Foreign Minister - none other than Baroness Ashton of Upholland.

And be sure of this, she will not be fighting Britain's corner.

She will be doing the work of Germany and France and all the rest of them.

And how will she wield the veto that will go with the EU's accession to our Permanent Seat? Is it to be imagined that this erstwhile Treasurer of the pro-Moscow CND and lover of the General-Secretary of the British Communist Party will be giving the USA her enthusiastic support when the security of the West is threatened?

The end of our Permanent Seat is the goal of Federalists. And this latest move at the UN shows it is near being accomplished.

Euro migrants set for UK benefit bonanza

2011-05-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Monday, 2nd May 2011

The Government must spell out how it intends to prevent hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans from travelling to the UK to draw unemployment and other benefits, following a change in the law on 1 May, says UKIP Leader Nigel Farage.

“As of Sunday, the working populations of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia have the right to draw benefits in the UK on the same basis as UK citizens. Their combined population is over 74 million people,” said Mr Farage.

“The benefits they are now entitled to, thanks to a European Union ruling and the impotence of our own government, include income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

“We know that a week’s unemployment benefit in the UK is worth more than a weekly wage for many in countries like Hungary. We also know that there are 38,000 children in Poland already receiving UK Child Benefit.

“What steps will the government be taking to protect our taxpayers from this benefit ‘bonanza’, which could be potentially catastrophic for our budget, at a time when the British people are facing cutbacks and austerity?

“In 2004, when these states joined the EU, our government failed to put in place proper transitional arrangements for immigration, as other EU countries did. Our Home Office estimated that 13,000 people a year would come here looking for work.

“Instead more than 800,000 came over the next 4 years – and that was to look for work. Now that they can claim benefits from the moment they arrive, what steps has the government put in place to limit the demand?”

Mr Farage added that the new rules would equally apply to a further 70m-plus EU citizens if Turkey joins the EU, as David Cameron has proposed.

Police College okay 'beggars belief'

2011-04-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Monday, 11th April 2011

Questions are being asked today about the continued function of the European Police College at Bramshill in Hampshire after the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee refused to sign off their accounts for 2009, yet gave the go ahead to release an increase in their budget for 2011.

The accounts for 2008 have also not been discharged amid continuing questions of how funds are spent and accounted for.

UKIP MEP for the South East and Budgetary Control Committee member Marta Andreasen said it made no sense to refuse discharge for 2009 yet increase the budget for 2011, she equated it as a reward for ineptitude and possible fraud.

Ms Andreasen: "It beggars belief that an EU institution that has had discharge refused for two consecutive years is today awarded an increase in its budget for 2011.

"Last year I called for the college to be scrapped after its chairman was removed from office and the European Fraud office was brought in to investigate sums of unaccounted taxpayers money. My call, unsurprisingly given the European Parliament's track record, went unheeded.

"Today we have the farcical situation of an inept and quite possibly fraudulent EU Institution being rewarded with an increase in budget on the one hand, yet being refused sign off for its 2009 accounts on the other. It really is very bizarre."

Trust exposes truth on wind farms

2011-04-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 6th April 2011

An in-depth report into Britain's wind farms by the John Muir Trust has made it clear that they are not what they are cracked up to be.

Christopher Monckton, the UKIP spokesman on Energy, said of the report: "The Trust points out that wind farms – which only UKIP opposes –generate just a quarter of their rated, and oft-boasted capacity.

"These useless monstrosities generate less than a tenth of their capacity at least once a week. The report must be the beginning of the end for these ugly, bird-slicing, bat-killing leviathans.

"Their sinister march across our land is destroying the remote and beautiful landscapes and the wild creatures of the UK.

"It is pretended by the wind farm industry and Government agencies that wind farms could in theory generate a tenth of the UK’s average electricity demand. In practice, they generate less than a 40th of it."

The key findings of the report are:

1 Average output from wind was 27.18% of metered capacity in 2009, 21.14% in 2010, and 24.08% between November 2008 and December 2010 inclusive.

2 There were 124 separate occasions from November 2008 till December 2010 when total generation from the windfarms metered by National Grid was less than 20MW. (Average capacity over the period was in excess of 1600MW).

3 The average frequency and duration of a low wind event of 20MW or less between November 2008 and December 2010 was once every 6.38 days for a period of 4.93 hours.

4 At each of the four highest peak demands of 2010 wind output was low being respectively 4.72%, 5.51%, 2.59% and 2.51% of capacity at peak demand.

5 The entire pumped storage hydro capacity in the UK can provide up to 2788MW for only 5 hours then it drops to 1060MW, and finally runs out of water after 22 hours.

Lord Monckton went on: "All of wind farms, combined, will forestall less than 0.003 Celsius of 'global warming' over the whole of the next decade. That is little more than 1/350th of a degree, at a cost to taxpayers of billions in higher taxes and electricity prices.

"UKIP alone pledges to ban all public money being spent on new wind farms and to end subsidies to all existing wind farms. UKIP alone pledges that it will end the taxes and charges which our political class now inflicts on the very air we breathe."

"The John Muir Trust should join UKIP, the only true environmentalists in Britain today."

Unravelling cost of the EU

2011-04-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 31st March 2011

Ever since I became an MEP in 2004 one of the mysteries I have tried to unravel is how much does the European Union actually cost Britain, and what are the benefits if any, writes UKIP MEP Gerard Batten.

When Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973 we were told it was all about access to a ‘Common Market’ and generating more trade, jobs and prosperity. The warnings of those who said it was about the creation of a political state were dismissively brushed aside. So where are we thirty-eight years later?

We pay billions of pounds every year for the privilege of belonging to the EU. The cost of membership is ever rising, with an astronomical 97% rise in the net contributions over the last budget period. The direct contributions are bad enough but the indirect costs on the economy are worse.

The Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy cost the British public billions per annum in additional and unnecessary food prices. Over-regulation on business destroys enterprise and jobs. Last year the EU passed legislation giving it control of the finance sector (only UKIP MEPs voted against). If City firms find the EU regulatory burden too much they will simply move somewhere else in the world taking their profits, tax revenues and jobs with them.

But surely membership of the EU provides trade and jobs that offset the costs? The facts and figures show a different story. Since 1973 Britain has accumulated a massive £438 billion trade deficit with EU countries; on the other hand our profitable trade is with the USA and the English speaking world. EU countries sell us far more than we sell them. If we left the EU tomorrow they would still continue to trade with us.

I calculate that the combined direct and indirect costs (less the UK rebate) total at least £77 billion per annum. That equates to £1,246 for every man, woman and child in Britain. One thing I am sure of is that these are the minimum costs and the full costs are much higher.

If the Coalition Government really believes that EU membership is beneficial for Britain then let them prove it by commissioning an independent cost-benefit-analysis that would show as definitively as possible if EU membership benefits Britain or not. I have no doubt that it would prove that EU membership is a disaster and that we do not need it.

Libyan crisis highlights need for Ark Royal

2011-03-19T16:55:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, 8th March 2011

The Libyan crisis has immediately shown up the shortcomings of the government's recent cost saving defence review, according to UKIP MEP and Defence spokesman David Campbell Bannerman, who says the decision to scrap HMS Ark Royal must be reversed immediately.

As UKIP's spokesman for Defence, Mr Campbell Bannerman said: "It has become clear that having a British aircraft carrier stationed off Libya with some fast jets onboard would have helped our ground operations to rescue Brits trapped in all the chaos. Lives are at risk without it."

"A carrier is a floating piece of Britain that can be stationed close to many crisis zones, wherever they should unexpectedly flare-up."

The coalition Government has recently taken all Harrier jets out of service and announced the scrapping of the carrier HMS Ark Royal.

Drawing comparisons with saving HMS Invincible from disposal. Ark Royal's sister ship, shortly before the Falklands crisis, the UKIP MEP added: "HMS Invincible was reprieved because the Government of the day quickly realised the key role carriers play in a task force, away from home, with limited airbases."

"Although it was a policy reversal, it didn't seem to do Mrs Thatcher any harm in the subsequent election."

"I appeal to David Cameron to gracefully accept that the lessons of real politics outdo theoretical savings, and reprieve HMS Ark Royal with at least a minimum number of harriers.

"For the sake of Britain, the PM should reverse direction on the fate of this great ship."

Mail wrong over EU trade deals

2011-03-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Monday, 14th March 2011

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage says he welcomed the article in the Daily Mail today highlighting the launch of the People's Pledge calling for a Referendum on our membership of the European Union.

