Breaking Up and the Referendum

The media coverage given to the Scottish Nazionalists has helped to turn masses of the population against their narrow minded bigotry. The culmination of the tidal turn came yesterday when the historian David Starkey likened them to Hitler's Nazis. The gist of his comments were that, like the Nazis, the SNP have a narrow and extremist nationalism, with socialism thrown in. The Nazis hated the Jews, the SNP are motivated by a hatred of the English. Both have twisted versions of the cross as their symbols, the Nazis the swastika, the SNP the saltire. And you can't escape the fact that men in both groups enjoy bare legs, the Nazis stomping around in lederhosen, the Scots mincing around in kilts. Wonderful comparisons from one of the country's most honest and outspoken historians.

One of the ironies of the Scottish Nazionalists position is that while screaming about independence they want to remain within the European Union. The reason for this is largely because the Scots are one of the world's great subsidy junkies and, while losing their direct cash handouts from us when they leave the UK, they will still be sucking at the tax teat of the EU, including English taxpayers money sent via Brussels.

There is an obnoxiousness around politics generally at the moment that drives decent people out of politics. Attack politicians when they transgress, especially when they break the law, but general attacking in a nasty, vindictive manner only alienates people. The Scottish Nazionalists are adept at this. Some of their members were sending vile messages to Charles Kennedy before he died, including a party official who has since resigned. There are daily reports of people leaving Scotland fearing physical violence if English or Unionist and fearing for the effects of the SNP's Stalinist policies on their businesses. Scotland is seemingly on a daily basis becoming ever more like some tinpot, third world one party state.

The promised EU referendum gives us the chance to shake off the shackles of Brussels. The SNP are claiming that Scotland should only leave the EU if a majority of Scots in Scotland vote for freedom, which they are firmly against. A vote to leave the EU is therefore likely to lead to Scotland finally breaking away from the UK. In some ways that would be a double victory for England, with one referendum we will be free from two bullying, tax sponging entities, Scotland and the EU.

Sadly I doubt this will happen. I have never been confident that Britain would vote to leave the EU in a referendum. We are still waiting to find out the terms of the referendum but I suspect that the whole thing is likely to be weighted against the independence cause. Already the pro-EU camp are lying about millions of job losses if we leave. The government is planning to scrap the 'purdah', the 28 day period before a referendum when the government stays silent on the issue.

Finally we don't know yet how the independence campaign will be structured. Despite getting 4,000,000 votes in the general election UKIP could only scrape in one MP, and he is former Tory MP Douglas Carswell, an extremely popular MP in his constituency. Carswell was on BBC Question Time recently and he was most impressive, indeed he made Nigel Farage look like a music hall act rather than a serious politician. UKIP's lack of credibility makes them a serious liability to the independence cause. Add to the mix the high level of cranks within their ranks and the possibility for serious embarrassment to the cause gives rise to odds that even a non-betting man like me would consider having a flutter on a vote to stay in.

So after all the bluster and hot air I am convinced that after the referendum we will still be in the EU. The Scottish Nazionalists peaked too soon and many of the fifty six loonies elected last month will lose their seats at the next election. Things will bumble along pretty much as they are.

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.

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

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.

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.

Updated-The Stop UKIP Tour at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

Wooster-Farage

The other night my beloved came into the marital dorm mumbling something about UKIP and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. I immediately thought the casting director must have been looking for Bertie Wooster and Nigel Farage had weedled his way into the auditions and landed the role. But no, it's a political satire called the 'Stop UKIP Tour'.

Now I'm no fan of UKIP, despite being desperate for the UK to leave the European Union. I think their MEPs have gone native, that they lack any credible policies, other than leaving the EU, and that Nigel Farage is an utter charlatan and one of the greatest egotists it has been my misfortune to know or even meet. But for a theatre that I love to be putting on a blatantly party political pile of drivel such as this in the run up to elections, albeit the phoney EU elections which I am boycotting anyway, I am saddened and appalled.

The following is taken from the Royal exchange website and is the reason I am labelling the show a party political pile of drivel:

Ahead of 2014’s European Elections, join Jonny & The Baptists to take on Nigel Farage’s ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists’ – and help stop UKIP forever. 

I spent some years involved with UKIP and know that the party is not racist. Attack UKIP if you want, but base it on reality, bandying the word 'racist' around is baseless and intellectually idle. Like the word 'fascist' the left have ensured that the word 'racist' is virtually meaningless, both being used as baseless smears. Like any political party it has more than its fair share of 'fruitcakes' and 'loonies'. But have you met your average Labour or Tory activist? Even worse any Green or Lib Dem activists? Now they really are off the scale in battiness.

