The Pestilential EU By Jeffrey Titford MEP UK Independence Party – Eastern Counties

The hot topic right now is the EU’s proposals for an update to directive 91/414/EEC, which is well on its way through the European Parliament and involves the introduction of a new hazard based system for approving pesticides to replace the tried and tested existing regime, which is based on risk. I have written about it at length several times in these columns in the past year, so I won’t repeat all the arguments.

This misguided legislation typifies the EU’s approach to law making – fix it, even if it isn’t broken. What it means for farmers is the loss of many of the chemical tools they have used for years to tackle some of the most pernicious weeds and blights. It is good to see that the farming industry is belatedly waking up to the extreme threat this legislation poses to the arable sector1.

Efforts to resist these proposals are being aimed at the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. Farmers are being encouraged to lobby the Committee by writing letters to the individual members and a petition is underway, which a number of correspondents have urged me to sign. Unfortunately, much of this effort misses the central point and is wrongly targeted. Decisions on what system to use for the assessment of pesticides we use in this country should be decided by our own Government at Westminster , not by unelected officials in the European Commission. The Environment Committee is only enacting the wishes of the Commission and its proposals will be rubber-stamped by the tame European Parliament.

People seem to be forgetting that what we joined in 1973 was sold to us as a ‘Common Market’ where we would do lots of business, which would be good for the economy. Who would have believed that 35 years later, officials at the European Commission, with no democratic legitimacy whatsoever, would be laying down the law on what chemicals we may spray on fields in Britain, while our own elected Government can do nothing but stand meekly by waiting to be told what it must enforce.

If you really do want to write letters, far better to send them to Gordon Brown and Hilary Benn, urgently requesting that Britain should veto these proposals and withdraw from the Common Agricultural Policy and, ultimately, from the EU itself. The one would inevitably lead to the other. You might copy your letters to Agriculture Commissoner Mariann Fischer Boel for good measure. Only by taking these dramatic but necessary steps will we ever again get sensible agricultural policy in Britain .¨

Credit Crunch Bites Farmers
Much has been made of food price inflation at the retail end, in recent months, but it is not being passed on down the chain. Price inflation is almost non-existent at farm level and farmers are now up against a triple whammy; including a dramatic fall in the price of feed wheat, down to about £90 a tonne, half of what it was last year, major increases in the cost of fuel and fertiliser and, just to put the tin hat on it, bank credit has dried up because of the current world financial crisis. Many farmers are facing disaster.

It has been instructive, if somewhat infuriating, to see how ineffectual the EU has been in the face of the credit crisis. While the Americans have swiftly recognised that regulations known as ‘Basel 2’ introduced in 2004, in the wake of the Enron disaster, have been a major factor in the current crisis and moved to change them immediately, all the EU has done is hold a series of ineffectual meetings after which a number of heads of state and government went home and did their own thing anyway. The Basel 2 rules were introduced in two EU directives and the process of drafting a new one to deal with the problem could take a year or more.

For those wishing to understand the Basel 2 rules, they involved the introduction of a complicated risk assessment model, which is used to assess the solvency of a bank after the end of a day’s trading. It produces an asset statement to determine whether or not the institution is solvent. All this is fine and dandy when the markets are rising but in times of recession, such as now, a bank’s assets appear minimal and no allowance is made for future recovery or the underlying value of the assets. This situation renders them unable to lend or borrow money, starving the banks of the only way they can stay solvent.

Without these inflexible rules, most of the banks that have collapsed might well have survived. While the bankers are taking most of the blame for the world crisis, the European Commission and some of our politicians should take their share. The really worrying thing is that the financial sector produces a third of Britain ’s income but it is now largely controlled by the rigid and paralysed EU, which makes us horribly vulnerable to the present financial crisis and certainly doesn’t make things any easier for farmers.

BARONESS THATCHERS LAST OUTING

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Prime Minister Thatcher now famous Bruges speech, the organisation set up in its name, the Bruges Group, held a dinner in the presence of Baroness Thatcher.

Fortunate enough to be present, and to have the chance to meet and speak to her, was the West Midlands UKIP activist who will be UKIP’s number two list candidate during the 2009 European elections, Nikki Sinclaire. Nikki told Barroness Thatcher that she had “inspired” her and she was the reason she had gone into politics.

Ms Sinclaire explained that she was standing for the UK Independence Party in the West Midlands.

"Good for you. Never give up, never give up," Lady Thatcher told her.

The BBC actually reported the event and they also QUOTED Nikki too. It was atthis dinner where Lord Tebbit, once known as the ‘Chingford skinhead’ made his speech declaring that Britain should leave the EU – he really should join UKIP as the Conservative Party today is nothing like the party of that name he was in during his time in Westminster.

Events such as this will not come about again as Baroness Thatcher is becoming ever more frail, this was most probably her last outing. May her remaining year be lived in peace and contentment and lets hope she lives long enough to see Britain escape the clutches of the European Union, is it must inevitably do one day.

Ten thousand EU laws' hit UK since 1998

Nearly ten thousand new EU laws have been imposed on Britain since 1998, new research has revealed.

A report by the TaxPayers' Alliance published today reveals a 9,415 net gain of EU laws over the last decade, with almost half the new laws coming between 2006 and 2007.

In 2007 alone, 3,010 EU laws became UK law.

"Between 70 and 75 per cent of our laws now come directly from Brussels," Nigel Farage, UKIP leader, told politics.co.uk.

"It's not democratic. We have our own parliament and they're only responsible for 25 per cent of our laws. You can't have a system where 75 per cent of the laws come directly in to our system without anyone realising what's going on."

Activists are calling for systemic change in the relationship between Westminster and the EU, with clauses in the European Union transparency bill forcing minister to declare to parliament when new laws are derived from EU laws.

Eurosceptics are also concerned at the low level of scrutiny EU legislation is subjected to in the UK.

"Both the legislative process which has created this regulatory tangle and Britain's relationship with the EU needs a serious rethink," said Ben Farrugia, a Policy Analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance.

UKIP West Midlands day of action

The next joint leafleting is to be held in Stafford on Saturday 15th November, could all those who would like to join the leafleting team on that day please let me know by return e-mail.

The idea is to leaflet area´s where UKIP has not campagined before hoping to get UKIP actvie to those areas and setting up branch´s there.As before, when we held our first successful West Midlands team leafleting day in Leamington Spa, we will meet up at 10 am then the teams will disperse until lunchtime where we will all meet up for a spot of lunch and a bit of refreshment, then back out in the afternoon.

These leafleting days are proving worth while, not only do we get a lot of leaflets out in one go, but its good to meet up with fellow campaigners, young and old, and do some worthwhile campaigning. Please let me know if you can join in.

Details of the meeting place and lunchtime venue to follow when arranged.

Regards, Derek Bennett. [email protected]

This is well worth going to !!

Whole Tory branch defects to UKIP

The Harrow Road ward of the Conservative Party has moved en masse to UKIP. Aware that the European Union is the paramount political issue of our time, it creating as it does 80% of our laws, the new Westminster North constituency association of UKIP realised that they simply couldn't stay in a party that wasn't going to do anything about it.

Jasna Badzak was the Chairman of the ward association, Susan Jacobs the political vice/chairman, Drgomir Mikulic the membership secretary and Luli Beqiri the secretary. They are adopting the same role in their new, and natural, political home, UKIP.

Ms Badzak, having had to flee her home in the former Yugoslavia, feels that she owes the UK a debt of gratitude for giving her the chance of a new life. She has become increasingly disappointed with the Conservatives and feels that they are out of touch and are not offering any policies which can deal with the current crisis facing Britain. Thus the move to UKIP."

Car flag ban 'outrageous' says UKIP MP

UKIP supporters and others who bought national flag stickers to place over the EU "ring of stars" on their car number plates could face a £60 fine.Answering a parliamentary question from UKIP MP Bob Spink, transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said number plates showing a union flag, the Cross of St George, the Scottish saltire and Welsh dragon were breaking the law.

Vehicles with such number plates might also fail an MoT test.Mr Fitzpatrick said regulations that came into force seven years ago permit only the EU symbol to be displayed.Dr Spink, MP for Castle Point, said he had raised the issue after being contacted by motorists fined for displaying national flags."No one believed it," he added. "This is outrageous."Europe is gathering around itself the trappings of a country because only countries can have a flag. Europe is becoming the country and Britain is just a region. This is just not acceptable."