"However the Daily Mail's leader argues that we must stay in the European Union due to its trade deals," Mr Farage said.

"This is transparently not the case. We can have free trade with the EU without being a member of that organisation.

"Currently the EU has trading deals either completed or in negotiation with over 60 different countries. And everyone from Neil Kinnock to Giscard d'Estaing has said that if Britain wants to set up a trade only deal then it could.

"And on Commonwealth Day we are reminded that there is a whole world out there that Britain should be trading freely with. But our membership of the EU's antiquated Customs Union prohibits us from negotiating such deals.

"I call on everybody to get in touch with the Daily Mail to make these facts clear to them."

ECHR debate kicked into long grass

2011-03-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Friday, 18th March 2011

"What is the point of this much vaunted Commission?" asked Gerard Batten, the UKIP spokesman on Constitutional Affairs, talking after the launch of the Government's Commission on a UK Bill of Rights launched.

"Like so many things created by the Government it has already decided it has already decided its result. It's terms of reference state clearly that we must build "on all our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights" and ensure "that these rights continue to be enshrined in UK law.

"The whole point of the Commission and the manifesto promises was to look at the issues of a British bill of Rights without prejudice. This Government is proving that it has no desire to do so.

"Of course", said Mr. Batten "we already have a Bill of Rights, passed in 1689 but it is routinely ignored by the Courts, so enamored are they of judicial politicking and the influence of international courts.

"This country must set its own laws and own liberties," he said.

One Euro law back on the EU agenda

2011-02-22T15:52:00.000-08:00

Monday, 21st February 2011

The EU project to build a "single country called Europe" includes the establishment of a single criminal law for all. A blueprint for a pan-European criminal code, called "Corpus Juris", was unveiled at a seminar hosted by the EU Commission in Spain in 1997.

It is based on the Napoleonic-inquisitorial system of law used on the continent, and will explicitly do away with our British safeguards of Habeas Corpus, Trial by Independent Jury, protection against double jeopardy, etc.

This video shows a debate held in Cambridge University in February 1999, between Torquil Dick-Erikson – a British legal researcher who was amongst those present at the seminar in Spain – speaking for the motion that "Corpus Juris is a threat to our civil liberties", and Professor John Spencer, who helped write Corpus Juris, against.

Although this debate took place in 1999, twelve years ago, Corpus Juris is set to become highly topical now.

At that time, the project for a unified EU criminal law was put on a back burner by the EU Commission, doubtless also because the House of Lords, in a Report mentioned here by Professor Spencer, came out and rejected it, politely but firmly (he expressed the hope the Report would be favourable).

But now in the second decade of the 21st century, with the EU's new powers obtained through the Treaty of Lisbon, we can see a road-map of the way ahead emerging: the EU Commission has already officially announced they will be establishing the European Public Prosecutor, which is the centre-piece of the Corpus Juris project.

Once that happens, the EPP will naturally need a rule-book, and that is when Corpus Juris will surely be wheeled out again, for the inquisitorial judicial authorities of the EU will want to extend their sway over Britain, Ireland and Malta too.

Already we have a foretaste of the bitter medicine that lies in store for us with the European Arrest Warrant. And another step forward, the European Investigation Order, has already been accepted - quite unnecessarily - by the ConLibDem coalition too.

Once this is up and running, we can surely expect the EPP to be placed officially on the table, and his fearsome powers - quite unprecedented for the people of Britain - will have to be regulated, by the Corpus Juris code or by something very much like it.

Students unimpressed by coalition

2011-02-06T14:36:00.001-08:00

Published on Sat Feb 05 21:47:24 GMT 2011

Cambridge students gave the thumbs down to Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.

Members of the university's debating society said on Thursday night they had "no confidence" in the coalition following a debate featuring leading politicians from the three main parties.

The Cambridge Union voted 275 to 164 in favour of the proposition "This House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government", following an annual debate.

Former Labour home secretary David Blunkett, UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage and former Labour culture minister David Lammy proposed the motion.

Conservative International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell and Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster argued against it.

Christmas Newsletter

2010-12-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage MEP will be joining the campaign trail in Oldham East & Saddleworth as part of our ‘big push’ between Christmas and the New Year. This is especially vital as the election will take place on 13th January, three weeks earlier than previously expected, as announced in the last newsletter.

The most important dates in the whole campaign are now 27th-30th December. A by-election is quite different from a regular election campaign in that a much higher percentage of the votes cast will be postal votes.

The reasons for this are as follows:

1. Turnout is lower at a by-election than at a General Election – many people don’t ‘bother’ to vote if they’re not voting for a new government.

2. When turnout is low, postal voters are more likely to vote than non-postal voters. Once someone has already taken the trouble to apply for a postal vote, it is very unlikely that they won’t use it.

3. In this particular by-election, a January polling day makes it likely that bad weather could cause low turnout.

Indeed, some political commentators have even suggested that more than half of all votes cast at this election might be by post. The election could effectively be decided already by polling day!

I would like therefore to make another appeal for anyone who is able to come and help with the campaign, with the 27th-30th December being particularly important dates. Free accommodation is available near the office (bring a sleeping bag and a towel) and there are reasonably-priced B&Bs nearby for those who want a little bit more comfort.

The office address is 173 Lees Road, Oldham, OL4 1JP and is generally open 7 days a week (excepting the obvious – Christmas Day, etc) so there will always be someone available to keep volunteers busy! If you are able to come down, it would be useful to let Pete Reeve know in advance on 07792 290434.

As this will of course be the last Newsletter before Christmas, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas – and of course a Happy New Year!

Yours,

Jonathan Arnott (UKIP General Secretary)

Response to the Sunday Telegraph ‘value for money’ survey about MEPs

Gawain Towler has issued the statement below:

Congratulations to the Earl of Dartmouth on coming second in the Sunday Telegraph ‘Value for money’ table of MEPs. He and Gerard Batten, Derek Clark, John Bufton and Marta Andreasen, are all in the top twenty for specific policy based reasons. William has been working on the International Trade Committee where unusually votes are on a continuous knife edge and British interests need defending on a day to day basis. Gerard has been following the areas of immigration and the European Arrest Warrant; Derek Clark on employment legislation and the Working Time Directive and John Bufton on big spending Regional Development; and Marta Andreasen has been working hard on fighting Cameron's appalling complicity on the EU budget and all the waste and graft in Brussels.

But this table should be taken with a pinch of salt, as the methodology of the study is largely about scoring those who are positively engaged with the EU highly. So that means those who waste their time writing reports and turning up at innumerable committee meetings, and disappearing on foreign trips euphemistically called fact-finding missions, score far more highly than those who get on with the job of representing their constituents.

So you find other UKIP MEPs at the other end of the table, like Paul Nuttall and Godfrey Bloom who spend their time in the UK fighting the good fight at home and on the airwaves.

So the whole Votematch.eu survey shows that UKIP are doing what they were elected to do, some in holding the EU to account over its profligacy, such as Marta, and others doing what the UKIP membership always demand and spending their time in the UK spreading the word.

All in all, it shows how UKIP is making the most of the political opportunities provided by election to the European Parliament, whilst never neglecting their duties at home.

A message from the Party Leader

As 2010 draws to a close, we can certainly say that UKIP has had an up-and-down year. The same assuredly applies to me!

Whilst many were disappointed with the result of the General Election, we must remember how significantly higher our vote was, than in 2005, despite little or no public discussion of the EU. Six months on, we can see that a great many of UKIP's predictions about the EU are coming true, and that our political potential as a party has never been greater.

Our first opportunity to fight on this basis comes with the by-election at Oldham East and Saddleworth, on 13 January.

It is vital that we support our excellent candidate, Paul Nuttall, with funds and physical help, because the result of this by-election will have a major impact on the public's perception of UKIP for many months to come.

I wish you all a peaceful Christmas.

Nigel Farage MEP

UKIP SCORES 18.5% IN KENT ELECTION

UKIP candidate Victor Matcham has just scored 18.5% in a by-election for Dover Town Council, as well as 14.3% for Dover District Council and 11.8% for the Dover seat on Kent County Council. In the County Council contest, he beat the Lib-Dem candidate.
On the same day, UKIP’s Victor Webb took 10.4% in the Sherwood ward in Tunbridge Wells, coming in only 32 votes behind Labour.