If you're wondering who is performing this work of satirical genius then it's Jonny and the Baptists, here are the details:

From the stars of Radio 4’s The Now Show, Infinite Monkey Cage and Sketchorama, Jonny Donahoe and Paddy Gerver's 2013 show was nominated for the New Act of the Year, Musical Comedy Award & Amused Moose Edinburgh Award.

Oh dear, that's not good is it? White middle class pinko liberals it would appear who probably regard anybody to the left of Tony Benn as a raging fascist and would likely attack a group calling themselves 'Mohamed and the Mullahs' as racist. But they're happy to use the name Jonny and the Baptists. Typical politically correct hypocrisy.

I don't care what a pair of satirical comedians get up to, it's their business. What appals me is that the Royal Exchange Theatre is putting on such a blatantly party political piece. While I would never dream of trying to have anything banned, I may have to consider withdrawing my support for the Royal Exchange Theatre.

*In the last day or two the Royal Exchange have changed the heading of this event on their 'What's On' page from 'The Stop UKIP Tour' to 'Jonny and the Baptists'. They have also added the following:

Jonny & the Baptists: The Stop UKIP tour is a musical comedy show centred on the European Elections in May 2014. Jonny & the Baptists aim to engage and amuse audiences with a range of topics, as they have done to national acclaim for several years. The show offers a satirical take on UKIP policies, while encouraging people towards voter engagement rather than apathy, whatever their views. One of the best things about the UK's creative industries is the breadth of ideas available to audiences at theatres, cinemas and galleries every day, and the show hopes to further encourage that conversation.

They also seem to have removed the comments section on their website, probably because of the adverse comments the show was attracting.

Godfrey Bloom: Defending the Indefensible

Poor old Godders, he's gone and done it again. But let's look at what actually happened and ignore the media hype.

He was at a fringe meeting about 'Women In Politics' at the UKIP conference. In my day that itself would have been a politically correct no-no in UKIP. Anyway, Godfrey Bloom is the man who warned employers about employing women of child bearing age, and said that they should be cleaning behind the fridge. So what political genius invited Godders to a 'Women In Politics' meeting in the first place?

At the meeting a woman seems to have jokingly referred to his remark about not cleaning behind the fridge, cue titters and giggles from the attending girlies. Godders then referred to them, in a jokey way, as sluts. Cue more tittering and giggling from the girlies. Bang, the next sound is the smush of shit hitting fan. A bit vulgar yes, offensive if aimed at offending those present but it wasn't, it was bar room humour. There lies the nub of this particular very UKIP cock up, the contrived bar room culture cultivated by that man of the people, Nigel Farage.

For years Farage has cultivated an image, nothing more than that, of a good humoured 'one of us' who just enjoys a pint and a ciggie and whose love of the good old English pub is only surpassed by his loathing of the European Union. For many years next to him at the bar, ciggie and pint at the ready has been Godfrey Bloom. Drinking with them is the nearest you will get to time travel, I'd estimate when I was occasionally doing that with them a few years back it was like being around in the late 1950s.

Now then, in my opinion what Godfrey Bloom said was the kind of thing you might hear in pubs up and down the country every day of the week. Let's face it, that's the counter political culture that Farage has been very careful to cultivate. You can almost hear Farage shouting " you there, you at the end of the bar, join us at the UKIP bar and we'll lift the smoking ban. We're not your professional politicians, we're just like you". The only problem is that politics isn't a big pub and what you may say at 11-00pm on a Saturday night with your mates at last orders is not appropriate in many other situations, especially politics.

So, in Bloom's defence he was just behaving in a way that is the norm with Farage and others in UKIP, it's part of Farage's political culture that he has imposed on UKIP. Interestingly Bloom wasn't disciplined for his remarks about the fridge, child bearing or bongo bongo land. Indeed in 2004 when I questioned the action that would be taken about his fridge remarks I was told nothing as it had opened up a serious debate on the issue. So what has happened this time?

It seems to me that Farage has finally embraced the reality of the media and politics. He has moved into the age of spin and so, whereas in the past he would have defended Bloom with a remark about him being a colourful character and UKIP not bowing to political correctness, he has done what Cameron, Clegg and Miliband would do, attacked and disciplined him. Well if you don't want your MEPs using the language of the bar room don't encourage it in the first place.