The ban on national symbols, forced through Parliament by the government in June 2001 despite strong opposition, also applies CYM for Cymru or SCO for Scotland on number plates, though they can be shown as stickers elsewhere on vehicles.Ministers said the regulation were needed to allow easy circulation thoughout the EU, but Open Europe spokesperson Lorraine Mullally responded: "The use of EU symbols instead of national ones is part of a wider attempt to promote the idea of a common European citizenship, which EU federalists have been pushing for some time. The Government seems happy to buy into this.''

Labour's constitutional nightmare

ELEVEN years of Government meddling has given us a mish mash of constitutional reforms which have weakened the nation state and body politic in the United Kingdom and caused confusion among the public rather than the clarity which devolved government was meant to bring.Since the 1997 election, Scotland has been given its own parliament, and Wales, Northern Ireland, and London their own assemblies with varying degrees of power.

England was meant to have directly elected regional government, but that project was kicked into the long grass when voters in a referendum in the North East threw out the plans.Instead, unelected regional assemblies were imposed on England without any consultation and they have proved so disastrous that even this quango loving Labour government has decided to scrap them.

The English account for 85% of the British population, but the Government doesn't see the iniquity of laws relating only to England being voted on by Scots, Welsh and Ulster MPs whose constituents are not affected by the legislation.The hereditary element of the House of Lords has all but disappeared, and there is no consensus on how many lords and ladies should be elected by the people or what to do with existing life peers, bishops, and judges.

European elections are now conducted on a regional party list system, leaving most people totally unaware of who their representatives are in Brussels. The devolved parliaments and assemblies are elected by a chaotic mix of first-past-the-post and proportional representation, but with two landslides under its belt, Labour is in hurry to introduce PR for Westminster.

Meanwhile, a government which seems almost contemptuous of parliament - MPs and peers sit for fewer days at Westminster than ever before - relies more and more on the Royal prerogative.

It's not all bad. A supreme court is being established in the former Middlesex Guildhall which will end the ludicrous and totally confusing situation that we now have of the “House of Lords” being the ultimate court of appeal.

In fact only the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, as they are known, sitting in the upper house, hear final appeals on all civil cases throughout the whole UK and on criminal cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. (In Scotland, the final criminal court of appeal is the High Court of Justiciary). Lords reform is seen by ministers as the final piece of the jigsaw. But it isn't - the Commons needs overhauling to correct the deficiencies of devolution, while serious consideration should be given to a devolved parliament for England and fewer national MPs.

The Government ought to have the courage of its own convictions and complete the introduction of unitary local government in the shires of England so that the whole of the United Kingdom except London is administered by just one tier of all-purpose councils.Instead of a Royal Commission into the constitution, devolution and local administration, Labour charged in with different solutions for the four home nations without considering the possible outcomes. Thus we have the unintended consequence of Scotland heading for full independence.

Although Ken Clarke headed a Tory commission, its findings have been all but forgotten. The first comprehensive look at the constitution has come from an unlikely source - the UK Independence Party.As you might expect, How We Are Governed rails against the European superstate. claiming that 80% of laws affecting the UK originate from Brussels. To “rescue” British democracy, UKIP wants us out of the EU, but leaving that aside, the party does have some policies worthy of further consideration.

n A hybrid upper House of 100 appointed Lords and 200 elected senators plus 12 law lords and five bishops.

n The Commons to meet one week a month in English session debating England-only legislation.

n Direct democracy - echoing radical plans from Harwich's Tory MP Douglas Carswell - which wound allow local referendums on controversial planning schemes and direct elections elect health boards, county police authorities, chief constables and mayors.

n Switch to the alternative vote system of PR, retaining single member constituencies.

David Campbell Bannerman, UKIP's deputy leader and prospective Euro candidate for the East of England, said: “We are being governed increasingly badly. Decision making has become far too centralised in Brussels and Whitehall. We need to scrap all unaccountable regional government and return powers to local councils“There's a real appetite in East Anglia for a return to democratic control. UKIP trusts the people and democracy more than bureaucratic control by unaccountable technocrats ­- whether from Brussels, Whitehall or the town hall.

“Britain needs more direct democracy. We call for a referendum on the proposed new Suffolk and Norfolk unitary structures.”Mr Campbell Bannerman said: “We need direct democracy, a referendum on the proposed new Suffolk and Norfolk unitary structures: local government is important and the people should decide their desired structures through the ballot box.”

Yesterdays by-election results

Spelthorne Borough Council ward, Ashford East (Middlesex) by election:

1st) Steven Rough; Conservative, 858,51.59%

2nd) Diane Appleby; Lib Dim, 452, 27.18%

3rd) Christopher Browne; UKIP, 185, 11.12%

4th) Mark Appleyard; Labour, 163, 9.8%

Cambridge Conservatives give UKIP Deputy Leader sympathetic hearing

The Cambridge University Conservative Association invited UK Independence Party Deputy Leader and Prospective Lead European Election Candidate for the Eastern Counties, David Campbell Bannerman, to speak in the famous Cambridge Union building on 23rd October. He was asked to explain why he chose to leave the Conservative Party and why he believes it is time to vote for the UK Independence Party.

Mr Campbell Bannerman said: "I was a Conservative for 20 years, and still believe in conservative values such as love of country, strong defence, being tough on crime, low taxes, controlling immigration, and smaller state and grammar schools - sadly modern Conservatives seem to have abandoned these core principles."

"Loyal Conservatives have been let down. They were promised a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but the Tories refuse to hold one if Lisbon is ratified by the time they get to Government. They promised to leave the pro-Lisbon, pro-Euro EPP Group in the European Parliament, but haven't. They promised Euro election candidates based on merit, but then they rig their MEP selection process to force women to the front of lists with less votes than the men they overtake, and where existing MEPs cannot be replaced. Mugabe would be familiar with such gerrymandering!"

"UKIP offers Conservatives a chance to send a clear message about where their priorities lie: that Britain should trade happily with the EU, but does not want to be in the political superstate: that we want Supertrade not a Superstate."

"In 2004, UKIP rocked the political establishment by coming third with 16% of the vote and 2.7 million votes. Lending UKIP Tory votes in the 2009 European Election can shake things up again!"

HOW THE EU WILL NOW COST £99,000,000,000 EVERY SINGLE YEAR

CASH-STRAPPED Britons were tonight handed an extra £1billion tax burden by Europe.MEPs rejected calls for restraint and voted to increase the massive EU budget to a staggering £99 billion for next year, 2009.The £876 million increase is on top of the £10.4 billion Britons already fork out to keep the Brussels gravy train rolling.The hike is £7.65 billion more than the bloc’s 27governments had agreed to and £7 billion more than the ruling European Commission claims it needs.The EU already spends astronomical sums on agricultural subsidies, cash aid for poorer regions and programmes to boost employment and economic growth.All EU governments have said they want to cap on spending.

But MEPs claim they need the extra money for pet projects such turning the EU in a world model on how to combat climate change,And under EU rules the budget cannot be passed without European Parliament approval.However there was growing concern that Europe was wasting money when Britons could least afford.Britain’s Conservative Party opposed the increase but were out voted in the assembly in Strasbourg.Richard Ashworth MEP, the Conservative’s budget spokesman in Europe, said: "We didn’t want the increase and tried to peg it back."We voted against a lot of the issues in the budget but there are only a small number of us out here."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "The European Parliament is behaving like a kiddie in a sweetie shop."More money, always more money, and for what? Subsidising the destruction of our fishing stocks. Paying for more and more propaganda.

"It is amazing isn’t it how though Eurocrats never want to listen to the taxpayer when they say ’No’ but they always want to dip into their pockets".

Mark Wallace of the TaxPayers Alliance said: "The government must give a simple answer to this greedy request - no!"British tax payers are struggling to keep their heads above water in the financial crisis and we don’t have any more money to pay in tax."Brussels takes and wastes more than enough of our hard earned money as it is."And even a European Parliament spokesman admitted MEPs often seem greedy.With surprising frankness the spokesman said: "The parliament often asks for more money, but of course MEPs don’t have to raise it, they just spend it."As far as the latest increase is concerned there are still a few more meetings to bash out the final figures."

Newly promoted Europe Minister Caroline Flint was unavailable for comment when contacted .However Treasury a spokesmans said this vote was "merely the beginning" of the procress to reach agreement on the budget.He added: "The 2009 EC Budget will not be agreed until late November"Next month the EU court of auditors is expected to refuse to give the budget a clean bill of health for the 14th year in a row. Mr Ashworth said: "This gnaws away at the EU’s credibility."It makes the EU look like a banana republic.

