2015, Election Year

Having suffered four years of wishy washy, wet government May 2015 gives us the chance to bin the coalition of cheats, thieves and liars. Or does it? Maybe the electorate gets what it deserves and next year's general election will punish us with a bunch of similar, maybe even worse misfits taking power than this lot.

Let's face it political correctness, that strange form of mental illness, continues to devour what's left of freedom and democracy and brands commonsense policies dangerous at best, evil at worst. Dare to call for controlled immigration and you are branded an evil racist.

A fine recent example of hysterical PC branding was when US commentator Rush Limbaugh asserted that James Bond should not be played by a black actor on the grounds that Ian Fleming created Bond as the son of a Scottish father and French Swiss mother. Of course the shit hit the fan and he, and others, were pilloried for such evil racism. I suppose, therefore, that we will soon see Russell Brand playing the lead role in a bio pic of Nelson Mandela's life.

Don't agree with gay marriage? Many of us have been branded evil homophobes for daring to question the idea of gay marriage. I don't have a problem with gay couples having all the legal rights that heterosexual couples have. I don't have a problem with civil partnerships. I just believe that marriage is, and should remain, the joining together of a man and a woman. Call me old fashioned but do not brand me homophobic, because I'm not.

Dare to comment on the stonings, beheadings, crucifications and more carried out by muslims and you are branded an Islamphobe. The apologists for Islam claim that it is a peaceful religion full of joy and goodness. Well maybe ISIS are rogues but look at any muslim state and tell me you, especially if you are a woman, would like to go and live there. Public executions, often shown on TV? Women arrested for driving? Women stoned to death for adultery or even for being raped? Homosexuals thrown in jail or facing death? Under sharia law only the males in a family can inherit? These things don't strike me as being compatible with liberal western values. But dare criticise and all those politically correct liberals who want their version of 'equality' imposed on us suddenly defend the polar opposite of what they preach to us and brand you an Islamophobe.

The politically correct loathe British people who live in France, Spain and other countries but maintain a British way of life, eating British food, shopping in British shops, playing cricket and bowls and so on. Little Englanders who should integrate cry the politically correct.

Visit a typical British city and you often find yourself in huge areas that resemble Delhi, Istanbul, Cyprus or Lahore. Wonderful examples of diversity and multiculturalism cry the politically correct.

The central element of political correctness is self-loathing. A loathing of British culture. A loathing of British history. A loathing of the British way of life. A loathing of British people. A loathing of our political system. Foreigners are so much friendlier. Foreign cultures are so much more vibrant. It is a form of mental illness involving self harm. An individual suffering this form of illness would be offered treatment.

Against this backdrop it is no wonder that next year's general election is unlikely to offer us a serious option for change. They are all scared that the media and the metropolitan elite will brand them evil extremists if they dare say anything that could be branded politically incorrect.

At one time politicians had beliefs. Does anybody know what any of our senior politicians actually believe today? At one time our politicians used to listen to the electorate. Now, because they have been so neutered by political correctness, they daren't listen to the public.

So who is really to blame for this mess? Senior politicians? Yes. One thing that would make 2015 a wonderful year would be to see the Chilcot Report published and Tony Blair hauled off to The Hague on war crimes charges. That's just for starters.

The politically correct? Of course they are to blame. In another era they would have been labelled Quislings, and quite rightly so.

But when apportioning blame the 'anti-politicians' must carry a huge burden of guilt. I mean those people who sit on their bums slagging off anybody involved in politics, be they a volunteer leafleter or an MP, just for the fact that they are involved in politics. The advent of the internet has made this problem even worse with the appearance of the keyboard warrior, who has all the answers, usually idiotically simplistic answers, but still sits on his fat arse doing nothing constructive  but slagging off those who actually stick their heads above the parapet and try to change things. The 'anti-politicians' do more than anybody else to drive people away from politics thus leaving political parties in the hands of an ever dwindling band of misfits.

For the first time in decades I won't be involved in the next election in any way, a combination of disenchantment and finding that trying to engage the average voter is like trying to raise the dead. An utter, demoralising waste of time. I doubt I'll even be voting in May 2015, for the first time since the local elections in 1980, although I spoilt my European ballot paper in 1979.

So, if you vote just for the sake of voting, even though you don't agree with any of them, don't complain when you get a government you don't like or that you accuse of not listening. You voted for them.

Before you slag me off I spent around 35 years trying to make a difference, but when banging your head against a wall gets really painful you stop. Think you could do more and better? Then get off your lazy arse, leave your keyboard alone and get involved.

To those who are still motivated enough to plod the streets knocking on doors on behalf of a candidate, stuffing envelopes in a draughty campaign office or sticking their heads above the parapet to actually stand for parliament I wish you luck, and the New Year you deserve.

Will You Walk With Me?

Will you walk with me
If I have to flee
When my freedoms are lost
And I bear the cost
Of Sharia Law
And my back is raw
Because I showed my face
And they don’t like my race
Will you walk with me?

Will you walk with the pawn
His spirit torn
Sitting on his knees
Hoping for a reprieve
Sad farewells he sends
As his neck is bent
To his family
As a homily
Will you walk with him

And the slaves they take
The displaced they make
Take their way of life
Or they’ll feel the knife
For they have no heart
If you don’t take part
In the slaughter
Of the infidels daughter
Will you walk with them?


And they’ll blow up planes
And they’ll blow your brains
Shoot you in the street
A job complete
Crucify and maim
Shouting you’re to blame
So if it’s all the same
As they feel no shame
Will you walk with me?

Twat of the Year 2014: Russell Brand

Until last night's BBC Question Time Tony Blair was frontrunner for this blog's Twat of the Year award, by quite a distance. Then those cuddly pinko lefties at the BBC invited Russell Brand, who describes himself as a 'comedian', onto Question Time.

He's about as funny as a dose of clap. In a sterling performance of unrivalled fuckwittery he romped home leaving Blair way back. Hopefully Blair's consolation prize will be an appearance in The Hague on war crimes charges.

For sheer stupidity, shallowness and appalling mauling of the English language Brand is unrivalled. He is a motor mouth with a small range of cheap slogans that appeal to the political mong fraternity but clearly lacks intelligence and originality.

The day the working classes need a  pampered, petulant multimillionaire like Brand on their side is the day we might as well give up.

David Morris MP, Morecambe and Lunesdale Constituency

Yesterday we had yet another tedious questionnaire from our MP David Morris. We receive so many from his 'team' I tend to think of him and his 'team' more as a polling firm, a poor man's MORI, than as a Member of Parliament.