Lord Monckton to head new Policy Unit

The new Leadership team taking shape, with Lord Monckton appointed Head of a new Policy Unit, which also includes Deputy Leader Paul Nuttall, Head of Research Abhijit Pandya and Bruges Group author Jeremy Nieboer.

The Policy Unit’s first task will be to review the 2010 manifesto and deliver a new ‘mini-manifesto’ or statement of our key policies, which will be published in the Spring.
A number of Party spokesmen have been appointed, to raise our profile across the political scene. These include a ‘front bench’ panel of five key figures – Nigel Farage, Paul Nuttall, Lord Monckton, Godfrey Bloom and Marta Andreasen – who will be primarily putting our message across, plus a panel of specialists to tackle key policy areas.

Daily Express is spot on again!

2010-11-27T05:59:00.001-08:00

Friday, 26th November 2010

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage has thrown the Party's full support behind the Daily Express 'Get Out of Europe' crusade.

"I wholeheartedly support the Daily Express campaign," Mr Farage said.

"It is a brave campaign from a brilliantly patriotic newspaper and not the first time that the Express has stuck its neck out on an issue that is best for our nation.

"Back in the 1930s, nearly all the politicians and press thought that Adolf Hitler's Germany posed no threat. Only the Daily Express supported Churchill and a handful of backbench MPs in demanding rearmament.

"The Express got it right then and they've got it right now.

"I urge all UKIP supporters to buy the Daily Express and support this vitally important campaign."

To see how the Daily Express launched its campaign, click here.

To see today's campaign latest, click here.

Eurocrats pay hike: Budget block call

2010-11-24T14:30:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, 24th November 2010

Marta Andreasen, UKIP MEP and former European Commission chief accountant has poured scorn on the European Court of Justice decision to grant a full 3.7% pay rise to Eurocrats.

"It is appalling, but only to be expected, these are Eurocrats you know," she said.

"While the European Parliament and the Council squabble about the EU's budget there is no money for these pay rises. So this blows a hole in the whole EU budget process. David Cameron has to block this pay rise as the whole 2.9% rise of the entire EU budget agreed by him is ignored by this judgement. This pay rise will break that agreement. What will he do about it?

"The Court is blind to the financial anguish that is affecting millions across the Continent, but they just don't care. The Eurocrat trade unions have spent the morning crowing about their victory, and are now demanding that the rises be backdated, which is just rubbing salt into the wounds of the general public.

"In these times of crisis for countries across the EU, for Ireland, for Portugal, for Greece and for the hard-pressed taxpayer it ill serves Eurocrats to be awarding themselves pay rises, whining that their purchasing power has dropped. They must be blind, stupid or just arrogant. Everybody's purchasing power has decreased, largely because of a crisis created by the single currency.

"Worse still the judges who have made this decision are themselves going to beneficiaries of their decision. Conflict of interest anyone?"

Commonwealth warms to DCB trade talk

2010-11-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

Thursday, 18th November 2010

A major delegation of Parliamentarians from 31 Commonwealth nations gave a warm response to speaker David Campbell Bannerman MEP and UKIP policy on a visit to the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday.

Many delegates praised the MEP for his 'candidness' in revealing the European Union to be undemocratic, in direct contrast to the democratic nature of the Commonwealth.

They also welcomed UKIP's policy of creating a Commonwealth Free Trade Area (CFTA) worth 20% of international trade and valued at a potential $1.8 trillion, while condemning the EU's Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and CAP foodstock dumping as being little more than neo-colonialism.

A member of the Australian Parliament, Andrew Fraser MP agreed with Mr Campbell Bannerman's assessment of the EU, saying he found the European Parliament to be a "bloated bureaucracy".

The Minister of Home Affairs for Anguilla, Walcott Richardson, bemoaned the rule by bureaucrats the UKIP MEP had identified and complained about the loss of transhipment passage through Anguilla and EU demands for container damages. Other smaller nations such as Barbados, The Maldives and Montserrat all expressed fears of economic damage.

A South African delegate meanwhile agreed with Mr Campbell Bannerman saying he found the EU "very confusing" and when he questioned where the power actually lay - UKIP's man answered that it rests with The European Commission and its Director Generals, the Parliament being undemocratic and resembling the token representation of a Supreme Soviet. The EU's founder Jean Monnet had a hatred of nation states and democratic politicians.

Indian delegates thanked Mr Campbell Bannerman for his support for India, pointing out that the Indian middle class alone will be larger than the present EU by 2050.

The UKIP MEP reassured delegates that Britain would be able to retain a free trade area with the rest of the EU, (as Switzerland has) without the £45million a day costs of the political construct, when MPs such as Malaysia’s Nik Nazmi raised concerns over the ‘affordability’ of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Campbell Bannerman (who was born in Bombay – now called Mumbai) commented: "This meeting says it all. Here were 31 Commonwealth nations from across the world who all could listen to speakers without a single translator being needed, as we are all united by the English language, as well as a common belief in democracy, English law, constitutions and business practices.

"Compare that to the army of translators needed for just 27 nations. As it has continually been said since the 1960s, we are better off with Commonwealth than Common Market!

"The Commonwealth is not the past, it is the future."

Farmers used to grow food, raise livestock...

2010-11-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

Friday, 19th November 2010

UKIP Agriculture Spokesman Stuart Agnew MEP has warned that the EU obsession with climate change could force up food production costs "at the worst possible time".

Responding to the latest EU attempt to reform agricultural payments, Mr Agnew said: "The words 'climate change' have been included in the Commissioners' report. Farmers and the public should be aware that because of the EU's pointless quest to try and change the weather, the agricultural sector may be required to indulge in expensive and unnecessary activities forcing up food production costs at the worst possible time".

He went on: "Just as the general public at large is waking up to the whole global warming scam, the EU is using it as reason to legislate and regulate as never before. I am also concerned at the increasing complexity of the payment system and the likelihood that many pillar 2 programmes will continue be bad value for money, if not a total waste."

All three policy proposals suggested by the Commission have chasing climate change as the key objective. Either:
A) "increasing funding for meeting the challenges related to climate change, water, biodiversity and renewable energy, and innovation".
B) "Adjust and complement existing instruments to be better aligned with EU priorities, with support focused on environment, climate change and/or restructuring and innovation, and to enhance regional/local initiatives." or
C) "The measures would be mainly focused on climate change and environment aspects"

Mr Agnew continued: "British farmers and taxpayers should also be aware of the relentless pressure from the newer member states to get an increasing share of the CAP budget, reducing pro rata the cash coming back to the UK."

You can read the full European Commission statement here.

Nigel back as UKIP Leader

2010-11-06T06:37:00.001-07:00

Friday, 5th November 2010

Nigel Farage MEP is back at the UKIP helm after comprehensively winning the leadership contest, taking 60.5% of the overall vote.

He beat Professor Tim Congdon (20.2%), David Campbell Bannerman (14%) and Winston McKenzie (5.3%) in a poll of the full UKIP membership.

Following the announcement of his win at St Stephen's Club in Westminster, Mr Farage said: "I note with delight that today is November 5th, a symbolic day of an attempt to overthrow the political class, although I promise our methods will be peaceful."

The former UKIP Leader returns to the top job after standing down last year as he concentrated his efforts on contesting the Buckingham seat of Speaker John Bercow in the General Election. The attempt ended in dramatic fashion after he was involved in a plane crash on polling day, May 5th, from which he was lucky to walk away from.

Referring to the accident, Mr Farage said: "If I was bold before the accident, I'm fearless now.

"And this is the time to be fearless; to be strong and decisive and to push for what we believe in. For never have the political classes been more out of touch with public opinion."

Mr Farage takes over from Lord Pearson of Rannoch, who stood down in August this year after overseeing UKIP's General Election success which saw the Party increase its vote to more than 900,000.

Read Nigel Farage's acceptance speech in full here:

I would firstly like to thank the UKIP electorate once more for putting their faith in me. I would also like to give thanks for being alive, for being here and for having the chance to take on this role again. I really did have the most miraculous escape from that plane crash. I must also give thanks to my family who, once again, will have to pay the price for me doing this job.

I note with delight that today is November 5th, a symbolic day of an attempt to overthrow the political class, although I promise our methods will be peaceful.

Being leader of UKIP is a job I have done before and I led the party in the European Elections of 2009 to second place across the entire United Kingdom. If I was bold before the accident, I'm fearless now.

And this is the time to be fearless; to be strong and decisive and to push for what we believe in. For never have the political classes been more out of touch with public opinion.