UKIP's Paul Nuttall calls for a new Justice centre for South Sefton

A COMMUNITY justice centre for South Sefton is being called for by the UK Independance Party.Bootle man Paul Nuttall, who is the party’s youngest ever chairman, has asked Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to consider the centre, combining the powers of a courtroom, run by a judge, with a range of community resources.
The Home Secretary is currently rolling out centres out throughout the country.
Mr Nuttall spent several hours at a centre that has been set up in Boundary Street in Kirkdale and on seeing its success now wants one in South Sefton.
It deals with crimes committed in North Liverpool that affect the quality of life for people living in the area, such as vandalism and graffiti.
Mr Nuttall, who is UKIP’s lead North West candidate in next year's Euro elections, said: “I’ve written to commend the centre and the ethos behind it and to urge her to roll the scheme out across the country, including one in South Sefton.”

The judge works with experts from a range of agencies, has a variety of powers and aims to make sure justice is reached while also addressing underlying issues that lead to offending.Mr Nuttall formerly went to Savio High School as well as Hugh Baird College and in 2005, he formed UKIP’s South Sefton branch.He said: “I was brought up on North Merseyside and consequently know the area and its problems very well and I was very impressed at what the centre is achieving.”

Eastern Counties Newsletter - December 2008

Dear All Please note that Jeffrey's next quarterly newsletter is scheduled for publication in December. If you would like any articles, notices of meetings, etc, included in the next edition, can you please ensure that they are sent to my email address, [email protected], or by post to the Chelmsford office, by Friday 7th November 2008. Many thanks Lisa Buckle

David Campbell Bannerman to speak in Cambridge 23.10.08

David Campbell Bannerman, UKIP's Deputy Leader and Lead Candidate in the Eastern Counties is to speak at a meeting this evening (Thursday 23rd October 2008, 5.00pm) organised by the Cambridge University Conservative Association. David will be explaining why he left the Conservative Party and why now is the time to vote UKIP. The meeting takes place at 5.00pm in the Kennedy Room at the Cambridge Union and is open to the public. Later in the evening Mr Campbell Bannerman will also take part in a Cambridge Union debate (for Union members only) at which he will speak against the motion "This House believes that only integration can keep Europe strong”. Full details are available at the link below:
http://www.cuca.org.uk/

UKIP PUBLIC MEETING WOMBOURNE TONIGHT

A public meeting is being held by the UK Indepencence Party in South Staffs later today, the main speaker this evening will be UKIP NEC member, Christopher Gill, who will be speeking on the EU and its legal system, Corpus Juris. Christopher Gill is an excellent speaker and it will be well worth finding the time to attend the event. There will also be an introduction for the South Staffs UKIP PPC, Malcolm McKenzie.The time of the meeting is set to start at 7.30 pm, the date is Thursday 23rd October, and the location is: The Civic Centre, Gravel Hill, Wombourne, Staffordshire, WV5 9HA.For more information contact the branch Chairman, Mike Lynch, at: 01902 843471 or Tom McCartney:01902 844931.
The meeting is free, there will be a collection, a bar will be on for drinks and all are welcome to come along. The Civic Centre is an excellent venue and Wombourne a very pleasant place

Young Independence Football Teams

Young Independence are hoping to get a few football teams together in which they will play against teams within workplaces that employ alot of young people, such as Tesco and McDonalds.

Preferably we would like to have teams for each region but with the initial limited membership, there will be one team.

It is hoped that after the football games, we can attract young people by asking of their concerns within the local community and asking what issues concern them and giving them the UKIP/Young Independence answer.
Hopefully this will help us interact with the youth and raise membership.

All abilities accepted.

If you are interested then contact me;
Mobile - 07828278328
email - [email protected]

UKIP North West Mini Conference

UKIP North West is holding a mini conference at 9.30am, The Crofters Hotel, A6, Garstang Lancashire, PR3 1PH on Saturday October 25th 2008.

Speakers include:

Phil Griffiths (UKIP North West Chairman)
Michael McManus (IND DEM Researcher)
John Whittaker (North West MEP)
Nick Hogan (UKIP Chorley Candidate - Smoking Ban Rebel)
Paul Nuttall (Party Chairman)

Please attend if you can.

Lisbon: big guns trained on Ireland

It seems the EU has called in its best legal brains to find a way for the Europhile Irish Taioseach Brian Cowen to persuade his people to vote again on the Lisbon/Constitutional Treaty…and this time to come up with the answer "Yes". The Republic famously gave the treaty the thumbs-down in June when it became the only EU state to offer citizens the choice.

Now French lawyer Jean-Claude Piris, head of the EU's legal service, has been put in charge of efforts to make the Irish people change their minds – or else to find another way of allowing Dublin to ratify the treaty without a second referendum.

Maître Piris is the legal eagle who got Brussels out of a big hole in 2005 when voters in France and the Netherlands kicked the hated EU Constitution into touch. He managed to reconstruct the document as an "amending treaty". This, of course, became the Lisbon text to which member states could sign up without the inconvenience of asking their people, with the exception of constitutionally-bound Ireland.

The word is that Maître Piris might come up with a series of treaty opt-outs that might persuade the Irish populace to change its mind. He did this successfully for Denmark when its citizens balked at the Maastricht Treaty. In the case of Ireland, these might refer to the country's neutrality, the issue of abortion and representation on the European Commission. Since the 26 other EU members have ratified Lisbon, Brussels must come up with legal ways of tailoring the treaty to Dublin's requirements without necessitating reconsideration by others.

This canny lawyer might also be involved in formulating a more tempting question for the Irish if, as has been hinted, they are to be asked to vote again late next year. That could take the form of persuading voters that they actually have the power to determine which bits of Lisbon their country should reject.

Equally, Maître Piris might be able to find legal ways of achieving Brussels' dearest wish – allowing Ireland to ratify the treaty without another vote. There could well be loopholes that could allow the Europe-loving Dublin political class to get round its constitutional obligations.

We in UKIP always knew, of course, that the Eurocrats would never take Ireland's "No" for an answer. But we are confident that in spite of the efforts of Maître Piris, the Irish people will not take kindly to legal manoeuvrings designed to manipulate them by playing mind games. They have made their democratic choice and attempts to persuade them otherwise will surely expose more clearly than ever Brussels' fear and mistrust of democracy.

Luton Referendum Confirms That the British People are Sick of the EU

The ITV programme ‘Tonight’ aired 20.10.08 entitled ‘EU Decide’, which showed the campaign and voting results from a mock referendum on EU membership held in Luton has been highly praised by the UKIP MEP for the Eastern Counties Jeffrey Titford. The voters solidly rejected the Lisbon Treaty and strongly backed British withdrawal from the EU.

When the people of Luton were asked how they would vote on ratification of the Lisbon Treaty 27 per cent voted yes, 63 per cent voted no and 10 per cent were undecided. When asked about membership of the EU, only 35 per cent voted to stay in, with an impressive 54 per cent voting to come out. 11 per cent were undecided.

Mr Titford said: “The programme makers are to be congratulated for having the courage to make and air such a programme. The results speak for themselves. It is a great shame that it has to be left to ITV to give the British people a say in how their country is to be governed in the decades ahead.

However, it is abundantly clear that the voters are sick and tired of the EU and that there is massive support for UKIP’s position that Britain would be better off out of it altogether. It is high time the other Parliamentary parties put an end to their long love affair with the European Union, which is completely at odds with the views of ordinary people.”

Sunday Times: EU should not "give advice" on money!

This letter was in the Sunday Times yesterday. It's a pretty good summing up but a mention of the rampant fraud and corruption that has seen their own internal auditors refuse to sign off their accounts for 13 years on the trot would have rounded it off nicely.

Sir, It is truly disturbing in the current economic and financial global crisis to witness Presidents Sarkozy and Barroso strutting about at Camp David with President Bush. The idea that the European Union can offer a solution to current world problems must be weighed against its own systemic failures over the last few decades.

The failure of the Lisbon economic agenda, the high and increasing levels of unemployment in the euro-zone, the massive costs of over-regulation which are destroying enterprise, the total failure of the Stability and Growth Pact, the assumed irreversible nature of the European Union legal framework, and the promotion of bureaucracy at the expense of democracy is testament to the reasons why the current model of the European Union is not fit for purpose.

International conferences and co-operation based on free and fair markets and democratic principles are necessary and laudable, but no confidence can possibly be placed in the track record of the current model of European Union speaking with its so-called single voice, whose economic failures precede the current financial crisis and are partly responsible for it.