Consultation is one thing, but when I have asked his position on a couple of serious issues his response has been that he will wait and see what his constituents think. Now forgive me but I thought MPs were elected on what they, and increasingly their parties believed. It seems that Morris has no opinions, beliefs or principles other than to get re-elected. I can't help thinking that if he polled his constituents about the slaughter of the first born in every household and they wanted it he would probably campaign for it.

As he seems to have no beliefs I won't be voting Conservative in May next year.

Elections, Lies and Propoganda

 

It's started even earlier than the build up to Christmas this general election campaign. Problem is I can just about put up with Christmas decorations  going up in September because I love Christmas, but lying scheming politicians trying to buy my vote is another thing.

David Cameron's Tories started the ball rolling pretending they had got the EU to back off stealing even more of our money. They lied.

Then Cameron starts talking like a Eurosceptic. He tried that one before the 2010 election. He lied then and he's lying now.

Cameron talked about slashing immigration before the 2010 election. It's got even worse with around 250,000 a year joining us. Guess what? He's talking tough on immigration  yet again. But we all know that as long as we are in the EU he can do nothing about it. He's lying again.

Miliband's shower of shysters are dangling an extra £2b for the NHS to try and buy us off. Well tell you what Burnham, cut the huge amount of waste in the NHS, cut the huge salaries of senior staff, make the whole damn thing more efficient then I might be able to bear you taking my hard earned cash and spending it buying votes. Problem is government has no money, it's our money they blow.

Then you get Labour's pathetic constant cry that the Tories will privatise the NHS. It's lies. I remember Labour saying that in '74 and it still hasn't happened, they haven't got the balls. If the NHS really was the envy of the world it wouldn't be an exclusively British institution, they'd all be doing it. I would actually vote Tory if they did promise to privatise it. We can hardly despise politicians then let them take charge of our healthcare and expect it to work. Imagine how bad beer would be and cars would be if those industries were run by the state. Not a nice thought.

Then there's Nick Clegg's gang of misfits. Now stop tittering, it's cruel. I don't even know what, if anything, Lib Dems believe in any more. They're clearly finished, thankfully.

But brace yourself, there will be constant shit storm of lies and promises that will be broken between now and the election in May. It's going to get worse.

Rape and Unemployment

Sports journalist and role model Charlie Webster

There's been quite a fuss made of the release of footballer Ched Evans, he went to prison for rape but his case is currently being reviewed. There have been demands that he never play football again and two or three people have resigned from honorary positions at Sheffield United FC where he is currently training, though not employed. The main thrust of the outcry is that footballers, supposedly, are role models. Really?

Interestingly a woman called Charlie Webster has led the outcry and is one of those who resigned from her position at Sheffield United. The main thrust of her argument is that he is not a good role model. Well I think this article might suggest that Charlie, a sports journalist, stripping off for a lad mag isn't such a wonderful role model herself.

Firstly I don't accept that footballers are role models. Role models are people in your life who have a real influence on you. Parents, teachers, priests, relatives. In other words people who are real and whose behaviour has a direct influence on people, especially younger people. A man kicking a ball about is just that.  He is one dimensional, he is not 'real'.

While rape is clearly one of the most vile crimes, there are many other vile crimes. If a footballer commits another crime should he never be allowed to work again either? Is it right that criminals in high profile positions should be treated more severely than the rest of us? Does the law no longer apply equally to all men? Should all rapists be forced to pay for the rest of their lives, even after they have been punished? Or just famous ones?

If Ched Evans is never allowed to work again the logical conclusion is that no convicted criminal should ever be allowed to work again because every criminal is a role model to somebody, somewhere whether it be to a son or daughter, a friend, a relative or whoever. If that is the case we have completely given up on rehabilitation and will be creating even more huge problems for the future, problems that will impose painful financial and moral burdens on us in the future.

But I don't think that will be the case. I firmly believe the Ched Evans affair is yet another example of the lynch mob mentality of social media and the desire of so many people today to be regularly morally outraged and offended.

More Tory Lies Or Just Plain Idiocy?

When Cameron said that we would not be paying the £1.7bn extortion money to the EU on December 1st  I wondered why he didn't just say that we wouldn't be paying it full stop. I had a good idea that he was bullshitting, as he usually does.

Then last week the Tories claimed to have won a great success, they claimed they had had the amount to be paid halved, after hard negotiation. That's not actually true.

The Tories have agreed to pay half the extortion money, correct. The other half is being paid by us losing £850m from our rebate next year.

Now I'm no mathematician but £850m plus £850m equals £1.7bn. Which is the exact amount the EU demanded from us.

In Remembrance

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Gay Wedding Cakes and a Burning Effigy of Fatboy

Two things angered me today. Yes, that's right only two, but it's only 16:10 so there's time yet. Of course driving into Morecambe today a couple of motorists pissed me off, but that's usual and not worth banging on about.

No today a gay wedding cake pissed me off and a burning effigy of Alex 'Fatboy' Salmond did. But what really angered me was the intervention of the police state into both episodes.

I think we should all move to Lewes in Sussex, especially if you live in a high crime area because in Lewes they have no crime to investigate. It must be a no crime area because the police are investigating the burning on a bonfire of an effigy of Scotland's very own Kim Jong Un Alex Salmond. When asked why the police were wasting their time on triviality like this the reply came: "Well, a member of the public complained so we have to investigate". Forgive me but would the police investigate if I phoned and complained that Gregg's had run out of Steak Bakes? There are times even the police state should tell idiot members of the public to piss off and grow up.

Now then, anger inducer number two was news that a baker, in Northern Ireland I think, is being dragged through the police state legal system by the Stasi (aka Equal Opportunities Commission or some similar gang of fucking misfits) for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. Now personally I think they should have just got on with it but eh, if their conscience and moral beliefs dictate that baking a gay wedding cake is verboten then so be it. It used to be that totalitarian states oppressed gay people, how times have changed, now our police state oppresses people who object to gay marriage. Or, put it another way, our police state kicks peoples' doors down at dawn for not baking a cake.

Why didn't they just find a baker who would have baked their sodding cake? Of course, the couple are going for compensation.

P.J. O'Rourke and Welfare

The sooner we shrink the welfare state down the better. Let's face it, when there are unemployed English people lazing around moaning about Poles getting the jobs there is a problem. The problem is politicians buy votes by paying the unemployed enough to not bother working.

This P.J. O'Rourke quote says it wonderfully

"There is no virtue in compulsory government charity, and there is no virtue in advocating it. A politician who portrays himself as 'caring' and 'sensitive' because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to try to do good with other people's money".