Patriotic Old Labour voters have known this for a long time. The Traditional Liberals are also finding it hard to recognise what the Liberal Democrats have become.

But for millions of Tory voters, the last few months have been something of a shock.

For years I was told 'The Tories are playing a very clever game' and 'Just wait until David gets in'.

Well, David is in. And his international policy is simple:

Surrender, Surrender, Surrender.

Patriotic Eurosceptic Tories are beginning to realise that under David Cameron and William Hague their party has ceased to exist. Quite simply, they've given up. Remember the cast-iron pledge of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty? They turned their back on it and now only UKIP are prepared to put the question to the British people.

In no single area does our national interest come first.

Look at the economy, with cuts made in almost all areas of public life except the EU budget. In December I will lead the UKIP MEPs in voting against not only the 6% rise proposed by the European Parliament but also the 2.9% rise we think is an insult to British tax payers and Mr Cameron thinks is some sort of victory.

And their defence policy reads like the script of a Gilbert and Sullivan farce. Carriers without planes and 50 year treaties with France; troop numbers at risk when we are facing the hardest fighting since the Second World War. Our Armed Forces should be completely at the command of the British government: they take an oath to The Queen as their Commander in Chief not Nicolas Sarkozy. We must take back full control of our defence forces.

As for immigration, well every single assurance the Tory Party has made has proved to be valueless. Now we don't just have an open door to the Bulgarian criminals gangs but a million Moldavians have been given EU passports and a new trade deal with India is being negotiated which proposes not just trade but an open door to the entire Indian work force into the United Kingdom. Every assurance on immigration caps is meaningless. The only people who should decide who comes to live, work and settle in this country should be the British people themselves through their own parliament.

But the acceptance by the coalition of the EU Foreign Policy and the formation of an EU External Action Service under the ludicrous Baroness Ashton is a policy which should make the Tories hang their head in shame. The woman that no one dares to criticise, a woman who has never been elected to anything apart from her successful position as treasurer of CND. Well I dare. Closing British embassies and replacing them with EU ones doesn't give the UK a bigger influence in the world.

And despite receiving millions of pounds from city sources, Mr Cameron has given away total control of the UK's biggest industry to three EU regulators. It is now an irrelevance who forms the British government now if you work in financial services. In all areas of our public life, UKIP is the only party saying let's take back control.

Sadly, there isn't time to mention the £8.7 billion being spent on dubious foreign aid or giving the vote to rapists and murderers; the wasted billions on useless windfarms and the closing down of British industry because of carbon credits.

In 'defending' the national interest, David Cameron has let the country down like a cheap pair of braces.

Britain needs a party that puts British interests first.

UKIP is that party, but it needs to up its game.

I'm appealing to people who believe in the UKIP message that the best people to govern Britain are the British people themselves; not to just agree with us, or lend us their vote at European Elections.

I'm appealing for them to join us, to get involved in this battle against our political classes. When David Cameron talked about the 'Big Society' I had no idea what he was talking about. Well, here's my version of it. Let's create the Big Society of law abiding, tax paying, patriotic people and urge them to join us in this battle against our gutless political classes.

Help us to make UKIP a force to be reckoned with.

Thank you.

Cuts at home but EU spending boost

2010-10-20T12:52:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, 20th October 2010

"Britain faces unprecedented cuts at home", said Prof Tim Congdon, UKIP's economics spokesman, "but this government is doing nothing to stop a significant rise in our spending on Brussels".

"It is is extraordinary that this Government is happy to see us increasing our spending on Brussels by 5.9% but cutting police, defence, and prisons"

"I cannot belive that a single person in this country could have belived when they voted in June that we would come to this," said Professor Congdon

"Worse still in otrder to pay the bill for Brussels we are having to borrow, the borrowing will add to the debt burden faced by every family in the country."

Defence needs investment, not cuts

2010-10-20T12:50:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, 20th October 2010

UKIP Deputy Leader David Campbell Bannerman MEP, has slammed the coalition Government’s defence cuts.

Mr Campbell Bannerman, UKIP's Defence Spokesman, said MEP said that “It is absolutely ridiculous that the Government has cut the entire Harrier jump jet programme. This means that there will no British jets to fly off the new British aircraft carriers for ten years.”

“One of the new £3 billion aircraft carriers will never actually carry any aircraft and will be mothballed after just three years. What signal is that to send to our brave service personnel who will be denied the tools they need to do their dangerous and essential job.”

The MEP also recalled the warning from former BAE Systems CEO, Mike Turner, who stated that BAE would quit the UK if defence spending went below a reasonable level.

Mr Campbell Bannerman said: “These cuts take us far below anyone’s idea of a reasonable level. If BAE quit the UK, we will lose the world’s second largest defence company. In 2009, their sales alone totalled 22.9 billion pounds and their UK workforce numbers tens of thousands.

"They contribute billions in taxes to the UK economy and in these tough times, we just cannot afford to lose a company like that from the UK.

“I also wonder if the Government has paid any heed to the fact that defence investment can create new high quality jobs?”

The MEP urged the Coalition Government to think again and back the British armed forces with a proper defence budget.

He said: “As UKIP’s Head of Policy, I believe strongly that we must spend an extra 1% of the UK’s GDP on defence. This will give the Navy the ships and planes that they need to their job across the world, for the Army, it means more troops on the ground and the necessary equipment and for the RAF, they’ll get more fighters to fight the Taliban.

“This increased essential investment in Britain’s defence industries will create thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships throughout the country. These will be real jobs for real people.

EU nods through 5.9% budget hike

2010-10-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 20th October 2010

"In the self same moments that George Osborne was raining down cuts and austerity in the UK, the bloated benches of the European Parliament were awarding themselves a 5.9% increase in spending," said Nigel Farage today.

UKIP's Leading Spokesman said: "I pointed out that people will rebel against this level of cloth-eared idiocy, but when I suggested that people, British people, might leave if they kept on increasing the EU budget – 'No taxtation without representation', I pointed out had been an effective rallying call in the past – they applauded, wishing that Britain should leave the EU. And so we should", he said.

"It is immoral that these claret-basted autocrats demand more money from British taxpayers to fund 85% increases in their own entertainment budgets", said Farage.

"And what do we hear from Cameron? That he will try to stop the increase. Not good enough Prime Minister. Nobody who voted for you voted for massive cuts in our defence budget, and huge hikes in our payments to Europe. You know it, they know it.

"The only question that remains is, when will your two-faced approach to budget discipline bring you down?"

EU demands UK opens door to India

2010-10-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 10th October 2010

In the margins of the EU-India trade deal to be signed in December is a clause that demands that Britain open up its doors to increased Indian immigration.

UKIP Leading Spokesman Nigel Farage said: "This is the first significant step towards a single European immigration policy.

"The fact that the Government already admits that it has no influence over EU immigration is well known. Now we see that the EU has the ability of tell the world ‘We are opening Britain to you, whatever London might say’ destroys this government’s credibility on immigration period” .

Not only that, he said, but this news has already been picked up across the sub-continent and is being presented to the Indian people as "trade deal may nullify UK migration cap" and "EU-India 'free trade agreement will allow flood of Indian skilled workers into Britain".

"Essentially the EU has just invited thousands of Indians to come to Britain. And what can the Coalition government do about this? Absolutely nothing. Its immigration policy is a shambles and it has lost control of our borders.

"How dare the Foreign Secretary boast about 'referendum locks' and 'sovereignty acts', he is a senior official of a parish council, nothing more," said Farage.

Border control pretence now gone

2010-10-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

Friday, 8th October 2010

The passing of the Fajon report shows that the UK does not control its own borders or immigration policy - all pretence is now gone, says UKIP's Gerard Batten.

Responding to the passing in the European Parliament of the Fajon Report, which gives EU entry visas to people from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

UKIP's Civil Liberties spokesman said: "The passing of this report shows that the UK does not control its own borders or immigration policy - all pretence is now gone.

"It is now third party states like Bosnia and Herzegovina which decide who can and cannot come to the UK on an EU Visa."

This proposal would extend the list of countries whose nationals do not require Visas for entry into the EU to Bosnia & Herzegovina and Albania.

It would therefore act as yet another step in the collapse of control of national borders since once they are in the EU and acquire rights of residence/work they will inevitably be able to enter any member state.