This counter-culture is so deep rooted in UKIP that it is inevitable that soon there will be yet another episode to further undermine their credibility. Indeed, over the years it seems that every time UKIP takes a step forward within weeks they will have shot themselves in the foot and limped three steps backwards. It has often seemed so frequent that many people wonder if there is a dark reason for it continuing.

UKIP-Nutjob Alert

When I first heard Tories proclaiming that a vote for UKIP would let Miliband and Labour in I wondered if that was the best they could do. But UKIP do have a habit of proving that they are truly on the lunatic fringe. Well, look at Nigel Farage for starters. Somebody who tries so hard to be 'a character' only proves himself to be a completely mad, egocentric, attention seeking berk.

Now UKIP councillors in Norfolk have proved that this problem is apparent throughout the party. The nutters UKIP councillors on Norfolk County Council have gone into alliance with Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems and a Labour leader has been installed. The Tories are the largest group on Norfolk County Council.

Forgive me but I am not aware that supporting that motley crew of statist misfits is very libertarian, which UKIP claim to be. Did the people of Norfolk who voted UKIP really expect to find their county council led by a Labour councillor because of the support of UKIP councillors? I doubt it.

Furthermore, on Twitter I saw a UKIP member asked what the party's position was on the legalisation of marijuana. The UKIP member replied that the party would hold a referendum to find out what the populace wanted. Oh right, so would they hold a referendum to find out if 51% of the population wanted murder legalised? What a cop out to avoid answering a question on a controversial issue. Again, if UKIP was truly a libertarian party it would support the legalisation of marijuana, and be honest about that.

Like wanting out of the EU but wallowing on the gravy train, UKIP are just proving themselves to be the most cynical of the political parties rather than an alternative. Making the right noises to attract protest votes on a range of issues, but offering nothing of any substance. Their policy of massively increasing state expenditure, but cutting taxes, would bankrupt the country faster than you could say Gordon Brown. They aren't bright and I would warn anybody to look beneath the surface if you think these nutjobs are a credible alternative to the LibLabCon.

Don't Blame UKIP-Blame Cameron!

The Tory Party is in denial, and UKIP is their convenient scapegoat. But let's be perfectly blunt, the reason they are heading for defeat is David Cameron. The man is a totally unprincipled, clueless, uncharismatic chancer who has blown his opportunity. So the Tories blame Farage, a totally unprincipled, clueless chancer who at least has a little charisma, but ultimately is a con man who will be exposed by the glare of publicity heading his way.

Cameron and the Tories claim that they must occupy the centre ground. But all that seems to mean is 'let's piss everybody off, not just the wet pinko liberals'. Ultimately it means trying to be all things to all men and it just doesn't work. Tory activists who try to defend this government increasingly sound like occupants of a certain Berlin bunker in April 1945, or Comical Ali as US troops marched into Baghdad. 'Swivel eyed loons' maybe?

What the Tory Party leadership has done, is what the party has been doing for decades, it has driven solid hard working supporters into the arms of a party whose leadership, not just its membership, consists primarily of swivel eyed loons. Attacking and vilifying defectors from your own party is hardly going to tempt them back. What the Tory Party needs to do is to stop being so arrogant and aloof and look at the real reasons, reasons far deeper than the mere existence of loonies like Farage and UKIP.

It is evident to most people that the desire to be free of the shackles of the EU, and the need to control immigration, are two positions that are based on common sense. A majority in this country clearly have deep concerns about these issues, they therefore represent the centre ground. The more Cameron and company cling to their nice cosy idea of their own peculier centre ground then the more activists and volunteer branch officers will walk away. Cameron seems happier pissing off his party activists than pissing off the political elite in London's trendy bars and tearooms.

You only have to look at the set of daydreams that UKIP call policies to see that apart from leaving the EU, they still have no credible philosophy or practical policies. Indeed, it makes a dedicated anti-EU campaigner like me wonder if membership of the EU would actually be preferable to an independent Britain under UKIP rule. Their policies are every bit as barking mad as those of the EU, Farage and his MEPs have learnt well during their time on the gravy train.

With two years to go there may just be a chance of the Tories changing and taking a common sense approach but that would mean ditching Dave. Even then it would be a tall order, but at least there would be the chance to install a leader who could use common sense and start rebuilding after the defeat in 2015 that looks increasingly inevitable.