Economic success will only come about if the European Union reverts to an association of democratic nation states co-operating together but without a centralised, bureaucratic, undemocratic model of government.

Bill Cash, MP
House of Commons, SW1

Luton EU Referendum 2008 Result

ITV might have pulled the plug last minute as the Tonight programme on the EU referendum in Luton was about to be aired but dont worry we have the results here. The Luton & Dunstable on Sunday newspaper was given exclusive access to the results ceremony on Thursday, October 9.Word had it last week, that someone allegedly involved in this programme leaked the results ,when the vote on EU membership was taken, 54% voted to leave the EU and only 35% voted to remain entrapped by it. I wonder why this programme very conveniently vanished. The edition of the Tonight programme about this referendum - EU Decide - will be shown this evening 20th october on ITV1 at 8pm, having been postponed from its originally scheduled slot last Monday.

REMINDER NORTH WARWICKSHIRE UKIP MEETING TOMORROW

A new north Warwickshire UKIP branch is in progress. UKIP's PPC candidate for North Warwickshire Steve Fowler is currently helping start the new branch.This is great news for UKIP and shows UKIP is continuing to grow in the West Midlands following the launch of the UKIP Perry Barr branch earlier this year.

On Monday the 20th of October there will be a meeting on starting the new North Warwickshire Branch,the venue is the Greenman Public House, 68 High street, Coleshill ,Birmingham,West Midlands ,B46 3AH at 7:30 pm.

If you are a UKIP member or not and live in West Midlands or near to where the meeting is taking place please feel free to come along.

You can keep upto date with Steve Fowler's progress here

EU to asset strip Polish shipyards

The Polish shipyard that was a focal point for their struggle against communism is likely to be sold off in a communist-style national asset stripping by the EU.

The EU wants to force the sale of Poland's state owned shipyards which it says aren't entitled to the state aid the Polish government has given them. The money from the sale would have to be used to pay back the state aid rather than used as an incentive to their new owners to modernise the shipyards.

The EU's Competition Commissioner has suggested that the shipyards could be converted to do something else.

How betrayed the Polish people must feel having fought long and hard to throw off the oppression of communism, only to be sold to the socialist dictatorship that is the EU. The picture on the BBC News website (above, right) says it all.

Chorley UKIP candidate revealed

Pub landlord Nick Hogan has been selected as parliamentary candidate for Chorley by the UK Independence Party.

His appointment was announced at a public meeting held by the party at the Swan With Two Necks public house, Chorley. "I am very pleased to be asked to become the parliamentary candidate," said 40-year-old Mr Hogan.

"The EU affects our daily life in every way and I am fed up to the back teeth with the rules coming down from the European Union. "We have had enough and must say 'no' to being dictated to." He explained that the smoking ban, which has led to 36 pubs a week closing in this country, was "the final straw".

"At the end of the day we are British and proud to be British and do not want to be run by faceless bureaucrats in Brussels," said Mr Hogan, whose wife Denise is licensee of The Swan With Two Necks.

His selection was welcomed by Paul Nuttall, UKIP chairman, who said that Mr Hogan would be an asset to the party and would work hard to help further its aims of withdrawing from the EU.

Mr Hogan is currently continuing his fight against his recent conviction for of failing to prevent people from smoking on his former licensed premises in Bolton on four occasions in July last year. A district judge has refused his appeal but on a point of principal he is now preparing to take the matter to the Court of Appeal.

UKIP advocates lifting the smoking ban in public houses and giving landlords the right to choice whether to allow smoking in all or part of their premises.

MEP cleared of allowance misuse

For those of you who like to listen or belive the likes of John West , UKIP Truth or GLW please reading the following welcoming news:

ESSEX Police are to take no action over allegations that a Euro MP for the East of England and his political adviser improperly misused parliamentary allowances

The UK Independence Party MEP Jeffrey Titford, formerly from Frinton, and his advisor Stuart Gulleford, who lives in Brentwood, have been told that “no criminal conduct” has been found after the constabulary were called in by John West, the party's parliamentary candidate for Suffolk Central and Ipswich North.

In a letter, Essex Police say: “The investigation included obtaining a witness statement from a former colleague/employee of yours, which made it quite clear that while Mr West may have believed he had cause for concern, we the Police are satisfied that there is no criminal conduct which requires further investigation.

“As such, the case is closed as `no crime.'”

Mr Titford, an MEP since 1999 who will be 75 when the next Euro elections are held in June 2009, is not seeking re-election. Polling for Europe is conducted on the regional party list system of proportional representation, which means candidates in the higher positions on the list have more chance of being elected.

Top of UKIP's East regional list will be David Campbell Banner, great nephew of a former Liberal prime minister, and Mr Gulleford will be in fourth place. Seven MEPs will be elected for the East region, which covers the counties of Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

Mr Titford and Mr Gulleford, in a statement issued from UKIP's Eastern Counties office in Chelmsford, said: “It is a relief to put the matter behind us. It is one thing knowing that you have done absolutely nothing wrong but quite another waiting for the police to come to the same conclusion.”

Mr Titford added: “The real casualty in all this is my colleague and friend Stuart Gulleford, who has worked extremely hard for me during the past eight years. He was on the final list of candidates put to the members for voting and this non-existent scandal damaged his prospects.”

Mr West told the EADT that he was not the originator of the complaint, but passed on the concerns of a third party about alleged financial irregularities.“I have no regrets because my duty as a citizen was to report the matter. I shall carry on in my capacity as a parliamentary candidate,” said Mr West.

Spink is top dog in Westminster

Spink is top dog in Westminster as reported by the BBC below:

UKIP MP Bob Spink has won the Westminster dog of the year contest with his two greyhounds, Fozzy Bear and Jessie. Mr Spink, who defected to UKIP from the Conservatives earlier this year, beat off competition from 11 other entries.

A dog breeder, Mr Spink took on the retired greyhounds last Christmas and said he hoped his good experience would encourage more people to do the same.
"I am delighted we scored a victory for greyhounds as a breed," he said.The contest, run by canine welfare organisation the Kennel Club, is open to MPs, peers and political journalists.One of the aims of the event - now in its 17th year - is to promote responsible dog ownership and create an awareness of canine welfare issues.

Both six-year old Fozzy Bear and five-year old Jessie were successful during their racing career. Mr Spink, who has bred bearded collies in the past, says being able to give the dogs a home afterwards had "transformed" his life.

"They make wonderful pets and are very easy to care for," he said. "They are charming and gentle and don't need much exercise. They are altogether lovely dogs."
Roger Gale and Andrew Rosindell, both Conservatives, filled the runner-up spots.

A sleeping giant who waits to stir

Todays Midhurst and Petworth newspaper describes us as the sleeping giant we are.

Depending on which part of West Sussex you drive through you will see banners and posters proudly supporting the UK Independence Party (UKIP).
But is UKIP a realistic voting option, or just a 21st-century version of Dad's Army, hoping to beat back a foreign invasion using pitchforks and rolled up copies of the Daily Telegraph?

I spent an hour with the UKIP leader Nigel Farage and a chap called Paul Nuttall, the party's newly-appointed chairman. As well as being the party's leader, Farage is also a member of the European parliament for south-east England.

UKIP admits under the current electoral system in the country ('first past the post') it has a long way to go to becoming a serious choice in a general election. However, locally and in Europe it hopes to gain further support for its aims.

Desperate to move on from its image as a 'one-issue' party, where its principal aim is the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (EU), UKIP have fleshed out a domestic agenda that would be music to many ears. Policies include freezing immigration for five years, a grammar school in every town, locally-run clean hospitals with a return of the matron, more investment in our armed forces and fair prices and competition to end the plight of our suffering farmers.

Such pledges are admirable but expensive. Farage is quick to point out UK membership of the EU costs us a staggering £40m a day – once out of the EU this money would then be used to fund priorities closer to home.
Having a preconceived notion of UKIP I actually found them refreshingly different from other political parties. They seem to have a firm grip on what really matters to the people in this country.

While Brown and Cameron rip chunks out of each other and people struggle to identify Nick Clegg, here is a party highlighting issues that matter to a lot of us.

I am not a betting man but I'm willing to take a punt that as more folk become disenfranchised with the so-called mainstream political parties, UKIP will pick up serious support.

With the European elections less than nine months away the sleeping giant that is UKIP is starting to stir.

And it's a giant that I would rather have on my side than be up against.

Another Day, Another Defection

A Scottish Tory has seen the writing on the wall and joined the growing list of Tory defections to UKIP.