"Given that Bosnian President Izetbegovic gave a general amnesty to Al Qaeda terrorists in the 1990s, this report also increases the danger of Islamic terrorists gaining easy access to Britian. This is a very bad deal for British citizens," Mr Batten warned.

The report states that "the European Union is a strong supporter of the abolishment of the visa regime for all the countries of the Western Balkans. [...] Every effort should now be made to deliver visa-free travel for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania as soon as possible."

EU Referendum Campaign

2010-09-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

The EU Referendum Campaign is a cross-party campaign for a referendum on the European Union. Some UKIP members may wish to assist this campaign by delivering leaflets in their local area. These are available in boxes of roughly 800 and are free of charge.

For more information or to order leaflets please contact Chris Bruni-Lowe on 0207 630 6858 or 07723 540114. Their website is www.eureferendumcampaign.com.

“The EU Referendum Campaign exists to deliver to the British people the right to choose whether our country should be a politically independent, self-governing democracy or a member of the European Union.

With the EU now making the majority of our law and with new plans to take control over the tax and spend policies of its member states, the British people must be given the right to decide where ultimate power lies: in Brussels or with our elected Westminster Parliament.”

Extradition review off-target

2010-09-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 8th September 2010

The Government's announcement of a review of Britain's extradition agreements is ignoring the main problem in the is area – the European Arrest Warrant.

At Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons today, Nick Clegg confirmed a review into into the agreements concentrating on the imbalance between the UK and US in their extradition procedures following the 2003 US-UK extradition treaty whilst downgrading the problems associated with the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).

According to studies the US agreement has been used in a handful of cases including the infamous MacKinnon case.

UKIP London MEP Gerard Batten said: "The Government's focus just highlights their impotence. Concentrating on the US extradition treaty, whilst hardly addressing the catastrophe of the European Arrest Warrant."

The EAW has been used in thousands of cases. According to a Freedom of Information release, 1,032 people were extradited on the orders of European prosecutors in the 12 months to April. The Home Office expects a further rise, to 1,700, next year.

Mr Batten said: "It is easy for civil liberties campaigners to criticise the US, but the far greater problem lies closer to home with
the EAW. British courts have been stripped of their right to protect British citizens from unjust arrest and imprisonment when extradited by foreign courts.

"Extradition is now a mere bureaucratic formality and has been reduced to the export of the carcasses of accused persons. The courts have no power to prevent extradition even when it is glaringly obvious that a gross injustice is being done.

"An honest review can only result in the repeal of the EAW and the provision of a new bi-lateral international extradition treaty that allows British courts to base their decision on the prima facie evidence, and with power to refuse extradition."

Why it's right to show concern over Turkey

2010-08-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Friday, 27th August 2010

Writing in Exeter's Express and Echo, UKIP MEP William Dartmouth warns of the potential wave of immigration from Turkey should they be given EU membership

When Prime Minister David Cameron declared that he was in favour of Turkey being allowed to become a full member of the European Union it was possibly of little more than passing interest to people living in the Exeter area or indeed the South West.

After all why should it be? The huge waves of immigration that the UK has seen over the past few years has had little or no impact on the region.Immigration, with its huge demands on schools, hospitals, housing and social services, was a problem for places like London, Birmingham or East Anglia.

Yet I firmly believe that we in the South West should be concerned.I am not saying that overnight tens of thousands of Eastern European immigrants are about to arrive overnight.It may not even happen for two or three years.

But it would be foolish to shrug our shoulders and believe it has nothing to do with us.

Presently Turkey has a population of nearly 80 million people. They are the poorest nations in Europe and would have the second highest population the the EU behind Germany. Granting them full membership of the European Union would give every Turkish citizen the right to not only come here to work but to settle with their families.

Of course not every Turkish citizen would immediately up sticks and come to live here. But remember when Poland became a member?

The Labour Government told us not to be alarmed as only a predicted 13,000 people would come here from eastern Europe. In the end the figure was well over a million.

So why should we be concerned about Turkish membership

In the run up to the General Election few people - if any - realised what the Lib Dem policy on immigration was. Let me remind you.

It was to channel immigrants into areas of the country that had little or no immigrants. Away from the major cities and into areas where they could settle and work could be available. Places like the South West or the Scottish Highlands.

Few people took notice because everybody knew that the Lib Dems had no chance of gaining power.

But today - through a combinations of events, they are sharing power in a coalition government. They have not changed their policy on how to handle immigration.

And it is not just the threat of a wave of immigrants from Turkey. In recent weeks three EU member states, Bulgaria, Hungary and Hungary have issued millions of EU passports to their ethnic minorities living outside their own borders. People from places like Ukraine and Serbia.

Our membership of the European Union means that anybody with an EU passport has a legal right to come and work in Britain. Our government cannot prevent it.

Today it is not politically incorrect to talk of immigration. People have accepted that it is not about race its about space. We are a small and overcrowded island and in many places social services are buckling under the strain of our open door immigration policy.

It is not too fanciful to fear that in the next year or so the Lib Dems views on immigration will hold sway within the Coalition.

Another danger for the South West in the advent of Turkey joining the EU is that of funding. Because Turkey is so poor, with a GDP per head of around £10,000, it would qualify for huge amounts of development money at the expense of other countries and regions such as the South West.

In fact Cornwall and the Scilly Isles qualify for just over 77% of development money as compared to Essex which is eligble for nearly 100%.

That is why the threat to Exeter and the South West is very real. It is why dismissing immigration as a problem that somebody else will have to deal with is no longer enough.

Now is the time to let our elected representatives know that immigration must be controlled now to avoid huge problems in the future.

UKIP leads way on EAW protest

2010-08-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 25th August 2010

UKIP has consistently opposed the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) and The Extradition Act 2003.

It has done so because, unlike the Old Parties, it always understood that the criminal justice systems of many of the member states of the European Union did not measure up to the high standards set by the Common Law and other legal systems in place in the UK and that many people being haled off to face criminal proceedings in far-flung corners of the EU would so on the flimsiest of pretexts and without any Judge in the UK being able to scrutinise the evidence on which the draconian EAWs are based.

The year 2010 has seen UKIP campaigning tirelessly on the issue both at a general level and in particular cases. Thus William Dartmouth MEP engaged himself closely in the case of two men whisked off to Hungary to face investigation – not prosecution as the Extradition Act 2003 requires – and possible incarceration for years before charges were brought.

Thanks to William’s unstinting efforts the two men are now back in the UK. Then there was Gerard Batten MEP intervening in the case of Andrew Symeou who has been extradited to Greece on minimal evidence to face trial.

UKIP was also active in the case of Edmond Arapi who was tried and sentenced in absentia by an Italian Court to seventeen years imprisonment without right of appeal. Until this flawed measure is removed from the Statute Book new cases of gross injustice will fill newspapers and the airwaves every day.

Now the mainstream media are beginning belatedly to take notice of our campaign. The Sunday Telegraph has carried a series of articles and a leader on the subject: Surge in Britons exported for trial, Arrested and held in Britain on demand of EU prosecutors, Extradition nightmare: 'When we first saw our son in jail it broke our hearts', More than 1,000 Britons were 'exported' for trial last year - and they couldn't even ask a British judge to test the case against them.

Andrew Gilligan’s Telegraph pieces reveal a shocking picture. Nearly three people a day are being spirited off to distant places to face lengthy investigations before possible trials according to standards that fall far below those which British people are used to and expect. Their use has risen dramatically in the last year: up by 51% in 2009-2010 as against 2008-2009. Gilligan cites cases which involve minor crimes where British Citizens have been extradited without consideration of the evidence to face the possibility of years on remand in foreign prisons.

Even David Blunkett, the Europhile Home Secretary who did Brussels’ bidding in introducing the Extradition Act in the first place, now has his misgivings: “I was right, as Home Secretary in the post-9/11 era, to agree to the European Arrest Warrant, but I was insufficiently sensitive to how it might be used.”

That, of course, is what comes of not listening to the sort of warnings UKIP were issuing at the time and ever since: that instead of this being used for genuinely serious crimes, it would result in British Citizens being extradited to face trial for minor matters at great expense to the British Taxpayer - resources which would be better used protecting our own Citizens against crime.

In its leader the Telegraph calls on the government to act but absolves the Coalition of any blame. This is, as you might expect, utterly misleading. The EU Directive that had Blunkett introducing the 2003 Act was steered through the European Parliament by Graham Watson MEP, a Liberal Democrat, with the unstinting support his fellow UK MEPs Lib Dems, Labour and, to their eternal disgrace, the Tories.