That UKIP Calypso

Let's face it, that UKIP Calypso was pretty abysmal. But coming from a second rate has been like Mike Read it's hardly surprising. The only surprise for me is that Mike Read seems to have some kind of a deal with a record company. Then I wondered what kind of a record company actually takes on a singer like that with a song like that.

Racist it isn't. Second rate, corny, simplistic yes. But  how many pop stars over the years have sung with fake American accents? No criticism there. The song was a calypso, which orginates in the Caribbean so I don't understand the fuss about somebody singing in an albeit very bad West Indian accent. I remember going to see UB40 in the '80s and don't remember anybody attacking Ali Campbell for singing like a rasta man, or for the band, predominantly white, for playing reggae music like they do in the West Indies.  We have white kids walking the streets of our cities talking like kids from a Kingston ghetto. Are they racist?

Then you have the British Red Cross refusing to accept the proceeds from the song when Mike Read was scared off by the politically correct hysteria and withdrew it from sale. The Red Cross came over all self-righteous and indignantly told UKIP to stick it. Well it's good to see that the Red Cross have so much cash swilling around that they can turn down substantial donations. Remember that next time you are tempted to donate to them and maybe give to a charity that actually needs your money instead.

The big issue for me with the UKIP Calypso is yet again the total lack of awareness of UKIP and the constant change of direction as they react to publicity. Only the other day Farage was urging his Twitter followers to buy it and get the song to number one. They even trundled out ex-boxer Winston McKenzie to defend it and declare it not to be racist. McKenzie is a black UKIP supporter if you didn't know. The next day Mike Read apologised for causing offence and withdrew it from sale.

Do UKIP still not realise that the media are desperate to brand them 'racist' at every opportunity? You don't have to be a media genius to think that a UKIP supporter, singing in a fake West Indian accent was going to draw heavy artillery fire from the politically correct UK media. That gave UKIP two options, dig in and defend their position or do a runner. UKIP pulled out the white flag and ran for cover.

A serious political party does not land itself in positions like this. It comes after they announced at their conference that they would hike up VAT on luxury goods, the infamous 'WAG tax', only to withdraw the idea when it was widely ridiculed. It comes after the party's vice-chairman declared that they supported attacking ISIS, only for the interviewer to inform her that Nigel Farage had only that morning stated that they opposed it.

No, the UKIP Calypso was naïve, stupid and showed a complete lack of judgement. Imagine how much more dangerous UKIP could be if, God forbid, they find themselves in coalition after next year's election and those qualities, or lack of, are brought to bear on dealings with Russia, the Middle East and dealing with the European Union.

That prospect is every bit as terrifying as the thought of Miliband in No 10.

Contrasting Deaths

The death of Lynda Bellingham was a real shock even though, through her dignified publicising of her cancer, we all knew that she was terminally ill. I am just so sad that she didn't get what she so desperately wanted, a last Christmas with her family. We can only pray that she is now at peace.

Like millions I grew up with Lynda Bellingham making the world's best gravy. I love my mum and wouldn't swap her for the world, but when I was a kid if I had to choose another mum it would have been Lynda Bellingham. Even away from the Oxo adverts she came over as a thoroughly good, decent human being. The world needs more of them, not less.

In 1970 I lost my grandad. He took his own life within weeks of my gran dying. For a long time I had extremely negative feelings for what he had put us all through so soon after overcoming the grief of my gran dying. A pain felt even more by my mum and her sister and brother.

After time I came to love and respect my granddad even more than I had when he was alive. As I matured I understood that pain and loss had driven him to do what he had done. He had the guts to do it and not expect anybody else to help him or to give their permission. He took the ultimate responsibility, that of choosing when to die.

By contrast I read today of 86 year old Jean Davies who took four weeks to starve herself to death. Even after giving up water as well as food it took her two weeks to die. It sounded slightly odd to me.

Lo and behold for many years Jean Davies had been a campaigner for 'assisted suicide'. So what terrible illness led to Jean Davies's suicide? She had a lot of ailments, was on a lot of tablets and had started to faint sometimes. In other words she was 'knocking on a bit'.

It seems that she was terrified of fainting in her garden, dying and putting her family through the trauma of finding her dead. So instead she chose to have her family witness her lingering, one month indignity of starving to death.

Well she certainly made me even more convinced that euthanasia is wrong and if legalised, would be every bit as abused as the abortion laws are. We now have abortion on demand. Legalise euthanasia and oldies will soon be put down to free up the spare room or the granny flat. Well I want neither abortion nor euthanasia in my name and will continue to campaign against both. It seems the liberal left only oppose the death of the guilty by campaigning constantly against capital punishment. But they are happy to slaughter the innocent be they young or old.

I think the world became slightly the poorer for losing Lynda Bellingham and Johnny Hardy. I hope I don't sound uncharitable, but I can't say the same about the death of Jean Davies.

The World's Gone Mad

It seems we are undergoing biblical scale epidemics of pestilence, famine, disease and sheer fuckwittery. I don't think it's me getting old and coming over all apocalyptic, as older people are wont to do, but things are looking decidedly iffy.

Ebola. Now then, my reaction would be to ban people from west Africa travelling to the UK, including recent visitors to west Africa from elsewhere. Don't tell me with all the Orwellian state surveillance we have in 2014 this is not feasible. We can surely check on UK databases, Europol and Interpol databases and any other number of national and international databases. But I suspect politicians are scared of being accused of racism or of threatening a multi-million pound trade deal with some African despot. Meanwhile the ever suffering populace are warned to brace ourselves, ebola is coming to a town near you!

Meanwhile in Iraq and Syria, maybe Turkey too soon, we have barbarians from IS/ISIS/ISIL (their name changes more often than UKIP's policies) rampaging around slaughtering innocents and beheading taxi drivers from Salford. Quite why any sane human would leave the UK to go and help in Syria, Iraq or anywhere else in that part of the world, unless armed to the teeth and backed by the SAS, is beyond me, but the poor deluded westerners who have been hacked to death over there certainly did not deserve it, nor do the Kurds and others being slaughtered in much bigger numbers.

On the other hand we have Islamic nutjobs who were born and raised in the UK, I refuse to call them 'British', popping over to Syria to behead infidels. The latest estimate is that over 2000 of these young people have left to slaughter innocents. Again we must know who these people are as we must know who their sympathisers and helpers in the UK are. We should gather those in the UK together with any returning jihadist nutjobs, give them a quick training course then send them out to west Africa to work as closely as possible with ebola victims. They could regard it as martyrdom and look forward to their 72 virgins when their work was done.