Let's face it, Cameron couldn't win the 2010 general election when Brown was the loathed, ridiculed and generally despised successor to Blair. What chance against Miliband in 2015 when you have driven a sizeable proportion of your natural supporters out of the party?  Sitting on the sidelines, playing nicely with Clegg and Cable while blaming UKIP is patently absurd and lazy. It's Dave stupid!

Another UKIP Scandal

Crampton and UKIP leader Farage

Only this morning I posted about the pitiful election leaflet we have received from our UKIP candidate. I was only out for a few hours but when I came back I heared of yet another reason, far more serious, for not voting UKIP on May 2nd.

One of their candidates in Sussex, Anna-Marie Crampton, has been told to stand down in the election, although her name will still be on the ballot paper, for alleged anti-Semitic remarks regarding the Holocaust. It seems she has also urged people to read 'The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion', a pretty vile hoax written around 1900 by Russian anti-Semites to justify their anti-Semitism. The story is covered in the Jewish Chronicle Online.

The problem with UKIP is that despite an army of staff, funded by their MEPs, they don't seem to use those resources to vet their candidates. Or maybe they just hope the more 'eccentric' ones will be able to survive a campaign without coming out with something embarrassing at best, utterly damning at worst.

Part of the problem is that the amount of coverage a party gets during an election campaign, such as the number of election broadcasts they are allocated, depends on the number of candidates they have. So pressure is put on branches to find candidates, at all costs, so an occasional nutter slips through the net. But it's hard to blame it on that when the photograph of a shamed candidate with her party leader is all over the internet.

UKIP is riddled with people who believe in conspiracy theories, especially Common Purpose and the New World Order. The problem is that people like Anna-Marie Crampton are exposed every now and then, as are other 'eccentrics' in UKIP, but what if the one that flies under the radar gets elected?

More on this story from The Brighton Argus.

UKIP and Marta Andreasen-The Farce Lingers On

Farage or Petain?

The continuing comedy drama that is UKIP continues to raise a titter, just a shame a few people still take the party seriously. I first met Farage in 2000 when I was invited to stand by the local UKIP members in the Preston by-election. When I was introduced to him I instinctively checked my watch was still there after we'd shaken hands, he may as well have had the word 'spiv' tattooed on his forehead it was so obvious.

Over the following few years I had the misfortune to suffer his company on many occasions as he became increasingly megalomaniac and obnoxious. On one occasion he was lost in Manchester trying to find a hotel I had booked for him and his 'lady researcher', we were demonstrating outside the Tory conference next day. Only a clown would phone somebody 60 miles away and state that he didn't have a clue where he was in Manchester then ask if I could I direct him to the hotel. Obviously not, you do need a start point when giving directions but he was too dumb to realise. Then, when I suggested he ask a pedestrian for directions he told me he was scared to do that because there were too many Tories about and they don't like him. Man of steel? I don't think so.

So I wasn't surprised when Marta Andreasen MEP resigned on Friday to join the Tories citing Farage's attitude to women and his Stalinism. She's spot on. That led me to ponder the other UKIP MEPs over the years. It's not gratifying reading really, but in no particular order here we go:

Ashley Mote: Went to chokey for fiddling housing benefit prior to climbing aboard the gravy train.

Tom Wise: Went to chokey for fiddling his expenses.

Michael Holmes: One of the three MEPs elected in 1999, Farage being another. Holmes resigned as leader and left the party soon after being elected.

David Campbell Bannerman: Defected to the Tories in 2011, he was elected in 2009.

Nikki Sinclaire: Forced out of UKIP after refusing to sit in their group in the EU Parliament alongside assorted right-wing nutters, racists and homophobes from other European countries. I should declare that I worked as Nikki's campaign manager for three months in the 2010 general election and that I worked from 2004 to the end of 2008 for John Whittaker MEP.

Marta Andreasen: Resigned last week to join the Tories.

Nigel Farage: Too many scandals to list here, including putting his wife on his payroll without anybody in UKIP ever knowing, and certainly not knowing what she did when it came to light.

The problem is UKIP MEPs do very little work, they have some of the poorest attendance records in the EU Parliament and rarely attend or contribute to committee meetings. They have gone native and are now just a small group of people making themselves very wealthy, while doing very little, at our expense. No wonder they do nothing but bicker, stab each other in the back and resign, as the saying goes, the devil makes work for idle hands.

We didn't defeat the Nazis by joining them did we? Petain tried that little number in France and look how Vichy ended up. Sadly it looks like Farage is the latter day Petain leading a Vichy party on the gravy train they claim to oppose while achieving nothing for the UK.