Mike Scott-Hayward, who the Scotsman describe as "controversial", used to be the leader of the Tory group at Fife council but resigned earlier this year. I'm not sure why he's "controversial" but that seems to be the standard label for any politician that defects to UKIP.

Right, who's next? Boris? Please let it be Boris!

No EU flag during Czech presidency, says Klaus

Prague Castle, the residence of Czech presidents,will not fly a European Union flag during the Czech Republic's EU presidency in the first half of next year, Presidential Office spokesman Radim Ochvat told CTK Monday.

He said the Presidential Office had no plan to hoist the EU flag.The EU flag is permanently hoisted over the Government Office, Czech Vice-Prime minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra said.

Klaus is known as a critic of EU policy and he is often called Euro-sceptic for his views.He refused to fly the EU flag in 2004 when the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union.Klaus as said that he saw no reason for this step because "the Czech Republic is not an EU province."

The Czech flag which is hoisted over Prague Castle is dominant and it was improper for any flag to be placed over the Czech national flag, Klaus said.Ochvat said Monday there was no NATO or UN flag over Prague Castle either although the country is a member of these organisations.

Well done Klaus this can only annoy the commission further and adds to the announcement from Austrian leader Alfred Gusenbauer who last week said he would call a referendum in Austria if Lisbon is tweaked for a second Irish vote.

Bloggers 4 UKIP on Facebook

Bloggers 4 UKIP now has a Facebook group.

If you like what you're reading here and want to show your support then why not join the group?

And while you're at it, you can join the Official UKIP group too!

Iceland now wants to join the EU!

The Bank of England is loaning £100m to the UK arm of Landsbanki so that it can repay its UK customers.

Landisbanki was nationalised by the Icelandic government last week and its UK arm closed down leaving customers here unable to access their money.

The Icelandic foreign minister has responded to the economic problems there - national debt at 500% of GDP and their top 3 banks nationalised - by saying that their long term goal is now to join the EU and the Euro and get bailed out by the European Central Bank. No, that’s not a joke. He said:

In the short term, out defence is co-operation with the International Monetary Fund and in the long term EU membership, adoption of the euro and backup from the European Central Bank.

So what he is, in fact, saying is that the English taxpayer will be bailing out one of their now state-owned banks and then bailing out the entire country if it joins the EU and becomes a net recipient of EU funding. Not what I would call a good deal for the English taxpayer and if they do go down the route of joining the EU, not a good deal for Icelanders. Their economy is up shit creek now but if they join the EU their paddles will be confiscated and given to a French farmer to use as kindling to set fire to his fields. The Icelandic economy was, until recently, reliant on fishing, banking and services. Banking is a no-brainer from now on, services are looking a bit dubious but fishing will at least let them feed themselves. But not with an EU fishing quota though - they’ll end up throwing more back in the sea than they take home and that’s assuming the Spanish don’t get the quotas first like they did in our waters.

I wonder if the Icelanders have an equivalent phrase for “out of the frying pan and into the fire”.

UKIP Public meeting in Chorley 2 Night

UKIP is to hold a public meeting in Chorley tonight.The meeting will take place at The Swan With Two Necks pub, Hollingshead Street PR7 1EP in the town centre, on Wednesday, October 15th, to enable local people to meet UKIP members. North West chairman Phil Griffiths will be chairing the meeting, which starts at 7.15pm,& will outline the party’s plans both locally and nationally.

Well known publican Nick Hogan, whose wife is licensee at the premises, will also be addressing the meeting about the effects of the smoking ban on the pub trade.

“This outrageous ban has had a devastating effect on the licensed trade with about 30 pubs closing a week.

"I have taken a stand which landed me in court but I am determined to pursue this matter and plan to go to the Court of Appeal.

“Publicans should have the right to decide if their pub is a smoking or non-smoking premises or have designated smoking rooms with efficient ventilation systems,” said Mr Hogan.

“I am a great believer in the freedom to choose,” he added.

UKIP’s North West candidate for next year’s Euro elections, Paul Nuttalll, who is also party chairman, will also be speaking at the meeting.

Those present will have the opportunity to ask questions and afterwards meet members of the North West team to discuss any outstanding issues.

For further information contact the party's North West Regional Organiser, Fred McGlade on 01524 387690

Where did it go?

Did you settle down on the sofa last night for a cosy night in front of the TV? Were you nicely settled down with the cat on your lap and mug of steaming Horlicks ready to watch the ITV referendum programme? Were you totally surprised when the programme announcement seemed to be cut short and something else came on instead? Well, you were not alone.

Word has it, although this is just word of mouth stuff allegedly from someone involved in this programme, when the vote on EU membership was taken, 53% voted to leave the EU and only 37% voted to remain entrapped by it. If this is really true then is it no wonder the programme very conveniently vanished, probably never to be seen again.

It would seem that have ITV have taken a lot of calls about the axing of this programme and for more info you can see a couple of postings about it at the following link here There was also a prior posting here

lets turn their lines red hot!

For now it seem's your'll just have to watch the launch of the campaigning on ITV's
Anglia News

The Conservative party conference speech that the Tory hierarchy don't want you to hear!!

Nigel Farage's speech to the 500 Tory activists present at the Bruges Group fringe event last month.Farage makes a £50 bet with a member of the Bruges Group on whether David Cameron will ever withdraw the Conservatives from the EPP-ED Group at Brussels.

UKIP DEVIZES - PUBLIC MEETING REPORT

A report of Sundays Public meeting by Alan Wood.

UKIP held a excellent meeting in Marlborough Town Hall yesterday (Sunday) afternoon with Nigel Farage, Neil Hamilton (former Conservative MP and Junior Minister) and Alan Wood, the PPC & Chairman for Devizes Constituency, as speakers, Malcolm Wood the SW Regional Organiser chaired.The audience comprised of UKIP members from local branches in Wiltshire. There were a number of people from other parties plus schoolboys from Marlborough College, and people of no party at all who had come to listen. The BNP 'spy' could not resist giving away her presence by jumping out of her seat to challenge Frances Howard (PPC Salisbury) who said that BNP steal our policies. Supportive Ex Lib-Dems also made their presence known. Pior to the meeting UKIP volunteers delivered over 4,000 packs of Trevor Colman/Rod Trelease leaflets in Marlborough a fortnight berfore the meeting, which included a colour laser-printed A4 leaflet for the meeting.Drinks for the speakers and audience were kindly donated by Robert Francis, teas for the audience kindly prepared and washed-up by Marilyn Day, Dottie Halfon and others. The audience was 120+ people and the collection raised £363.45, which will be passed on to the campaign fund. We hope that those people who received information packs will respond in the usual way to Lexdrum House to receive more information on UKIP. A small meeting in Durrington last month also resulted in new members with other useful responses.A number of Conservative members expressed their concern about the EU in the Q&A session. Clearly, David Cameron's position on Europe is of concern to them as he is just as shaky as his predecessors on the EU, whilst that of Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg is a charade of broken promises on the Lisbon Treaty. So we now have loads of ammunition to impart to voters on the failure of other party leaders to keep promises.

Alan Wood spoke first on Council Tax and VAT. As VAT is a minimum of 15% and impacts unfairly on the poorer people in the community he expressed the view that it should be abolished. As a former Civil Servant he was aware of the cost of the bureaucracy in Britain, and that it was now unaffordable.From his experience as a local councillor he also outlined the financial impact of the EU on Council Tax and his view that this was another unfair tax which bore down on the poor rather than the rich.Finally he reminded members of the need to volunteer to be candidates in the County Council elections of 2009 which will fall on European Election day.

Neil Hamilton spoke of his past opposition to the EEC and his insider knowledge as a minister working with the Council of Ministers and the European Commission. His most telling remark was " I spent all my active political life in the Conservative Party. Conservative Party policy on Europe is no more than a calculated fraud because the last election slogan of the Conservative Party was " Yes, we want to be in Europe but not run by Europe." I can tell you that particular dish is not on the menu in that restuarant in Brussels".

Nigel Farage gave his usual barnstorming speech on Freedom, Democracy and Independence and as usual answered many of the questions put by the audience personally. It is a feature of our meetings that the audience may put questions. Malcolm Wood mentioned the EU derogation on small garages being able to have access to data on vehicle components and test data from manufacturers. It is believed that this will fall in 2010. The information will be checked and if correct used in bulletins by UKIP to the public.