What current events really highlight is the total contempt in which we, the populace are held by the political class. The first duty of the state is to protect its citizens. Our government, and previous governments, have clearly not given a damn about the British people.

While all this is going on there is a pathetic debate which started in Scotland, about increasing the grip of politicos and bureaucrats on our lives by devolution. In my part of the world we already have town councillors, city councillors, county councillors, MPs and MEPs. How many more of these parasites would be inflicted on us with devolution? Maybe MNWPs (Member of the North West Parliament)? Either way you can bet it will involve more elected politicians and layers of civil servants.

Increasingly it seems clear that the end of the UK is nigh. We should just bite the bullet and campaign for English independence. To be perfectly honest too much time, effort, money and in many instances lives have been wasted trying to please the Welsh, Scots and Irish. Set them free, which would be a great relief for vast numbers of patriotic English people. But free them on our terms, no generous financial settlements that aren't deserved and strict border and immigration controls. We can't do that while members of the European Union? Well they can expel us, numerous birds with one stone and no need for a costly referendum.

General Election 2015

Nigel 'Mine's A Pint' Farage

British politics is a shambolic mess. I am sick of receiving surveys on social media from Cameron asking my views on immigration, welfare and so on. What do you actually believe Cameron? I suspect the answer is nothing, so he is trying to merely mirror back to us what we believe. That is cheap and shallow and is another reason I won't be voting Conservative next year. The main reason I am not is because I happen to have, in David Morris, probably the most lightweight, shallow, sycophantic little turd to have been elected a Conservative MP. A poor mans' David Cameron I suppose.

I don't have the time to chronicle all the reasons why I, like anybody with half a brain, can't vote Labour. If I just mention bankrupting the country whenever they are in government, limitless immigration and multiculturalism then I think that will suffice for now. Oh yes, and taxing us hard working people 'til the pips squeak' to buy the votes of idle, feckless welfare scroungers who choose not to work.

Why I can't vote Liberal Democrat. Because they're a gang of unprincipled, snivelling opportunists who couldn't run a bath let alone a council or government. I'd rather shoot myself in the temple.

So who does that leave? Well some people seem to be falling for the UKIP illusion. Problem is UKIP are like a rather attractive shop window display, but when you walk into the shop it is completely empty, bereft of any goods let alone decent quality goods.

This weekend they made a cheap play for Labour votes by promising to raise VAT on luxury goods so that the rich are squeezed. They don't seem to understand that VAT at 20%  means that if you pay £50,000 for a car you already pay more in tax than if you buy a £10,000 car. A cheap shot by Comrade Farage and co if ever I saw one, prostituting themselves for the votes of a few class warriors.

Like the other parties UKIP is prepared to swap policies when it suits if it buys them a little short-term gain. In fact, looking at their 'ban the burka no we won't' policy change they are looking ever more like the Lib Dems, the biggest whores on the political block.

It seems that UKIP, despite claiming to be a libertarian party, stand for big state and high taxes. Having said that they have yet to come out with cogent policies that can be funded without tax hikes, they never have and I suspect they never will. Even this weekend they were unable to come up with a united response to airstrikes on IS/ISIS/ISIL with some senior figures saying they did support airstrikes others claiming they didn't.

To confirm the claims of the Tories that a vote for UKIP would put Miliband in No 10 UKIP have announced that, assuming they win seats at the general election, they would be prepared to go into coalition with Labour if Miliband promises and EU referendum.

Then you have Nigel Farage, probably slimier than Cameron and Clegg put together. But I've said enough about Farage elsewhere so that's it.

The Green Party? I'm not even going to waste space on that bunch of eco muppets.

The English Democrats? At first sight, and I've only looked at them briefly, they appear to have a strong authoritarian streak. But I intend to take a closer look just in case.

My conclusion is that it's looking increasingly like I'll be spoiling my ballot paper next year. I'm no longer prepared to vote the best of a bad bunch. If there's nobody worth voting for my conscious dictates that I won't vote

Bomb, bomb, bomb!

All over the world we have been encouraging Islamic madmen in the deluded belief that they will replace authoritarian dictators with liberal democracy. Remember the Arab Spring? What a nightmare that has unleashed on so many countries.

We encouraged the previously proscribed terrorist organisation, the muslim KLA, to take control of Kosovo and declare it independent of Serbia. We helped Iraq get rid of Sadam and what a nightmare that place is now. We encouraged rebels in Syria in opposition to President Assad, what a nightmare Syria is.

All over the  world muslim extremists are causing death and chaos and it seems that the West has learnt nothing. We support and arm rebel 'moderates' time and again who take control and inflict even more pain and  devastation on their people than those they replaced.

I have no respect for Islam or muslim states, even the so-called moderate muslim states, but that is life and they, in their own ways, have made their choices. Rather than spending millions, and potentially losing even more men in armed conflict, we should be encouraging those so-called moderate muslim states to take action against IS/ISIS/ or whatever the barbarians are calling themselves today.

The duty of our government is to protect UK citizens from foreign or internal threats. As horrifically barbaric as IS/ISIS is they do not threaten the UK yet, to spin bombing them today is to distort the idea of defence. What we really need to be doing is looking at the enemy within and dealing with it. That is how government should be defending us.

All over the world, wherever muslims are living, their is strife and hatred. Islam is diametrically opposed to what the liberal western democracies hold dear. We are constantly hearing of extremists being arrested for encouraging terrorism and membership of illegal organisations. But apologists cry, again and again that these people do not represent Islam. I don't accept that.

Israel defends herself against the Islamic terrorists of Hamas and thousands of left-wing liberals and muslims march through our cities in protest. IS/ISIS butcher thousands of innocents in the most barbaric way and there are no protests by left-wing liberals and muslims.

I think that says it all.

Scotland, Queen Elizabeth and I

Sadly it looks like the Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is falling apart, no matter what the result of the Scottish referendum is. As with most negative things to happen to our country we have the Labour Party to blame. It was Labour who handed Sinn Fein/IRA a share of power in Northern Ireland and it was Labour that set Scotland on the road to independence.

I've been following the referendum campaign quite closely and have to admit that the No campaign has been lacklustre to say the least. If the most charismatic frontman you can dig up is Alistair Darling then you're bound to struggle. Having said that the Yes campaign seems to consist of fantasy and downright lies. I suppose that's inevitable when you have a frontman like Alex Salmond.

To give just one small example of the Yes campaign's lies I was watching the BBC news yesterday. Up popped a Yes campaigner claiming, amongst other things, that English businesses had stopped accepting Scottish banknotes years ago. A clear lie and it went unchecked by the BBC.  I tweeted this incident and received a flood of replies from Yes Twitter users claiming it to be true. Of course when I stood my ground they became abusive and more than one ordered me to 'butt out' as it was none of my business. Their attitude verified the reports of widespread vandalism of No campaign posters and hoardings coming out of Scotland.