Only UKIP warned against it and voted consistently against it in the European Parliament. Now that its true nature is revealed we have the unedifying sight of former enthusiasts wriggling with shame and embarrassment at what they have wrought: Baroness Ludford and her crocodile tears, Graham Watson bleating on about terrorism (and just how many of last year’s 1032 were terrorists, Mr. Watson?), David Davis cravenly ducking debate with Nigel Farage on Question Time… so the list goes on.

Now that it has become evident that this Act is producing the most monstrous injustices, its former enthusiasts are suddenly discovering they were really against it all along and are leaping as hard as they can onto the UKIP bandwagon.

Since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force UKIP has had ample opportunity to observe “We told you so” as each new power-grab comes along. But this case amply demonstrates how we have been consistently ahead of the game from the word go, so often that it would fill a whole statute book to list the occasions we have got it right and the Old Parties have got it wrong. On this occasion we can thus say it again, loud and clear: “We told you so!”

Far from the Coalition backtracking on this, the inept and ignorant Theresa May is keen for the UK to opt in to the European Investigation Order which will have foreign judges sending British police on fishing expeditions for evidence in all manner of footling causes at a time when cuts mean less police for the investigation of domestic crimes. Faced with a disaster like the Extradition Act, the Europhile Tories are keen to repeat the exercise.

And when the EU passes it all in the European Parliament, May will have no choice but to ram the legislation through Westminster, revealing the impotence of the UK Parliament and government in all its tawdriness.
UKIP, as usual, will be fighting the UK’s corner in all this whilst the Watsons and Ludfords and their Europhile Tory chums are surrendering in droves to “More Europe”.

Back to Latest News

Victory for Marta in Spanish home scandal

2010-07-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

Victory for Marta in Spanish home scandal

Monday, 12th July 2010

The Spanish Goverment has decided to reform a controversial law that has seen the demolition of homes owned by UK expatriates, after a concerted campaign led by UKIP's Marta Andreasen.

Just last week, in a speech in Strasbourg, Ms Andreasen told Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero that British residents in his country were suffering similarly to the expatriates living under the tyrannical regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

A fuming Zapatero called her speech "an offence to the Spanish people" but on his return home, performed an about face on the Coastal Law, which has led to the demolition of so many houses.

Ms Andreasen said: "The critical moment came when I passed on to him the concern of Gordon Westerdale who was afraid of becoming victim of a situation similar to that suffered by British in Zimbabwe under Mugabe´s regime.

"I went on to tell him that what was happening in Spain was a breach of human rights and that the European Union could not possibly run to the rescue – financially – of a country where such a breach was taking place.

"Then I had the great news on Friday that the Spanish parliament had decided to take the Coastal Law – one of the causes behind the demolition threats – for debate with a view to reforming it drastically.

"So, my words finally produced an effect and I look to this as a great success!"

You can watch Marta berating Zapatero in the European Parliament here.

You can read Marta's blog here.

Asylum seekers living in £2m, 5-bedroomed mansion

2010-07-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Asylum seekers living in £2m, 5-bedroomed mansion

Britain's family of asylum seekers is living in a £2million mansion costing taxpayers a whopping £8,000 a month. Jobless Abdi and Sayruq Nur and their seven children moved into the house after whingeing that they did not like living in a “poor” area.

The plush pad in London’s posh Kensington boasts five bedrooms, two bathrooms, leather sofas and flat-screen TVs. And the family’s celebrity neighbours include designer Stella McCartney, 38, and Blur frontman Damon Albarn, 42.

Mr Nur, an unemployed bus conductor, demanded to move from their five-bed home in Brent, north west London. The 42-year-old moaned shops were too far away from home and he did not like the fact that his children had to take the bus to school.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/144016/Asylum-seekers-living-in-2m-5-bedroom-mansion/

We say:

Surely if this family are genuine asylum seekers, trying to escape tyranny, persecution and possible death, then any area in the UK will be better than the one they left behind. There is no need for the to be living in Kensington to escape the horrors they say they left behind.

UKIP support efforts to help genuine asylum seekers – it is part of our British tradition to help those in dire need, but it is not surprising the public are losing this tolerance when situations like this emerge. It is wrong and it is not fair or justified.

UKIP would speed up the asylum application process, and not be bound by the ridiculous political correctness that often means immigrants receive much better treatment than the taxpayer.

Tests on foreign nurses scrapped:

2010-07-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Tests on foreign nurses scrapped: EU order means Britain must open NHS jobs to thousands from Eastern Europe

Thousands of foreign nurses will be allowed to work in Britain without any safety checks because EU rules demand that the tests are axed.

They will not need to sit rigorous competence exams before treating NHS patients. And they will no longer even be required to show they have looked after patients in the past three years.

Critics say the change will 'almost certainly' lead to lives being lost. The Nursing and Midwifery Council will stop administering the tests in the autumn after being told it could be sued by the European Commission for breaking EU law on 'freedom of movement' for workers from the Continent.

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1293906/Tests-foreign-nurses-scrapped-EU-order-means-Britain-open-NHS-jobs-thousands-Eastern-Europe.html#ixzz0tS5fkAZg

We say:

It is a ridiculous situation that those from English speaking countries such as Australia, the US and so on, will have to take a test, but those from non-English speaking countries – like the Eastern Europeans – will not.

Since the scandal of the German doctor accidently killing a British patient you would hope the EU would put patient care ahead of their obsession of freedom of movement.

While freedom of movement might work for some unskilled jobs, it should not be applied for all professions, particularly ones where practices are significantly different from country to country.

UKIP is the only party with a proper policy on foreign workers, that would safe-guard the public and British job seekers.

I know the price of freedom – by Nick Hogan

2010-07-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

July 1st 2007 became ‘Black Sunday’ to publicans up and down England, as it was the day hard working and law abiding English citizens had a piece of freedom abruptly taken away. It was also the day that would put me on a path that would ultimately end up with my incarceration in HMP Forest Bank a category B high security prison in Manchester.

July 1st was the day that a Labour Government took my freedom to run and operate my own business as I felt fit, as they bowed to pressure from the anti smoking gaggle and introduced the 2006 Health Act and ban smoking in public places.

It has been well reported, my stance to this draconian Act, but let me tell you once again that I am and never have been pro smoking. However, as a UKIP member and activist I will defend yours and my right to the freedom of choice as I did back in 2007 when three WWII heroes entered my public house in Bolton.

It was a day which was wet, cold and miserable outside, much like most of the 2007 summer, when the three gentlemen ask me as the Landlord and the owner of the business if it was ok to have a smoke out of the way in the pub. I told them it was, as in all honesty I had no desire to ask three men who had fought for my freedom to go and stand outside in the wet and cold to indulge in an highly taxed and legal product.

As they sat in comfort enjoying their pint and fag, the council smoke detectives entered the pub, they observed the men smoking and to cut a long story short, I was summonsed to court charged with breaching the Heath Act.

After a court appearance and a crown court appeal I was handed a fine in total £11,500. By the time the fine was given to me I had lost my once successful pub due in main to the smoking ban and the lack of customers, who by now had abandoned public houses and sat at home consuming cheap supermarket booze and smoked in peace. As I was unable to pay the fine because I had no business, thanks to Labour, the authorities wanted a pound of flesh or should I say £11,500 pounds of flesh. As a result, they sentenced me to six months prison. You may think that this was a shock but it wasn’t - I knew that the chairman of the bench had made it his personal goal to make an example of me.

I must admit I was very worried when I entered the prison and that I was very low in mood, but in the back of my mind I knew you and the party would not abandon me. I entered the prison on the Friday night and by the Tuesday I had dozens of letters and postcards from well wishers, most of them from you lot. I cannot tell you how much they meant to me you gave me a massive boost and will never be able to thank you enough.

The best part of this story is you and the thousands of freedom thinking individuals who in five days raised £10,000 to free me. After only twelve days I walked free from jail. Thank you. And just to let you know, I was released on the 10th March 2010, which is National No Smoking Day! Irony.

UKIP Save Our Pubs

2010-04-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

UKIP confirms status as party of the pub

Monday, 26th April 2010

UKIP today confirmed itself as the pubs' favourite party with the launch of a new specialist pubs policy that would see landlords freed to reopen smoking rooms and tax cut on certain draft beers.

UKIP's deputy leader and head of policy, David Campbell Bannerman, says the proposals, available to download from the Policies section of the UKIP site, will help to restore the Great British pub to the heart of the community.