UKIP-An Objective Viewpoint

Nigel Farage: Mad As A Hatter

There are so many reasons why UKIP won't achieve that a whole blog could be taken up with listing and explaining them. Some of them are:

It's merely a plaything for Nigel Farage and his MEP chums who don't take UK politics seriously, only their EU salaries and allowances.

Farage only tolerates his chums and purges the party of anybody he perceives as independent minded or a threat to his position. Hence the candidate in today's Rotherham by-election still being given responsible positions despite being a complete political incompetent.

UKIP claim to be a libertarian party but the overwhelming majority of members would a run a mile if they knew what libertarianism actually was. Other than opposing the smoking ban their few attempts at policy are far from libertarian. If you don't believe me visit the Libertarian Alliance website.

Despite efforts they have never managed to cobble together reasoned and affordable policies, largely because the only thing the membership agree on is getting out of the EU. Any other policy discussions in open meetings are likely to lead to major rows and splits.

The only people who take UKIP ever so seriously are UKIP members.

Following is an independent assessment of UKIP's current position from an article in the Telegraph Online:

Sorry, but it isn’t going to happen. In 1983 the SDP were going to break the mould of British politics; they didn’t. In 1989 the Greens were going to transform the British political landscape; they couldn’t. And in 2015 the great Ukip breakthrough will disintegrate upon the unyielding wall of electoral reality.

This morning the Tweed Army are on a roll. They are surging in Rotherham on the back of the fostering scandal. As this paper reports today, no fewer than eight Tory MPs are said to be in discussion with Sir Stewart Wheeler about possible defection. And opinion poll after opinion poll shows Ukip snapping furiously at the heels of the flatlining Liberal Democrats.
It’s a false dawn. However noble their cause, or steely their resolve, Nigel Farage and his irregulars are marching towards defeat.

Ukip are not a political force, but a political curiosity. In years to come many a pub quiz trophy will be won by those who can correctly answer the question: “What was the name of the guy who ran the anti-EU party? Begins with an N."

In life there are rules. What goes up will come down. The Earth rotates around the Sun, not vice versa. And come election time, minor British political parties get squeezed out of existence.
It may not be fair. It may not be healthy. But them’s the facts. And unfortunately, they are immutable.
Of course, come June 2014, when next year's European votes are counted, there’s going to be a whole lot of muting going on. Ukip will be in the process of recording their greatest ever election triumph. The Tories will have been beaten into a humiliating third place. Eurosceptic MPs will be fanning out across the airways demanding action and the summary execution of Ken Clarke.

And then nothing will happen. A year later Ukip will run, they will fight and they will lose. There will be no Ukip MPs. Their impact on sitting Tory MPs will have been negligible. They will have 3 or at a stretch 4 per cent of the vote to show for their efforts.

How can my cold, Leftist eyes penetrate the political crystal ball so clearly? Well, for one thing, I’m not a Ukip supporter, so I’m unencumbered by the hope and expectation attending several of those currently predicting a national outbreak of Farage Mania.

The truth, if you care to look for it, is out there. Firstly, there is the electoral system. Ukip cannot make a breakthrough in 2015 because the system they will be fighting under has been specifically designed to prevent them from making that breakthrough. It was not built to further the political ambitions of free spirits such as Citizen Farage. It was created to crush them underfoot; and so it will.

Then there is the second big problem facing Nigel Farage’s party: he hasn’t got one. In relative terms, Ukip have no money, no infrastructure and no activists. They have no organisational expertise, no strategy expertise and no policy expertise. Yes, they punch above their weight in the media, but that’s because much of the media is instinctively sympathetic to their agenda, not because of any presentational acumen. Not so long ago Ukip’s idea of a communications strategy was to wind up Robert Kilroy-Silk and let him go.

Then there is a third obstacle. Ukip are a single-issue organisation, campaigning on an issue most voters couldn’t care less about. According to Mori’s latest issue tracker, only 5 per cent of voters regard Europe as one of the most important issues facing the country. At the time of the 1997 election that figure stood at 43 per cent. Ukip aren’t surfing a wave, they’re paddling in a rock pool watching the tide go out.

People can spend the next couple of years preparing with mounting excitement for Ukip’s moment. But come the next election, the fix will be in. That tiny percentage of voters who rate Europe as the defining issue will have a clear choice. The Eurowary – if not fully fledged sceptic – Prime Minister Cameron. Or the Europhile – if not fully obsessive – Prime Minister Miliband. Nigel Farage – no debate, no money, no activists, no infrastructure, no hope of a seat, never mind power – won’t get a look-in.