Ultimately the Scottish referendum is the ultimate act of political correctness. A sizeable proportion of the Scottish population, are playing the victim card. The Scots portraying themselves as the victims of a the reckless Westminster driver. Up pops a beaming Alex Salmond telling them that where there's blame there's a referendum.

The reality is that we English are the ones who have suffered at the hands of the Scots when Westminster is in the spotlight. With ten times the population of Scotland we have had numerous labour governments inflicted on us because of Scots voting in Labour MPs. Only once, in 1997, did England elect a majority of Labour MPs. Bang, another Scots Nat argument blown out of the water.

The EU says that an independent Scotland will have to negotiate membership. Salmond cries: "Oh no we won't". The Bank of England says that an independent Scotland will have to forego the Pound for their own currency. Salmond cries: "Oh no we won't". It's more like a pantomime than a serious constitutional debate.

As the campaign has unfolded I have been saddened by the level of anti-English bile spewing from the Scots Nats. I'm not entirely surprised as I was warned on a visit to Scotland a few years ago that I was taking a risk bearing a Cross of St George sticker on the back of my car. I also heard on that visit of Englishmen living in Scotland being attacked.

The whole debate has been shallow and superficial. But where is HM Queen Elizabeth II? Well she's decided it's not her job to comment. Yes, I know she's a constitutional monarch but for God's sake at what point does she put country first as millions of soldiers have done over the years? She sits in Buckingham Palace while a campaign to carve off a chunk of her kingdom is going on and says nowt. I can't help wondering, more and more, what the point of the monarchy, other than clinging to their wealth and privilege, actually is. As for attracting American tourists I think we have more than enough tourist attractions without royalty.

My conclusion is that most of the players in this sordid campaign have been acting from self-interest of the worst kind. The Queen and the politicians, from Cameron to Salmond, acting in the interests of their careers, none acting in the interests of the UK or Scotland. And that goes for Miliband and the wretched Clegg. And before the Scots whine that they didn't vote for Clegg/Cameron neither did I or anybody else in the country.

Before this campaign there was a huge well of goodwill among the English towards Scotland despite it never being reciprocated. I sense that goodwill diminishing on a daily basis as the Scots Nats increasingly appear to observers as small minded, insular Anglophobes bearing a nastiness that is barely hidden beneath the surface.

Regardless of the result I feel that divorce is inevitable, whether next week or in the next few years. From being a vehement Unionist I am increasingly weary of the Celtic Fringe blaming all their failings, insecurities and weaknesses on England and the English. The Scots, Welsh and Irish increasingly claim that their business is none of our business so maybe it's time we English said fine, paddle your own canoes and don't come crying for help from us if you start capsizing.

I'm not hopeful, but I think I'll now go and have a look at the English Democrats. You never know.

Muticulturalism? They Say Jihad, We Say Crusade

Is it possible for people from different cultures to live peacefully side by side? With varying degrees of assimilation there can be peaceful coexistence, but I am ever more convinced that what the liberal left in the West call 'multiculturalism' cannot and never will exist. No, I'm not an evil racist but I think I am a realist.

Muticulturalism is a myth. What we have in many countries throughout the world is a dominant culture that is happy to live with other cultures alongside in peaceful cohabitation. Obviously the richer and more successful the country the more people it will attract from other countries and cultures. Europe, predominantly the UK, has attracted millions, the USA has, Canada, Australia, New Zealand have all attracted migrants from across the spectrum. There are more but I don't want to labour the point.

Over many decades these countries have attracted groups as diverse as Jews, Hindus, atheists, Buddhists and many, many more often escaping persecution, more often seeking a better life. While there have been problems, on the whole these groups have lived peacefully and integrated into their new countries while maintaining their own identity. Few of them have demanded special treatment or wanted to dominant the other groups, especially the majority group.

Like the West, India is a country where various cultures live alongside a dominant culture. Israel is a Jewish state that has a sizeable Arab Muslim and Christian population.  What these tolerant liberal democracies throughout the world have in common is that they are at risk from Islam. Israel being shelled by Hamas for years, we have had the London Bombings and the murder of Lee Rigby, the USA suffered 9/11 and the Boston Marathon Bombing, India has to deal with frequent attacks by Islamists. The Madrid train system was bombed with huge loss of life. The Brussels Jewish Museum has been bombed. As the Muslim population of Europe has grown so has the level of anti-Semitism, to a degree not seen since the 1930s.

Look at any country in the world where there is a muslim minority and they are demanding tolerance and minority rights. Look at any muslim country in the world and minorities have no rights. Islam needs to dominate and we have allowed into our country, and other western style liberal democracies have, a huge fifth column. Our government and others are right to look at what is happening in various parts of the world with muslim terror groups rampaging through Iraq, Nigeria and elsewhere. But all that will be for nothing if we do not deal with the threat within our own borders, if we can still call them 'borders'.

Centuries ago the tide of violent Islam sweeping across Europe towards Rome was stemmed by the Crusades. Islam clearly thrives on jihad, maybe it's time we defended ourselves again with a crusade. And I'm afraid that the old argument that most muslims are peaceful people doesn't wash. That was true of Germans in the 1930s but we had to deal with Naziism before it dealt with us.

Warsi, Gaza and Israel

I'll be perfectly honest I've never understood why Baroness Warsi was ever in the House of Lords let alone in the government. I always thought it was purely because of her sex and religion and I think her resignation proves that to be the case. Problem being for Cameron now, yet again, he looks weak and tokenistic.

In the current battle in the Middle East my support is fully and unequivocally behind Israel. They have been far more tolerant of Hamas, who have been indiscriminately firing shells into Israel for years, than I would want my government to be if we were under attack. Yet when Israel defends her citizens the media bias is such that people would think Israel just woke up one morning with nothing to do so started attacking Gaza. Warsi didn't resign when Hamas were shelling Israel and our government did nothing to stop them.

It's very telling that around 1,500,000 Arabs live in Israel. There are no Jewish people in Gaza. Indeed Hamas, the elected authority in Gaza, have vowed to wipe Israel and the Jews off the face of the earth. Then what? What is now the only parliamentary democracy in the region would become just like Libya, Syria, Egypt, Iraq etc etc.  Would you want to live in a muslim country?