Reminder Luton EU Referendum programme Tonight

ITV's Tonight programme, hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald, is releasing the results of the EU referendum in Luton tonight. Three thousand local residents of Luton (although Luton has a total population of 202,500) had the chance to vote either 'Yes' or 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty, and to whether we should stay in or come out of the EU.

Democracy Movement led the 'No' side and the Labour MP for Luton North, Kelvin Hopkins, together with Thomas Rupp and Gayle Kinkead from the European Referendum Campaign also supported the 'NO' campaign.

'Pop svengali' music producer and Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman had also supported a 'No' vote, as did Bob Crow - RMT union leader and chair of Trade Unionists Against the EU Constitution.

The programme will be broadcast on ITV1 at 8pm tonight monday the 13th of October.

The results should be interesting If the YES group win it, they will never shut up about it,ever.If the NO group win, by a narrow margin,it will be called as just being a little bit of fun,and then quietly forgotten about,for ever.

We will see.

According to the Democracy Movement website, this programme has been put back to 20th October 2008.
http://www.democracymovement.org.uk/ Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.
__________________

Campaigning in Leamington Spa

The first (of many to come) UKIP West Midlands Action Day's kicked of today. The day saw thousands of leaflets delivered provided by Alan Brown ,the leaflets were distributed in areas where UKIP has not campaigned before in the hope of attracting new members and getting UKIP active in those areas. A report of the day by Derek Bennett can be found below.

LEAFLETING DAY IN LEAMINGTON SPA
By Derek Bennett.

As he squeezed into the back of my car on the morning of Saturday 11th October,We picked him up from Birmingham New Street station , Wayne Harling looked done in before we had even set off for our UKIP leafleting day in Leamington Spa. It seems he had overdone the workout in the gym the night before.

With all five of us cosily tucked in my old Rover, we set off to a warm and sunny Leamington to meet up with the rest of the other UKIP campaigners for a day of leafleting which is now to become a regular monthly event.

On that day there were twelve of us from far and wide around the different counties of the West Midlands. Our UKIP Regional Committee Chairman, Nikki Sinclaire and UKIP blogger Josh were from Solihull, Wayne had travelled down from Keele, NEC member Jill Seymour with other helpers from Telford and Wrekin, Glenys and Ray Knight, Peter Hughes and Melvin Ward from Birmingham, Steve Fowler from Tamworth and Tim Melville, Tony Lenton and myself from Walsall. We all met up on the outskirts of Leamington Spa and after a bit of pawing over maps we split up onto three groups of four and hit the delightful streets of that fair town - or in reality the letter boxes as we were out to deliver as many UKIP leaflets as possible on that sunny day.

These monthly leafleting days were the idea of Alan Bown who provides UKIP with masses of leaflets, all over the country in the different regions UKIP activist's were distributing leaflets to promote the party.

It doesn’t take long as you are pounding up and down drives before you start to meet people and have a chat. I have been involved in campaigning since 1997 and the attitudes and reactions of people you meet vary quite a bit as you tell them who you are. Some don’t really want to chat, whilst the reactions of others is very encouraging. In 1997 when I used to go out few had much idea about the EU, whereas now, the majority know about UKIP and you seldom meet people who like the idea of EU membership.

After about two and a half hours of foot slogging it was off to the pub where we all met up for a bit of lunch and refreshment, then back out for another hour or two to finish off. At the end of the day a lot of UKIP leaflets were distributed around the town and twelve weary campaigners wound their way back to their homes. In a months time we will all be out again to target another town to spread the word that UKIP means business.
Ends'

The next Action day will be held in Stafford next month if your interested in getting involved please contact Derek at [email protected]

Nice song, shame the eurofederalists have ruined it

When the British government and assorted eurofederalists lied about the Lisbon Treaty being different to the EU Constitution, research was done and it was discovered to be 96% identical.

In fact, other than a different title and payload, the differences between the two were largely limited to the removal of references to the EU ring of stars and Ode to Joy as the flag and anthem of the European Federation.

I'm sure it won't surprise you, though, to learn that the pretendy parliament has passed a pretendy law making the ring of stars and Ode to Joy the pretendy flag and pretendy anthem of their pretendy country. Which means that if the Lisbon Treaty does get passed into law then everything in the EU Constitution will be brought into force, plus the extra bits they've slotted in to make up for the "compromise" of taking their pretendy flag and pretendy anthem out of the Lisbon Treaty.

But it doesn't stop at adopting the ring of stars and Ode to Joy as symbols of their pretendy country. They also plan to make celebrating Europe Day, their pretendy national day, compulsary in all member states, forcing all public buildings to fly their pretendy flag.

UKIP MEP, Jeffrey Titford, said "The European Union has done so much damage to our country both democratically and economically that to ask us to celebrate its existence once a year, is really rubbing our noses in it. We don't even officially celebrate St George's day here in England!"

The Lib Dems supported the move of course, they're die-hard eurofederalist traitors. Strangely, for a party that is so worried about losing eurosceptic votes to UKIP, some Tory MEP's supported the move. We shouldn't complain really, every time the Tories show their true colours (blue with yellow stars) they drive more and more voters to UKIP.

Trevor Colman UKIP's new MEP

The resignation of Graham Booth earlier this month has taken immediate effect and his place as a South West region UKIP MEP has been filled by Trevor Colman of Bishopsteignton, Newton Abbot.His departure from the Euro-political scene has been marked with a presentation at the party HQ in Newton Abbot, and at the Torbay branch, which held a surprise buffet for Mr Booth and wife Pam.Branch vice-chairman Ian Walsh said: "He has represented the South West as a UKIP MEP for six years doing sterling work."He was presented with two astronomy books by the branch, as the subject has been a long time hobby of his.Mrs Booth was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Julie Harrison, the Bay UKIP hopeful.

Trevor Colman a superb replacement served for 33 years as a police officer, mainly in CID.He is to be the number one candidate for UKIP in the South West in the 2009 European elections due to be held next June.
He said: " I shall be representing all those people in the South West who are fed up with the EU and want Britain to govern itself once again. I shall make sure their views are heard loud and clear both in Brussles and in this region."
UKIP's other South West MEP, Roger Knapman, who stays in his post until next June said: " I am delighted Trevor is taking on this role. He will bring new ideas, new energy and new leadership. He is a man of utter integrity and of solid principle. I shall give him all the support I can and we will work as a dedicated team."


We thank Graham for all his hard work over the years and good luck to Trevor Colman!

Another Successful Meeting In Aberdeen

UkipAberdeen members met again last evening, in what was another positive meeting with new and inovative ideas discussed which will help the branch progress and more importantly, ideas that will get UKIP policies out to the people that matter the most, the public.

Our prospective European Parliment candidates in Scotland will be pleased to know that we will be contacting local groups and organisations to arrange dates for them as guest speakers. This will also allow the public to ask questions relating to UKIP and the European union.

Hopefully when the public hear UKIP’s common sense, none PC policies they will like what they hear so much that they will join up as members.

In short it’s all hands on deck to help out and support the Glenrothes By-election which is on the 6th of November. UKIP is lucky to have Dr Kris Seunarine standing as candidate, the public could not ask for someone better to represent them in Parliament. That’s if they want honesty, openness, and a real willingness to serve the electorate.

After the Glenrothes by-election it will then be all hands on the deck for the European elections. If any group or organisation would like too have a UKIP candidate along as a guest speaker, please get in touch, we will get back to you.

UKIP Aberdeen is growing, and we will continue to grow, as more and more people become aware of what we stand for, and our policies. People have had enough of Britain being destroyed by unelected bureaucrats in Brussells.

UKIP Aberdeen

West Midlands UKIP Newspaper

Following the launch of 'UKIP Dorset news' this week.

Derek Bennett, UKIP's regional organiser for the West Midlands, has sent out the following:

Dear UKIP activist,
Currently the UKIP West Midlands Chairman, Nikki Sinclaire, is putting together a tabloid sized UKIP newspaper for distribution in the West Midlands by the branches. Articles and letters are needed and an input from the UKIP members, Councillors and branches in the West Midlands are needed. Please get involved as we want to promote the activities of UKIP and what it is doing for the people in the area.
Nikki's comment: I have set up the following email address for contributions to our regional newspaper.

[email protected]
Please keep these contributions to the point no more than 300 words.We also need letters, cartoons etc,Due to limited space we cannot publish everything submitted.

regards
Nikki Sinclaire
Regional Chairman.

Bob tells Barron to butt out

UKIP MP, Bob Spink, has spoken out against an attempt by a Labour MP to ban parents from smacking their children.