That’s the problem with being a lone warrior. It’s lonely.

UKIP-Politics of the Playground

Just when UKIP were being defended by non members over the Rotherham foster business they go and prove, once again, why they bomb in proper elections, only gaining seats under the EU's ludicrous PR system.

Michael Fabricant suggests an electoral pact with UKIP in return for an in-out referendum on the EU. Do UKIP jump at the chance? No, they condemn it out of hand in a school playground style tantrum. Why? Because David Cameron called them names a few years ago.

Paul Nuttall, bagman for Nigel Farage, was on Radio Manchester today sobbing that David Cameron called them closet racists so they won't play with him any more. This is the party that claims causing offence should not be a criminal offence, but are happy to refuse us the chance of a referendum because Cameron upset them a few years ago.

Or maybe the UKIP MEPs are just enjoying their fat salaries and generous expenses a little too much to risk their seats on the gravy train. UKIP, part of the problem, not the solution.

UKIP and the Race Obsessed

He'd be at home in Rotherham!

I joined UKIP in 2000 and stood in three parliamentary elections. I worked for a UKIP MEP for nearly five years. I became disillusioned in 2009 and resigned my membership, six months after leaving my job with UKIP. That's the background to this post.

Last night and this morning I have been in a rage. I can categorically state that UKIP is not a racist party and that Rotherham Borough Council, in taking foster children away from a couple because they are UKIP members, have acted like some kind of totalitarian banana state.

 A woman called Joyce Thacker, who has just been on TV news spouting off about multiculturalism, should be immediately sacked from her job. She couldn't answer the question why the decision had been taken, and had as much human warmth as a dead polar bear. She didn't seem fit to me to be taking decisions about anything let alone the lives of vulnerable children. That the Labour Party calls for an investigation shows how appallingly fascistic this decision is. But why an investigation? Sack the people involved now. Yet another example of how race is used by the left, Rotherham is a Labour council, to suppress freedom of speech.

I have lots of reasons for leaving UKIP behind, none more so than their party leader who I would trust as far as I could throw him, but this attack on them is frightening in its implications. It says to me that the state is far too powerful and those involved in this decision have power way beyond their capabilities or ideas of democracy. All those involved should be immediately sacked and never employed again.

It is surely time to rise up against this politically correct police state that we are sleep walking into.

Nigel Farage's Part In The Destruction Of UKIP

There is an excellent piece on Richard North's EU Referendum blog about the part Nigel Farage has played in the demise of UKIP as a credible force for withdrawal from the EU.

The discussion forum is a particularly interesting read. For years people with real talent have been driven out of UKIP by Farage and his henchmen, people like Richard North, Robin Page and many more. What is left is a clique of Farage loyalists, mostly on the payroll, who are more interested in the childish smearing and name calling of anybody who questions their leader than in engaging in serious politics.

To those of us who once thought UKIP was the answer, it is sad to see that it is now a big part of the problem.

David Campbell Bannerman: Another UKIP MEP Quits

I wasn't surprised to hear that UKIP MEP David Campbell Bannerman had jumped ship to join theTories. I always felt he was more of a Tory than a UKIP type, but I still find it odd that somebody can spend so much time in a party campaigning for withdrawal from the EU, then jump ship to join a pro-EU party like the Tories. But I suppose there's nowt so queer as folk, especially in politics. No doubt the UKIP lies and smears directorate will be going into overdrive as I write, ready to smear and blacken the name of yet another defector.

As UKIP have now had MEPs for twelve years, and those MEPs have brought nothing but wasted resources, wasted opportunities and embarassment on the Party, maybe it's time they did the honourable thing and withdrew from the whole EU gravy train and fought their battles in the UK, the only place the war for independence can be won. After all, judging by their results in the latest local, general and parliamentary by-elections, having MEPs is doing the cause no favours, unless a few booming bank balances and pensions count as success.

So UKIP have now lost Nikki Sinclaire MEP from the party, and Mike Nattrass MEP and Trevor Coleman MEP from their far right-wing grouping in the European Parliament. I wonder who'll be next to jump ship? No se, y no me importa!


The term "lions led by donkeys" springs to mind. Or should that be "lions led by a donkey"?