While the pro-Israel demonstrations around the world have been peaceful the pro-Palestine demonstrations have invariably ended in violence. Even in Manchester there have been car loads of muslim men driving through Jewish areas shouting that Hitler was right and hurling missiles at Jewish people. In Paris muslim mobs have attacked Jewish businesses.

I'm glad Warsi has gone and I do wonder whether muslims can actually put this country first or whether their faith always comes first. I certainly know that my Catholocism wouldn't have stopped me fighting Catholic Italy in 1939 had I been alive. But then most of us can see that people with whom we share a common faith or philosophy aren't always right, nor are  we.

Support Israel

Netanyahu at his best

Even those who aren't particularly sympathetic to Israel's Benjamin
Netanyahu, could get a good measure of satisfaction from this interview with
British Television during the retaliation against Hamas' shelling of Israel.

The interviewer asked him: "How come so many more Palestinians have been
killed in this conflict than Israelis?" (A nasty question if there ever was
one!)

Netanyahu: "Are you sure that you want to start asking in that direction?"

Interviewer: (Falling into the trap) "Why not?"

Netanyahu: "Because in World War II more Germans were killed than British
and Americans combined, but there is no doubt in anyone's mind that the war
was caused by Germany 's aggression. And in response to the German blitz on
London , the British wiped out the entire city of Dresden , burning to death
more German civilians than the number of people killed in Hiroshima ...
Moreover, I could remind you that in 1944, when the R.A.F. tried to bomb the
Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen , some of the bombs missed their target
and fell on a Danish children's hospital, killing 83 little children.
Perhaps you have another question?"

FC United of Manchester and Red Fascists

We've been away this past fortnight but Facebook, Twitter and t'interweb generally help to keep you in touch, so I wasn't surprised when a rumpus kicked off around FC United again. Socialists really are tedious and dreary.

This one kicked off when a board member listed a range of political parties that they have decided are incompatible with supporting FC United. One of them was the UK Independence Party. Bear in mind that this is a club that constantly bangs on about equality, equal rights and standing up for the whole community. This is a decidedly Stalinist approach to people whose political views you happen to disagree with. What has my politics got to do with watching and supporting a football club?

It seems that if you want to leave the European Union, and believe in controlling immigration, then you are a raving racist/fascist/Nazi in the eyes of the commissars at FC United and they don't want you polluting the atmosphere at their games. I don't support UKIP but believe in a sensible immigration policy and independence from the EU. I am not a racist or a fascist and certainly no Nazi, neither is UKIP. That is the schoolboy level of political debate your average socialist is capable of in 2014, name calling and hurling abuse.

This juvenile labelling, especially the word 'racist' adds nothing to serious debate and has now led to the word 'racist' meaning absolutely nothing. It is nothing more than a word of abuse used to smear people and close debate. The left in this country seem to have an unhealthy obsession with race which makes me wonder what is really in their minds, deep, deep down. On a political level it is a vicious and cynical ploy to divide and rule. But deeper I fear their obsession with race has some deep rooted psychological reason that a psychiatrist could probably study quite extensively.

Ultimately there is no place for politics in sport. What I do know is that many people have walked away from FC United because of the increasing level of political extremism among senior members. I for one am not prepared to support the sporting section of an intolerant, bigoted, fascist/socialist organisation. It's sad because the club was set up for admirable reasons but I can no longer support the club any more than I could support the Glazer owned Manchester United.

Nigel Farage and the Newark By-Election-The Truth

I heard Nigel Farage on the radio last night announcing that he would announce his decision about standing or not in the Newark by-election this morning. I knew he would bottle it, I could tell.

This morning there he was on the TV news pontificating about how he wasn't going to stand because it would be a distraction from the Euro elections and he had no links to Newark and would look like an opportunist. Well I can verify that he's an opportunist but no links? Come on, he had no links to Eastleigh or Buckingham when he stood in both those constituencies in parliamentary elections.

He claimed it would be a distraction from the EU elections. A distraction from the EU elections? I don't see garnering masses of extra publicity in a by-election, and the writ has not even been moved yet, as a distraction. He also claimed that he had only had twelve hours to make his decision. Bullshit! Patrick Mercer has made it clear that if found guilty and suspended for any reasonable length of time from the House of Commons that he would resign, causing a by-election. it has been pretty clear for months that there would be a by-election in Newark and that it would likely be this spring or summer.

Farage is a hypocrite and a con man. He was instrumental in changing UKIP's policy of not taking seats in the EU parliament if elected, and was promptly elected to the gravy train in 1999. It is obvious to even the biggest political buffoon that even if all UK MEPs elected next month were UKIP it would have no impact on our membership. Only our Westminster Parliament can do that. But UKIP doesn't take its policies, other than on the EU and immigration seriously, therefore we can only conclude that they don't take our parliamentary elections seriously.

No, I knew he wouldn't stand in Newark because he would be in danger of actually winning the seat and he can't afford that to happen. You see you can't be an MEP and an MP at the same time anymore. He would have to resign his seat on the EU gravy train, which is worth far more financially to gravy train passengers than Westminster is.

 Maybe Farage could have won the by-election, UKIP still might win without Farage as the candidate. But winning with a massive protest vote, on the back of a so-called 'victory' in a meaningless EU election on a tiny turnout is one thing, defending the seat less than a year later in a general election is another. If UKIP did manage to win, and it's not a foregone conclusion, they would almost certainly lose it next year.

Farage enjoys a lavish lifestyle on his massive salary and allowances. He wouldn't throw that away for less than a year as a Member of Parliament in Westminster.

Don't forget, Mrs Farage would lose her salary too!

With Nick Clegg We're Up Shit Creek!

I saw Wednesday's debate between UKIP's Nigel Farage and Lib Dem Nick Clegg and it really scared me. That Nick Clegg is Deputy Prime Minister terrifies me. I don't rate David Cameron but pray to God that he is never debilitated enough as Prime Minister to leave Clegg in charge. The man is an idiot, and by that I mean thick, unintelligent and plain stupid as well as a smarmy liar.

In the EU debate he offered not a single reasoned argument for staying in but persistently lied that those of us who want to leave want to recreate a Britain of decades ago and want to live in isolation. No we don't you prick, the world is ever smaller in terms of travel and communication and we want to trade with the world not remain locked into a stagnant and ever more authoritarian European superstate. We are not Little Englanders, you are a Little European.

He claims that the EU gave us a market place of 450m people. No it didn't. That market place existed before the EU imposed it's clumsy and costly bureaucracy on us. As did the market place that is billions of people around the world that the EU now imposes tariffs upon. Yes, including the developing world. While we give it billions in aid the developing world is being held back by punitive EU trade charges.