Key points in the document include a tax cut for draft beers and ciders, the setting up of a Royal Commission to investigate the pricing structures used by supermarkets selling cheap alcohol, a reduction in the power of large pubcos and incentives for landlords to diversify their businesses to attract extra income.

The new policies come in the middle of Nigel Farage's hugely successful attempt to share a drink with locals in every pub in the Buckingham constituency, where he plans to unseat the incumbent MP, Commons Speaker John Bercow.

Quoted last week in the Morning Advertiser, the paper of the pub trade, Mr Farage said: "It’s a strong and long-held belief of mine that pubs matter; they matter in the sense of community and when they disappear the community loses something very special. It’s not a tangible thing you can put a price on.

“It fascinates me that our pubs are the envy of the world and are now being directly threatened. I want to fight, raise a voice and, if I can, to try and help.”

Pub Minister 'a travesty' ,says Bloom

2010-02-15T09:50:00.000-08:00

Monday, 8th February 2010

THE Government's appointment of a Minister for Pubs has been blasted by UKIP as too little too late.

"The announcement that John Healey, the MP for Wentworth as 'Minister for Pubs' is a travesty", said UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom.

"Given that this Government has been responsible for a whole stream of devastating legislation that has brought the pub industry to its knees it is worse than that, it is an insult", he said.

"There is no doubt that Mr Healey is, in himself, a great supporter of the pub trade but his appointment, too late in the day for the 2,500 pubs that have closed in the last year, seems more concerned with the election than it does the pub trade."

He will no doubt talk about the price differentials between supermarkets and pubs, the impact of the big Pubcos and so on, but in the next three months there is nothing concrete he can do apart from waft a hoppy smell over this government's failed policies."

Marta challenges Cameron

2010-02-07T04:47:00.000-08:00

Marta Andreasen today challenged David Cameron to come clean about what he plans to do to defend British justice.

In an open letter addressed to the Tory leader, the UK Independence Party euro-MP asked if he would veto the proposed European Public Prosecutor, if elected Prime Minister.

This figure created by the ratified Lisbon Treaty, would with the new European Legal office 'EuroJust' be able to bring direct prosecutions in the UK, contrary to our legal traditions and clearly against the will of the British public. However to create the figure requires unanimity in the European Council of Ministers and therefore a British Government would have the power to stop it.

She asks, "I write, therefore, to ask you if you will undertake now that the Conservative Party will include in its forthcoming manifesto for the 2010 General Election an unambiguous pledge to veto any proposal to establish a European Public Prosecutor's Office if you become Prime Minister at the forthcoming general election, whether as the head of a government with a majority in Parliament or as head of a minority coalition government?

"If not, why not?"

"The public need to know whether they can trust the Tories to defend Britain's interests", she said.

Notes Below is the full text of Marta Andreasen's Letter

4 February 2010

Dear Mr. Cameron,

Re: The European Public Prosecutor (EPP)

On 12th January 2010 I asked Commissioner-designate Algirdas Šemeta, during his confirmation hearings before the Budgetary Control Committee (of which I am a member), if he plans to establish the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPP) as provided for in the Lisbon Treaty.

His response was that "we should move forward". He further confirmed that it is also being discussed by other members of the European Commission. This means that such a plan is already Commission policy and that it will be implemented regardless of who is confirmed in due course as Taxation and Anti-Fraud Commissioner. This reply, and the implications thereof, and the absence of any firm denial leave no doubt that European Commission and the Budgetary Control Commissioner intend to bring forward such a plan in the very near future and that planning is already well advanced.

As you know, Article 86 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), provides for the possible establishment of the Office of European Public Prosecutor from EUROJUST. For such a proposal to become law, however, there must be unanimity in the Council: in other words, the United Kingdom retains a veto on the creation of an EPP. This requirement puts the United Kingdom in a very strong position to prevent the creation of such a post when it is presented to the Council.

The concept of a European Public Prosecutor is, I am sure, entirely repugnant to the British people. Furthermore, when it has been raised in the past, the UK government, recognising the hostility of Britons to it, has signified its clear dissent to the proposal.

It will create, for the first time, a criminal jurisdiction at the EU level.

As importantly, the proposed body of law to accompany these proposals, the so-called "Corpus Juris", threatens to usurp the 800-year old system of the Common Law in England & Wales and its Scottish counterpart. It is even more objectionable when the Treaty provisions for the rules of evidence and judicial review are taken into account. Those most certainly will not be based on either the English or Scottish legal systems with the traditional
rights and protections that Britons are used to.

May I remind you that such proposals were never contemplated by the British people in 1975 when they voted to remain in what was then the EEC.

I write, therefore, to ask you if you will undertake now that the Conservative Party will include in its forthcoming manifesto for the 2010 General Election an unambiguous pledge to veto any proposal to establish a European Public Prosecutor's Office if you become Prime Minister at the forthcoming general election, whether as the head of a government with a majority in Parliament or as head of a minority coalition government?

If not, why not?

I call upon you to make clear your position on this most important matter before the upcoming election campaign, so that British voters might judge your promises to prevent further such powers being transferred to Brussels.

Yours sincerely,

Marta Andreasen

Member of the European Parliament for the South East of England
UK Independence Party

Lord Pearson on Independent Thinkers

2010-01-10T04:07:00.001-08:00

Paul Nuttall condemns Commons Health Committee

2010-01-08T10:35:00.001-08:00

UKIP today condemned the ignorance of the Commons Health Select Committee which has suggested minimum pricing for alcoholic drinks.

"Select committee chairman Kevin Barron MP must have had too much sauce over the Christmas period," said Paul Nuttall, UKIP Chairman today.

"Not only is such a move invidious and patronising it would also be illegal."

After the Scottish Executive attempted to introduce a similar rule last year the EU's Advocate General ruled that minimum prices were 'not necessary in order to protect public health' and were a distortion of competition.

Mr Nuttall said: "The House of Commons has its head in the sand about how little power it has. Even if it wanted to introduce such a regressive and dictatorial law it couldn't because it has given its power away.

"Worse still despite the fact that the judgement against the Scots received significant coverage at the time; no journalist seems to have noticed as Mr Barron's claims have not even been questioned as to their legality.

"Sadly both our politicians and it seems much of the media seem to remain in denial about their own impotence."

10 Reasons to leave the EU, Dan Hannan

2009-12-29T08:33:00.001-08:00

Here's Tory rebel Dan Hannan's list of 10 reasons why the UK would be better off out of the European Union. UKIP welcomes his support!

1. Since we joined the EEC in 1973, we have been in surplus with every continent in the world except Europe. Over those 27 years, we have run a trade deficit with the other member states that averages out at £30 million per day.

2. In 2010 our gross contribution to the EU budget will be £14 billion. To put this figure in context, all the reductions announced by George Osborne at the Conservative Party Conference would, collectively, save £7 billion a year across the whole of government spending.

Read the rest of Hannan's blog here.

TV Debate Lord Pearson responds

2009-12-23T04:18:00.000-08:00

UKIP Leader Lord Pearson has called on all the major TV broadcasters to make way for the Party in their planned national debates in the lead-up to the General Election.

With Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg all slated to appear in the televised 90-minute pre-election debates, Lord Pearson has insisted UKIP be included as well.

After writing to the heads of the BBC, ITV and Sky, Lord Pearson said: "It would be wrong for UKIP, which came second in the last test of national political opinion, to be excluded from these debates.

"I accept that UKIP may not win the General Election, but nor will the Liberal Democrats.

"We suggest that an acceptable alternative would be for UKIP to appear in a part of each debate linked to four vital policy areas: membership of the EU, direct democracy, immigration and the economy.

"Our position on the first two of these areas will be diametrically opposed to the policies of the three main parties, and our position on the other two will be sufficiently different to deserve inclusion in the televised events. Surely the British people should be allowed to see us tested on these great issues in open debate?

"Our presence would provide the voice of real opposition, which will not be heard if we are not there. And, I would suggest, it would also make the debates rather more entertaining."

Kent Unemployment November 2009

2009-12-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

KCC Area Summary
• The KCC unemployment rate remains at 3.3%, this is below the national rate of 4.1%.
• Six KCC districts saw an overall drop in unemployment since last month. The biggest reduction in claimants was in Dartford district which saw 91 fewer claimants than in October (a reduction of 4.3%). Dover saw the biggest increase in claimants with an additional 125 claimants, an increase of 5.6%.
• Thanet district continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the KCC area at 5.8% (4,196 claimants). Tunbridge Wells district has the lowest rate at 2.0% (1,263 claimants).