UKIP, Hatred, Annabelle Fuller and Nikki Sinclaire MEP

A particularly nasty pro-UKIP blog has recently targeted me again for attack. I won't name it as I don't want to publicise it. But it got me thinking.

Just over two years ago Annabelle Fuller, a woman I have little time for incidentally, was targeted by elements within UKIP. She faced a particularly venomous campaign of vilification which goes beyond political banter. I believe her accusations to be the truth as a former colleague of mine in the Libertarian Party was present when she received some of her threats. It is reported comprehensively in this report from the Independent.

More recently Nikki Sinclaire MEP has come under similar fire. You can find links to my reports of Nikki's victimisation by elements within UKIP by following the labels below this post. You can also visit Nikki's blog.

Now I would suggest that Annabelle Fuller, long time friend of Nigel Farage MEP, and Nikki Sinclaire have little in common, indeed nothing in common. But both have been subjected to vile attacks by elements within the UK Independence Party, as have people associated with Nikki. There are few coincidences in politics.

Food for thought?

That's it, time for a mince pie.

More on UKIP's Homophobia

Many people associated with Nikki Sinclaire are now facing what UKIP does best, lies and smears on the internet. You see UKIP under Nigel Farage ran faster into the sewer than a rat up a drainpipe. They spend so much time attacking people like Nikki and her colleagues that they forget to do the basics, such as bothering to register a defence against a legal action against them. It's a bit like Dad's Army without the humour. Here's some media coverage of Nikki's legal victory against UKIP, Farage and Bloom:

A former UK Independence Party MEP, who represents West Midlands in the European Parliament, has won her claim that the party discriminated against her because she was a lesbian.

Nikki Sinclaire MEP had the whip removed by Ukip leader Nigel Farage in January after she refused to sit with members of the far-right Italian party Lega Nord, claiming that some of its members were homophobic.


The Eurosceptic party made no defence when she lodged a discrimination suit against it at Exeter Employment Tribunal and a default judgment was made in her favour.
But Ukip said it had failed to lodge a response to the suit due to an administrative error and that an application for the judgment to be set aside had been filed.


The judgment, on which Mr Farage and Godfrey Bloom MEP were both listed as respondents, found that: "The claim of sexual orientation discrimination is well founded".


Ms Sinclaire, who now sits as an independent, said: "I'm very saddened by how this has all turned out. I have been trying to work for an out of court settlement but at no point did Ukip come to me and say: 'Right, shall we talk about this?'

"I feel betrayed by the party. When I joined Ukip in 1994 it certainly wasn't a career move. I did my bit in building Ukip up to second in a national election and they have repaid me with discrimination."

Ms Sinclaire claims that Mr Bloom, MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, called her "a queer" as she passed him in the hallway of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.


She said she had made an official complaint and the alleged incident was being investigated by Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament.


Mr Bloom denied making the comment and said he was unaware of any investigation. The European Parliament could not confirm whether an investigation was under way.
Mr Bloom said: "I've received absolutely nothing from the European Union, the President, the Parliament or anybody else about this. The first I heard of it was when she filed [the discrimination suit] so I really can't add anything."


He said he was normally made aware of complaints within 24 hours. In November he was ejected from the Parliamentary chamber after making a Nazi jibe while a German MEP was speaking.

Ms Sinclaire said it was "ridiculous" she had been asked to join the Europe of Freedom and Democracy bloc, which includes Lega Nord.


She said: "You would not expect a black MEP to sit next to a Ku Klux Klan member so why would you expect me to sit next to someone who wanted me dead?" 

In their statement Ukip said: "Because of a simple administrative error, the date for filing a response to Ms Sinclaire's action was regrettably missed.

"The Respondents have now filed an application to set aside the judgment. The Respondents have always intended to defend this case vigorously and the application is accompanied by a robust response challenging almost every aspect of her case, including the Tribunal's jurisdiction."


A remedy hearing, where compensation may be awarded, will take place on December 29.

From the Birmingham Mail.

I suppose UKIP could have a new slogan: "How to lose friends and alienate people". Their small minded vindictiveness knows no bounds it seems.

UKIP's Mike Nattrass MEP on UKIP's Nigel Farage MEP

I always knew that Mike Nattrass would come good, and he's done it in style.

I ran Mike's Crewe and Nantwich by-election campaign in May 2008 and had known him for some time before that. Even as a Lancastrian I was impressed with his honesty and bluntness, you see he's a stubborn Yorkshireman. In fact I only mentioned Mike in an earlier blog post today.