Like Farage I don't believe that we should intervene in Crimea, as we shouldn't in Syria and as we shouldn't have done in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. According to Clegg that makes us Putin lovers. No it doesn't you idiotic prick, it means we are just not bloodthirsty warmongering mongs like you. Since Blair came to power I have been ashamed of  my country's readiness to bomb the crap out of foreigners and Cameron and Clegg are as bad as Blair in that.

Our governments slaughter each year millions of people in the name of democracy and we constantly re-elect them. Murder one person and you get slammed in chokey. I'm much more scared of my government than I am of my fellow citizens, especially now I've properly seen how thick our Deputy Prime Minister is.

The only thing that disturbs me as much is that Vince Cable claims that Clegg won the debates. Our Business Secretary is clearly as deluded as Hitler in the bunker in April 1945.

The EU and Russia

The last few weeks have left me aghast with the hypocrisy of the west over Russia and the Ukraine. At times I've been angry at some absolutely fuming. If I was Putin I'd be sticking a middle finger up at the west and telling us to keep out and shut up.

Strange but when the USSR fell the Russian Federation, the heir to the USSR, got on with life while numerous former USSR states became independent, including the Ukraine. That's it put simply and yes there are countless arguments to be had about oligarchs, corruption and so on. But the fact remains that countries such as Ukraine became sovereign independent states. Former serf states of the USSR, such as Romania, Poland and so on were also freed and became truly independent sovereign states again, free of the shackles of soviet socialist domination.

What happened next was that the European Union, as it does, went on an orgy of expansionism. After expanding north, west and south it went towards the East, a process known in pre-WWII Germany as the 'drang nach osten' or 'push to the east'. The EU empire gobbled up the Baltic states, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the other former USSR satellite states. Then it turned its power grab to the Ukraine. Understandably this made Russia twitchy. Of course the EU doesn't expand its empire in the traditional way, with armies or votes, it buys off governments with our tax money.

As EU cash was thrown at the Ukraine, and the promise of ever more dangled in temptation the Ukrainian government decided to look to Russia as an ally rather than being gobbled up, or bought by the EU empire. Cue western backed riots that led to a coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. How would we feel if a few thousand people rioted in London and it brought down the government? Again the Ukrainian government wasn't whiter than white, but at least it was elected and could have been voted out, the current government has no mandate from the people whatsoever.

Understandably the autonomous region of the Crimea, with an overwhelming ethnic Russian population, held a referendum and the overwhelming majority voted for the Crimea to become part of the Russian Federation. Of course the European Union went into a rage, when the EU has a referendum and the people don't vote the way it wants it just re-runs the referendum until it gets the result it wants, that's the EU's idea of democracy. So the EU doesn't recognise the result of the referendum and the west accuses Russia of expansionism.

It seems to me that Russia has been very patient as the EU has expanded eastwards, with the support of the USA, and it has every right to protect its interests against this western imperialism. My only worry, if I were a Russian citizen, would be what the west may do when you look at its recent record of bombing the crap out of states it decides it's no longer too keen on.

Bob Crow and Tony Benn

Tony Benn has shuffled off the mortal coil at 88. Sad that an old man has died but his philosophy was one of hate and division, summed up neatly by his giving up his title of  2nd Viscount Stansgate, but not giving up his wealth, a very post-war socialist.

Of course the BBC, the home of the champagne socialist, has gone into overdrive drooling about the 'socialist preacher' who had such incredible passion and principle. Of course they ignore the fact that the Labour governments he was part of wrecked the country (sound familiar) and left us such a basket case that even the IMF refused to bail us out because we were so dodgy.

I will shed no tears for Tony Benn.

This week we also saw the earthly liberation of Bob Crow. Even Nigel Farage of UKIP had kind words to say on his departure because of his anti-EU stance. Yes Nigel, jump on the grief bandwagon if you must, but what kind of North Korean hell hole would Crow have imposed on us if he had achieved his dream?

I'm fortunate to spend a goodly amount of time with real railwaymen, none have a good word for Crow. Yes train drivers earn a fortune but, assuming that was what Crow actually achieved for his members, at what cost to thousands or millions of other people? That's the problem with socialism, it is the ultimate 'up yours I'm alright Jack' philosophy.

I will shed no tears for Bob Crow.

Police State-Tax Is Punishment!

Like a smoke? The fuckers will hammer you with tax, naughty boy.


Like a drink? The fuckers will hammer you with tax, naughty boy.


Like to pop out in the car? The fuckers will hammer you with tax, naughty boy.


Like to earn a living? The fuckers will hammer you with tax, naughty boy.


Like to run your own business and employ people? The fuckers will hammer you with tax, naughty boy.


Like a bit of sugar in your brew? The fuckers are limbering up to tax you, naughty boy. (Call for Sugar Tax)


What does the government do with all your money? Gives millions to the EU, spends millions trying to buy your votes, while passing ever more oppressive legislation, and invades foreign countries.


We have a moral duty to pay as little tax as we possibly can.

Blair's Legacy

We will gradually get to the whole truth about Blair and his gang of immoral misfits, aka the Labour Party. Anybody who had half a brain had a bloody good idea that he was a complete wanker, unfit to be on a town council let alone in Downing Street, but enough misfits kept voting Labour to keep him in power for far too long. Democracy eh?


The sight of Peter Hain on the morning news today grovelling and sliming about Labour's surrender to the IRA was a sight to behold. I'm sorry but constantly repeating that people knew that IRA men had been given get out of prison cards doesn't mean a thing. Who knew? The two terrorists now in government, McGuinness and Adams? The rest of the world didn't know.


This week we heard that Blair lied to keep the so called 'peace process' on track. Surprise, surprise, it was always easy to tell when Blair was lying, his lips moved.


His botched efforts at devolution have led to the potential break up of the UK. I doubt he ever expected the Scots Nazis to take control north of the border with Herr Salmond goose stepping around Edinburgh. He was probably just creating more layers of bureaucracy so he could install his sycophants in even more cushy jobs as MSPs and bosses of another tier of quangos.


Blair became some kind of Middle East peace envoy. Well some kind of peace he's bestowed on the Middle East. The man is a complete and utter shyster who should be on trial in The Hague then left dangling from a lamp post.