Bob labelled it as "political correctness overriding common sense". I'd go a bit further than that and say that it's another needless intrusion into family life by the British government - a group of people that are largely devoid of morals and often lack even a basic understanding of the difference between right and wrong.

Children already have legal protection from physical abuse - there is a difference between smacking a child and assaulting a child. People campaigning for a ban on smacking children often use the word "hitting" when talking about smacking children because it evokes images of the children in NSPCC adverts who cower in their rooms when they hear their violent father's voice. It's nothing short of propaganda and they should be ashamed of themselves.

When I was a child my parents smacked me when I misbehaved. Their parents did the same to them. My parents never used slippers, belts or a cane like their parents and grandparents did for reasons that should be pretty damn obvious - you don't need a weapon to discipline a child. If my children misbehave and talking to them doesn't work they also get smacked. They don't get smacked hard and they don't get smacked often but if my wife or I think that the only way to stop the bad behaviour is a smack then they'll get one. We are, after all, the best judges of our childrens' behaviour and the most appropriate way to deal with them.

The law doesn't need to change except, perhaps, to provide for more serious punishments for people who physically abuse children. It's been a long time since my eldest (10 years old) has had a smack because I think he's too old for it to make a difference. He's mature enough to punish in other ways that will be far more effective - take his mobile phone off him, ban him from the computer, etc. I know this because I'm his parent, I live with him and I know how best to deal with him. The British government doesn't know my son, how do they know what's best for him?

Joint elections are aimed at damaging UKIP

The British government is pressing ahead with plans to hold local and European elections on the same day.

Gordon Brown says that it's to save money and increase voter turnout at European elections byt that's only a half truth.

Yes, increasing voter turnout is one objective. European elections are an exercise in apathy for most voters in the UK - some petitions on the Downing Street website get more signatures than the average turnout for a European election. Getting more people to vote in them will give the British government some useful propaganda - how can the likes of UKIP argue that nobody is interested in the EU other than when we can get out if so many people make the effort to vote in European elections?

Of course, holding one election will also save money - there's no denying that. Instead of paying people twice to work the polling stations, the counts and stuff envelopes full of fraudulent postal votes they can pay them once.

But the main reason is to deprive UKIP of support. At the last European elections, UKIP gave the eurofederalist British establishment the fright of its life by taking a hefty slice of the MEP pie. Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems all stand on a eurofederalist ticket, to varying extents and they know that UKIP is the only eurosceptic party that can give them a run for their money. The defecion of two Lords and an MP from the Conservatives to UKIP in protest at David Camorons love affair with the EU worried the Conservatives more than they let on - there is support for UKIP from the ground up in the Conservative Party but the almost certain knowledge that they will form the next government is too tempting for most of them to vote with their feet.

By holding local elections and European elections on the same day, the big three know that they will gain many more MEP votes than they would have done witha seperate European election. People voting Labour or Conservative or Lib Dem for their local council are far more unlikely to put a cross in the UKIP box for the MEP list. Some will instinctively vote for the same party for both because they're voting for their chosen party, not the one that represents their views on the EU. But most will vote for the same party because they will be worried that they're going to put their cross in the wrong box and inadvertently vote for the wrong party in the wrong election. You can rest assured that the ballot papers will make it as complicated and ambiguous as is legally allowed to ensure that UKIP are deprived of as many votes as possible and Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems will all three be complicit in this because they have nothing to lose.

Joint local and European elections will harm UKIP but, most importantly, they will harm our country, our economy and our jobs because cheating the country out of a eurosceptic voice in Europe will only strengthen the stranglehold the EU has over us.

UKIP fund raising website

Right, a holiday, travel and hotel accomodation website has been set up to raise funds for UKIP, delegates to the recent conference in Bournemouth were given details and further details are about to be announced in the imminent issue of the Independence magazine.

Basically if you, relatives or friends are travelling anywhere and require flights, train travel, package holidays, insurance, hotel rooms we have linked up with most of the major travel and accomodation firms in the country and by clicking on the banner adverts in the relevent sections on the site you will be taken straight through to the normal sites operated by these firms.
By making your booking by going through our links to the sites you would have used anyway, the firms involved will know by tracking that the booking has come via our UKIP site and will pay us a % commission of your total spend which will be distributed to branches and YI.

So to summarise, if you are going anywhere or booking a holiday please check out our site and if what you want is on our pages you will raise money for UKIP at no extra cost to yourself simply by using the same sites that you would have used anyway.

Please spread the word and use the site yourselves where possible.
The site address is :-
www.holidayclubuk.com



PARTY CHAIRMAN TO SKYDIVE IN AID OF YOUNG INDEPENDENCE
UKIP's new Chairman, Paul Nuttall, is taking part in a sponsored skydive in aid of Young Independence in March 2009.Eastern Counties Regional Organiser,PeterReeve,will also be skydiving, along with other members of Young Independence including Question
Time celebrity Michael Heaver.All proceeds will be donated to Young Independence.
If you would like to sponsor this event please forward cheques payable to UKIP to 145New London Road, Chelmsford,Essex CM2 0QT or telephone 0800 587 6587 for credit card donations.


Dr Bob Spink UKIP MP 4 CASTLE POINT PRESENTING HIS PETITION TO THE COMMONS ON MONDAY

Bob Spink contines to fight for Britains interest in the commons on monday this time Bob was presenting his petition on postoffice clourses.

Watch the video here


Chorley smoke ban rebel to address UKIP meeting


The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is to hold a public meeting in Chorley next week.

The meeting will take place at The Swan With Two Necks pub, Hollingshead Street in the town centre, on Wednesday, October 15, to enable local people to meet UKIP members.

North West chairman Phil Griffiths will be chairing the meeting, which starts at 7.15pm, and will outline the party’s plans both locally and nationally.

Well known publican Nick Hogan, whose wife is licensee at the premises, will also be addressing the meeting about the effects of the smoking ban on the pub trade.

“This outrageous ban has had a devastating effect on the licensed trade with about 30 pubs closing a week.

"I have taken a stand which landed me in court but I am determined to pursue this matter and plan to go to the Court of Appeal.

“Publicans should have the right to decide if their pub is a smoking or non-smoking premises or have designated smoking rooms with efficient ventilation systems,” said Mr Hogan.

“I am a great believer in the freedom to choose,” he added.

UKIP’s North West candidate for next year’s Euro elections, Paul Nuttalll, who is also party chairman, will also be speaking at the meeting.

Those present will have the opportunity to ask questions and afterwards meet members of the North West team to discuss any outstanding issues.

For further information contact the party's North West Regional Organiser, Fred McGlade on 01524 387690

UKIP DORSET NEWS It's here!

It's here! The very first issue of Dorset UKIP News as promised earlier this month .Thousands will now be delivered across Dorset on a bi-monthly bias.



This issue inculdes:
• Stop the spin! - and cut your fuel bills
• Taking care of business - Rollo Reid on why he
joined UKIP
• Mike Hobson - The taxpayer’s friend
• Graham Booth steps down
• Tuckton Post Office - MP powerless to stop
closure
• Your Say - Residents angry over velodrome
• Calm-Word - Relax with a word puzzle.
UKIP Dorset news

If anyone can help deliver the paper in Dorset please contact [email protected]


ALSO ANOTHER UPCOMING UKIP EVENT-

The South Essex branch is holding a Trafalgar Day Dinner on Sunday 19th October at ‘The Estuary Club’, 1386 London Road, Leigh-on- Sea, Essex, SS9 2UJ, 12.30pm for 1.00pm sit down. Three course lunch plus coffee and mints. Special diets catered for. Dress smart informal or naval. £20 per person. Please ring Toni Thornes on 01702471842 for a booking form.

Germany shuns EU for unilateral action on economy

Our beloved leader, President McBrown, threw carbon footprint to the wind and jetted off to Europe at the weekend to decide on a common EU response to the economic problems but when push came to shove, national interest came first for our federalist colleagues over the water.

The Republic of Ireland announced it was guaranteeing ever last penny cent of savers' deposits and the EU started flapping.  Then Greece followed suit and announced that it, too, would guarantee all of savers' money.

How very un-European of them not to adopt the common EU policy of doing bugger all.

Then it got interesting because the German Chancellor, Reichsführer Merkel, announced that Germany would also guarantee all deposits.  Quiet panic spread round EU governments - the EU's Minister for Propaganda has done something without telling them what they should do!

Now Austria and Denmark have guaranteed savings and the European Bundesbank Central Bank has said that it will give the European banking sector whatever liquidity it needs for as long as it needs.