So I wasn't surprised today to learn that he had told the truth about UKIP's famous spiv and charlatan-in-chief, Nigel Farage MEP. In the eternal words of the wonderful Morrissey:  'there'll be blood on the cleaver tonight'.
 
Here's what Mike had to say about Farage:

Dear All,


It may be too late but after all these years I can no longer stay silent.

In the previous Leadership Election I, together with all candidates EXCEPT LORD PEARSON were rubbished by Nigel Farage on TV and elsewhere. This ensured the election of Nigel's puppet Lord Pearson and allowed Nigel to continue to be the face of the party. That is Nigel's view of the election rules and I think it is only fair and high time that his methods were exposed, USING HIS OWN RULES.

Nigel already Leads the parliamentary Group and when he is also elected Leader this will amount to total control. Increasingly I am hearing the word "Spiv" used to describe him, from people who are not members but see his image. I am concerned that the UKIP party brand will be tarnished, even holed below the water line, by his monopoly of power.

Whilst Nigel is a very good speaker, he is also a control freak. He grabs all UKIP publicity to the detriment of any other UKIP spokesperson or MEP. He employs assistants with the MEP's budgets without allowing those MEPs any say. This, despite the fact that UKIP MEPs demanded a chance to interview those who were being employed with their money. Nigel agreed, then totally ignored that promise. Consequently he has his own "group funded" team around him and all "hiring" takes place via his close friend Godfrey Bloom MEP (this person is said to be banned by 4 hotels for urinating in the corridors)


Nigel's lack of experience in good staff management and his refusal to allow MEP consultation is complimented by the morals of an Alley Cat (and I will not go there). I have always said that this does not matter, because so long as we are all in the trench together with guns pointing at the enemy all are welcome. But he shot Nikki Sinclaire in the back when she became an MEP, for no Party reason, while she was giving all the effort she could give. She was expelled as a UKIP MEP for pointing out the Group facts. He does not like truth or competition.


I have put a lot of money, time and energy into promoting UKIP in the West Midlands and I watched it wrecked at the General Election by Nigel's chosen people (Lords Pearson and Monckton) who appeared from nowhere and failed to understand our basic strategy or even comprehend from where our votes are derived. Worse, Nikki, who has vast energy at election time, was stopped from being a UKIP MEP by Nigel and has not been given a chance to defend herself or to state her case (legal matters are pending). She and I were told by Lord Pearson not to get involved in the election and not to fund the campaign. In fact you will see that we both made considerable financial contributions but our campaign was deeply damaged. Also the subsequent enquiry into the campaign, requested by the WM candidates, was "dealt with" by Monckton (who thought I was behind it) and because of this we have had resignations from very keen activists.


All this West Midlands destruction because Nigel hates Nikki and wants to rubbish me!! Do you know how much money Nigel has contributed to this party...next to nothing.


I found allegations of fraud were brought against me when I stood for Leadership. These were in the Sunday Times. They melted away afterwards and had no foundation in truth, but they did the job intended.(My legal case against the Times is pending) Nigel has had a number of very real cases against him.. funny how that word does not get out.


My first major annoyance with Nigel's manipulations stem from the time when I was first elected in 2004 and all UKIP MEPs had a meeting to agree three very basic points. One was that we could not employ wives (other Parties did) and this was agreed. In fact my wife comes to each Parliament and does not get paid (not even travel expenses) and I said that she wanted to contribute any proper payment to the Party, but no, rules were rules and she could be paid nothing. It was then later exposed that Nigel's wife was being secretly paid out of his budget, breaking this rule. He did not seek any permission (to change his own rule) from the MEPs. He was simply "caught out" with both hands in the till. I fear that the whole Parliamentary Group in the EU is run for Nigel's financial and public image. I left that ugly group.


Nigel has derailed every leader since the very first, except peacemaker Jeffery Titford (under whom I was Party Chairman). He is therefore hated by them all (except JT). plus never to be leader Kilroy Silk who must feel that Nigel gave him a wrong prospectus.


I expect that Nigel will be elected leader as no one else is effectively allowed to stand without a spin campaign against them. I can see less MEPs in the UKIP squad when he does win.


There is a false attack on Tim Congdon from Boggers 4 UKIP, this must mean he is a real threat! Good.


Mike

Interesting to see Mike's comment about Farage's poodle Godfrey Bloom MEP. Farage really should get his poodles house trained.

More on this at:

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Junius on UKIP

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