The Busby Babes

One cold and bitter Thursday
in Munich, Germany
Eight great football stalwarts
conceded victory
Eight men will never play again
who met destruction there
The flowers of English football
the flowers of Manchester
Matt Busby's boys were flying
returning from Belgrade
This great United family
all masters of their trade
The pilot of the aircraft
the skipper Captain Thain
Three times they tried to take off
and twice turned back again
The third time down the runaway
disaster followed close
There was slush upon that runaway
and the aircraft never rose
It ploughed into the marshy ground
it broke, it overturned
And eight of the team were killed
as the blazing wreckage burned
Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor
who were capped for England's side
And Ireland's Billy Whelan
and England's Geoff Bent died
Mark Jones and Eddie Colman
and David Pegg also
They all lost their lives
as it ploughed on through the snow
Big Duncan he went too
with an injury to his brain
And Ireland's brave Jack Blanchflower
will never play again
The great Matt Busby lay there
the father of his team
Three long months passed by
before he saw his team again
The trainer, coach and secretary
and a member of the crew
Also eight sporting journalists
who with United flew
and one of them Big Swifty
who we will ne'er forget
the finest English 'keeper
that ever graced the net
Oh, England's finest football team
its record truly great
its proud successes mocked
by a cruel turn of fate
Eight men will never play again
who met destruction there
The flowers of English football
the flowers of Manchester

Vicky Pryce-More Lib Dem Hypocrisy

While I strongly believe that those who commit crime should be rehabilitated the case of Vicky Price stinks of hypocrisy and double standards. You may remember she was the missus of Chris Huhne who went to chokey for lying about taking his speeding points for him. It went on for a long period of time and only came out when he buggered off with another woman and Ms Pryce wanted to vent her spleen, or drop him in it.


Vince Cable, often seen as the most effective leader of the opposition in the current parliament, has taken her on as a government advisor. So a loony like Cable, whose instinct is to pass ever more interfering, nanny state laws that he expects the rest of us to obey, is happy to be advised by a jailbird. (Full story)


At a time when confidence in politicians is as low as it has ever been, and confidence in our democracy is at a similar low, what kind of idiot invites her back as a government advisor? An idiot Lib Dem like Vince Cable.

Elected Representatives

An MEP was banging on yesterday that cyclists should be registered, have a number plate, insurance and be forced to wear high vis jackets. Effectively she was wanting to tax and regulate cycling.


Regardless of the issue my argument with her was that it is not the job of an MEP, on a monster salary and expenses, to be banging on about this kind of thing. Maybe a local councillor possibly an MP but not an MEP in an ivory tower in Brussels.


Her justification for it was that constituents had been in touch with her about it. Big deal. My response was to ask if she would advocate the slaughter of the first born in every household if a few constituents contacted her in support of it. She didn't answer.


This seems to be the problem with politicians, they are so busy trying to please every interest group they piss everybody off. Elected representatives are representatives, they are not delegates. We vote for people we are in broad agreement with and each election we should look at what they have done and decide whether to vote for them again or not. I certainly wouldn't expect a Labour MP to vote for the nationalisation of the NHS, even if a thousand constituents lobbied him. The argument that elected representatives should do what those who shout the loudest want is wrong headed and dangerous. Especially when it goes against the representatives core beliefs.


I suppose with Euro elections coming up MEPs will suddenly become high profile media whores as they become ever more desperate to maintain their places on the gravy train. I for one will be using my democratic freedom to spoil my ballot paper.

Police State

A Glasgow man has been imprisoned for 290 days. Nothing unusual you might think, except his crime was mocking the murder of two WPCs on Facebook.


The man is obviously a prat, a nasty prat, but prison?

Duggan, de Menezes and Tomlinson

Jean Charles de Menezes was an innocent man killed by the police.


Ian Tomlinson was an innocent man killed by the police.


Mark Duggan  a 'gangsta' was lawfully killed by the police.


Whose death led to riots and accusations of racism?

The Burger King Jihad

Work of Satan

The more we tolerate this kind of crap the bigger a disaster we are heading for.

A muslim complained that the swirly pattern on the lid of an ice cream cone resembled the Arabic word Allah. So he declared a jihad on Burger King. Burger King promptly withdrew the ice cream but the muslim nutjob has not withdrawn his jihad.

Another reason not to use Burger King. Welcome to 2014 in modern, 'multicultural' Britain.

Article in The Scotsman.

I Don't Understand #2-UKIP

Over the festive period I had conversations with a couple of Eurosceptics, people who I regard as intelligent and pleasant people. Both tried to convince me that voting UKIP in this year's European Union elections will help extricate us from the costly charade that is the EU. They claim that UKIP 'winning' the EU elections will definitely help extricate us from the EU. But I still don't understand how.

It seems quite simple to me. The European elections will elect MEPs. There are around 750 MEPs in total. The UK elects 73 MEPs. To 'win' the election UKIP would have to get 326  MEPs elected. Even then the European Parliament doesn't have the power to expel or allow a member state to leave.

Even if all 73 UK MEPs elected were UKIP they would still not have the power to extricate us. It is only our national parliament that can effect our withdrawal.

UKIP MEPs have some of the poorest attendance and voting records in the European Parliament, largely down to their belief that they are not there to make the EU work better, but to campaign in the UK for withdrawal. I know, because I used to work for a UKIP MEP. But, apart from Farage popping up on Question Time now and then, when did you last receive any information from your UKIP MEP? Indeed, when, apart from at election time, did you last receive any communication from UKIP? Apart from withdrawing from the EU can you, without using Google, name a single UKIP policy?

I was a member of the Anti-Federalist League in the '90s, but didn't keep up my membership when it morphed into UKIP. Although they then had a policy of not fighting EU elections I wasn't convinced that a single issue party could achieve independence for Britain. After a rethink I joined UKIP in 2000, not resigning until after the NEC elections early in 2009. I am more convinced than ever that the party is a lost cause.

If you like statistics this website has all the results from the last EU elections in 2009. Interesting UKIP only increased their vote by 0.3% on their 2004 results. The Tories meanwhile improved on their 2004 result by 1%. In terms of votes UKIP got 2,500,000 Tories 4,200,000. With Labour 6.4% down on 2,400,000 it's hard to see UKIP outperforming both this year. Indeed, I would put money on Labour beating UKIP this time around. Even the Lib Dems, the most pro-EU of the mainstream, could rally and pull back their losses in 2009, their by-election results don't support the theory that their involvement in the coalition will see them wiped out.

What's the point of electing people to a parliament that they believe to be powerless, that they then don't engage in and that they ultimately want to withdraw from? And all that for a salary of £70,000pa plus very generous allowances. Nigel Farage, before becoming a highly paid MEP in 1999, played a key role in changing UKIP's policy of not standing in European elections.

How will voting UKIP send a message to the EU? If voting against the EU's wishes in national referenda are ignored (Ireland, France, Denmark, Holland) how will a few more Godfrey Blooms make a difference?

I don't understand.