Public consultation on Folkestone Harbour plans to be held in New Year

2009-12-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

A PUBLIC consultation of the Folkestone harbour developments is to be held in the New Year, organisers have announced.

The Folkestone Harbour Company has made several presentations to Shepway District and Folkestone Town Councils as well as local businesses in recent weeks about plans to develop the seafront.

It is expected some minor alterations will have been made to the original masterplan unveiled in 2006 by world-renowned architects Foster and Partners.

The latest plans feature designs by top British architect Sir Terry Farrell.

In a statement released this week, it has been suggested that the plans may be more modest than first thought when the masterplan was revealed three years ago.

Read more in The Folkestone Herald

Lord pearson speaks out

2009-12-10T04:24:00.000-08:00

Lord Pearson,

The newly elected leader of the UK Independence party writing in the Daily Express today has reiterated the party manifesto and where we stand on the major issues of the day.

Highlighting our innovative income tax proposals to remove 4 million low paid people from income tax altogether. Committing to our education policies of quality and opportunity of access for all in a grammar school for every town. He also stated our stance on the debate on the issues around the great global warming debate.

To read the full article please click here Daily Express

Jobs to go at nuclear plant

2009-12-09T02:19:00.000-08:00

Thousands of potential jobs have gone in one of Kent's most deprived areas after the governments decision not to go ahead with a new nuclear power station at Dungeness .

With Dungeness A decommissioned and Dungeness B due to be closed by the EU large plant directive in 2018, people in the area had high hopes that the Dungeness C plant would provide 2,000 construction jobs and another 400 operations and maintenance jobs in the longer term.

With the likely blocking of expansion plans for nearby Lydd Airport when it comes before the planners early in the new year, this is a double blow for local employment with airport operators claiming their scheme would have created a further 600 new jobs.

Dover Castle New Investment

2009-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Dover Castle is the “jewel in the crown” of Kent’s tourist economy and represents the “start of a historical and cultural renaissance along the county’s coast”.

The verdict came from Visit Kent’s chief executive Sandra Matthews-Marsh, who was at the castle’s Great Tower to announce the success of its £2.45 million investment.

Almost 117,000 visitors have passed through its refurbished halls, which have been transformed with rich and colourful furnishings and holograms to recreate Henry II’s court in 1186.

In August, some 62,680 people flocked to see the attraction, an increase of 49 per cent on the same month last year.

Steve Lang, head of visitor operations at Dover Castle, said the figures proved the money had been well spent.

“We’ve already seen that it’s started to increase the average duration of the visitors here, which is really good news for the whole of Dover and Kent, making sure that when the visitors did stay longer they would actually be staying in Dover overnight.

“We would then convert this from a one-day visit to a two-day visit, which would benefit B&Bs, restaurants and the town as a whole.”

Ms Marsh-Matthews said: “I think we are very much standing at probably one of the top two or three most significant buildings in the UK in terms of our heritage.

The tourism industry is worth £2.5 billion to Kent, making up about nine per cent of the county’s GDP. Visitor numbers have increased by 20 per cent in the past year, due to more
people holidaying at home.

Reasons to vote UKIP

2009-12-06T04:17:00.001-08:00

Leadership contest winner announced

2009-11-27T07:22:00.001-08:00

Here is the full result of the UK Independence Party leadership election

Batten 2571
Nattrass 1092
Pearson 4743
Sinclaire 1214
Wood 315

The turnout was approximately 70%, which is very high.

Congratulations to Malcolm Pearson and to all the candidates for their efforts on behalf of UKIP

Nigel reprimanded

2009-11-25T11:22:00.001-08:00

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage was this morning reprimanded by European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek for his questions relating to the appointment of Baroness Ashton as the EU's High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs.

Buzek insisted that Mr Farage 'restrain his language and refrain from making unacceptable comments in the chamber'.

Mr Farage was questioning whether Ashton was a suitable candidate for the post because of her past associations with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), given that she will be in charge of the external security of the European Union. He had asked specifically whether Baroness Ashton had accepted cash on behalf of CND from the 'enemies of western capitalism and democracy'.

Speaking after the 'debate' in the parliament's Strasbourg chamber, he said: "To attempt to silence an elected representative from asking pertinent questions about the past of the EU's foreign minister is censorship, plain and simple. Her past actions have a direct bearing on her suitability for her new role."

"To be reprimanded for carrying out my duty to my constituents by the parliament's President is scandalous. Is this the price Europe will pay for the deeply undemocratic imposition of the Lisbon Treaty?"

Tomorrow is deadline day

2009-11-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

Monday 23rd November is deadline day to vote in the UKIP leadership election.

The winner of the election will be announced by the Electoral Reform Society who are running the election on Friday 27th November.

There are 5 candidates in the running.

Alan Wood
Nikki Sinclaire
Lord Pearson
Gerard Batten
Mike Natrass

Free Book

2009-11-18T08:13:00.001-08:00

Click here to order your free book

Taxpayers Alliance on EU waste

2009-11-16T05:04:00.001-08:00

Kent Latest Unemployment figures October

2009-11-15T12:39:00.001-08:00

Kent's latest unemployment figures were released on Friday. Overall Kent had a slightly better month in October with the number of unemployed falling slightly in the county.

In Ashford there was better news with 31 more people finding new jobs to bring the Ashford unemployed total to 1977.

In Shepway there were an extra 48 people losing work to bring the Shepway total to 2439 .

I'm afraid that Dover fared the worst though with an increase of 99 making the total of those without work in Dover 2248.

Overall in our region of South East Kent the total number of unemployed in October was 6664

Local dissappointment over nuclear power station

2009-11-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

Dungeness has been dropped from a Government list of potential locations for new nuclear power stations.

The location, which was one of eleven sites nominated by industry in March, was not listed in the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s draft National Policy Statements consultation, which opened today.

Concerns about how to mitigate potential environmental impacts at the site, coastal erosion and associated flood risk were among the reasons.

The draft Nuclear National Policy Statement named ten locations that had been assessed as potentially suitable for new nuclear deployment by the end of 2025.

These are: Bradwell, Braystones, Hartlepool, Heysham, Hinkley Point, Kirkstanton, Oldbury, Sellafield, Sizewell and Wylfa.

The nuclear NPS was one of six statements published today aimed at removing unnecessary planning delays facing large energy proposals.

Other areas covered include fossil fuels, renewables, transmission networks and oil and gas pipelines, as well as the Government’s final Framework for the Development of Clean Coal.

The statements will be the basis on which individual planning decisions are made from next March by the new Infrastructure Planning Commission.

Energy and Climate secretary Ed Miliband said change was needed to tackle both climate change and energy security.

He said: “The current planning system is a barrier to this shift. It serves neither the interests of energy security, the interests of the low carbon transition, nor the interests of people living in areas where infrastructure may be built, for the planning process to take years to come to a decision.

“That is why we are undertaking fundamental reform of the planning system which will result in a more efficient, transparent and accessible process.”

The consultation closes on February 22.

UKIP Support up to 6%

2009-11-08T07:23:00.001-08:00

Politicalbetting.com has just released the results of their latest survey.
The most striking characteristics of this afternoon’s exclusive new poll by Angus Reid Strategies for Politicalbetting.com are the increases in the shares for UKIP with the Tories slipping down to 38%.

Like yesterday’s YouGov poll the total proportion of respondents opting for other parties has seen an increase with Angus Reid reporting the largest share of any of the monthly pollsters. What YouGov did not tell us yesterday was the make-up of their “others” total. My guess is they saw a UKIP increase as well.

The fieldwork finished last night after a period when MPs expenses were making the headlines as well as the Tory decision on the Lisbon treaty referendum.

Whether it’s the latter that has driven the UKIP numbers I don’t know. But 6% of voters according to this poll are saying that they will go with UKIP which is the highest proportion by far in any survey since the effects of June’s Euro election worked its way out of the system.

So it looks as though the Tories are taking a hit but Labour are still in very serious trouble up just single point to 24%.

The poll took place online with a sample in excess of 2,000.

Welcome to UKIP South East Kent

2009-11-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our new website. You will find news, views, information and contacts on the UK Independence Party associations for the constituencies of Ashford, Dover

and Folkestone and Hythe