None of this has helped though - stock markets around the world are taking massive hits.  The FTSE has dropped well below the 5,000 mark for the first time in years and the UK economy is in recession.  Major banks have failed and governments are still throwing billions of pounds at them in the vain hope that things will get better.  They won't, not for a year or two.

If the current economic troubles have shown us anything, it is just how weak the EU is.  The federalists claim that we are stronger together, united in our aims, yada yada yada.  But when it comes down to a straight choice between national interests and EUish interests, the whole thing falls apart.  Eurosceptics should draw small comfort from the duff economy - money is going to be tight, some people are going to lose their homes and jobs; but the EU has been exposed for the sham that it is and our economic recovery will be a damn sight quicker without interference from our masters in Brussels.

By-election

With the resignation of Tory Councillor Sevey Mastronardi, Councillor for the East Wittering Ward there will be a by-election to be held on Thursday 23rd October. The count will be held in the East Wittering Village Hall at the close of the Polling Stations.

Candidates : Con, BNP, Lib Dem, UKIP (James McCulloch), Lab

Result 2007: Con 575 574, Ind 517, Lib Dem 491 381, Lab 122

The UKIP will be represented by James McCulloch If you happen to be in or around Chichester why not think of giving Steve a helping hand?

Get in contact -James McCulloch 01243-773752 or [email protected]

Other upcoming UKIP by-elections include

09/10/08
West Lindsey, Middle Rasen
Candidates : Con, UKIP
Result 2007 : Lib Dem 534, Con 425, UKIP 111

Kent County Council, Herne Bay
Candidates : Lab, Lib Dem, Con, UKIP (Brian MacDowall), BNP
Result 2005 : Con 5189 5189, Lib Dem 4530 3928, Lab 3207 2879, UKIP 938

23/10/08
Spelthorne Borough Council, Ashford East ward
Candidates : Lib Dem, Lab, UKIP (Christopher Browne), Con
Result 2007 : Con 1203 1201 1001 , Green 456, Lib Dem 313 270 269, Lab 292

The most interesting election is Middle Rasen where it's a straight fight between UKIP and the Conservatives after the Lib Dems failed to get their nomination papers in on time. It's not often an opportunity like this comes along so hopefully a very good result for UKIP.

THE EURO REALIST OCTOBER 2008 EDITION

The fantastic Euro Realist October's edition is out now, and is a must read for all eurosceptics. Written by UKIP's very own Walsall-Wolverhampton Branch Chairman Derek Bennett.

You can Read the lastest edition here Octobers edition includes a report of pensioner Elizabeth Beckett's submission of treason to the courts, changes being made at CREC, and news of problems in Malta's shipyards due to the EU.

UKIP DORSET NORTH ANNUAL BONFIRE PARTY

SUNDAY 2nd NOVEMBER 2008 – DORSET NORTH ANNUAL BONFIRE PARTY Held at Greenacres in Longham, home of your association chairman. Loads of buffet food , wine & soft drinks included, sorry NO FIREWORKS, but a nice big bonfire to consume further EU notables! Raffle. A charge of £7.50 per person all inclusive towards our target of £1,000 for election funds: please book through John Baxter on 01202 897884 or by email [email protected], to establish numbers.Guest Speakers: Gawain Towler PPC, PMEP, UKIP press officer and Malcolm Wood Assistant to Trevor Coleman MEP.

UKIP Dorset News October Edition out now

UKIP Dorset News October Edition is out now. With some great news for those of you who wasn't at UKIP's conference this year The “UKIP Surrey News” stall sold “County Editions” to 11 other counties.

The Dorset branches will hopefully launch their-own ‘free’ newspaper in conjunction with Surrey UKIP this month. ‘UKIP Dorset News’ will be available soon in both paper and PDF versions and will be available every 2 -3 months. Dorset North has an initial order of 2,000, and hopes to increase this number as help is found to distribute the issues. UKIP Christchurch has already ordered 14,000. Other branches in Dorset have ordered the paper to. There will be an election special for April - May 2009.
If anyone can help deliver the paper in Dorset please contact [email protected]

Perhaps one day Dorset news will be as big as UKIP Surrey news which had a print run of 82,000 in July.
Onwards and upwards.October edition

ALSO IN THE NEWS

NEW NORTH WARWICKSHIRE UKIP BRANCH IN PROGRESS
UKIP's PPC candidate for North Warwickshire Steve Fowler is currently helping start the new branch.This is great news and shows UKIP is continuing to grow as earlier this year John Tennant helped set up the UKIP Newcastle Upon Tyne Branch which was a great opportunity for UKIP to gain a foothold in Newcastle.A UKIP Perry Barr branch was also set up earlier this year.

On the 20th October there will be a meeting on starting the new North Warwickshire Branch,the venue is the Greenman Public House, 68 High street, Coleshill ,Birmingham,West Midlands ,B46 3AH.

If you are a UKIP or member or not and live in West Midlands or near to where the meeting is taking place please feel free to come along.

You can keep upto date with Steve Fowler's progress at,

Steve Fowler's UKIP Blog

EU Referendum 2008



Finally the people of the United Kingdom will actually have their say on the EU , Well the people of Luton north London will (at least it’s a start) as ITV's Tonight programme, hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald, is staging an EU referendum in Luton. Three thousand local residents (although Luton has a total population of 202,500) will have the chance to vote 'Yes' or 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty, and whether to stay in or come out of the EU.

The Democracy Movement is leading the 'No' side and supporting DM activists on the campaign trail so far have been the Labour MP for Luton North, Kelvin Hopkins, together with Thomas Rupp and Gayle Kinkead from the European Referendum Campaign.

'Pop svengali' music producer and Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman has also pledged his support for a 'No' vote, as has Bob Crow - RMT union leader and chair of Trade Unionists Against the EU Constitution.

The programme will be broadcast on ITV1 at 8pm, Monday 13 October so set your recorders now you know how annoying it can be when you miss something.

That sinking feeling

The lifeboats have long been one of Britain's favourite charities and that may be just as well because now the government's communications regulator wants to place an even greater burden on the thousands of volunteers who work and collect money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Ofcom is preparing to charge lifeboats for using the radios that are essential to their heroic life-saving activities. It could cost them at least £100,000 a year.

Other people such as taxi firms and broadcasters have to pay for using the airwaves, says Ofcom, so it is only fair that lifeboats should be charged for this 'valuable resource'. And they would get a discount.

That's a queer idea of fairness. How many cab firms are charities? How many lives does your local radio station save? Are radio licences a more valuable resource than our incomparable lifeboat service?

Next they'll be expecting the brave lifeboatmen to introduce a scale of fees for their rescues so they can afford to use their radios. Otherwise they could always go back to using semaphore.

Academics attack EU meddling

The following can be found on the UKIP website:

Academics attack EU meddling

UKIP MEP John Whittaker has backed a protest by academics against a "flawed" EU attempt to create league tables of academic journals.

The editors of 45 journals have published a joint editorial condemning an EU-sponsored proposal to rank their journals according to perceived quality.

"It is very unusual for leading academics to make such a public show of disapproval," said Dr Whittaker, "but when they see that academic freedom is threatened it is heartening that they are prepared to make such a stand."

The joint editorial, headed "Journals under threat: A joint response from history of science, technology and medicine editors", denounces the European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) as being "entirely defective in conception and execution".

Dr Whittaker, Euro MP for the North West of England and a lecturer at Lancaster University, said: "The danger is that by setting up league tables, credibility and funding will naturally gravitate towards the so-called first division titles. Of course in the field of academic endeavour it is often the smaller publications that publish the most valuable research."

The editorial criticises the ERIH as depending on "a fundamental misunderstanding of conduct and publication of research in our field, and in the humanities in general. Journals' quality cannot be separated from their contents and their review processes. Great research may be published anywhere and in any language.

"Truly ground-breaking work may be more likely to appear from marginal, dissident or unexpected sources, rather than from a well-established and entrenched mainstream."

Dr Whittaker commented: "Anybody interested in the growth of human knowledge must support them in their campaign."

Quite often sensible and mainstream ideas come from unexpected places and not what is generally considered a sensible or mainstream source.  I remember being told about a speech the Northern Irish university lecturer in politics, Arthur Aughey, gave to a Campaign for an English Parliament conference.  He asked attendees which political party first came up with the idea of legalising commercial radio, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 and allowing pubs to open 24 hours a day.  There was universal astonishment to learn that they were first proposed by the Monster Raving Loony Party.

Sensible ideas often come from unexpected places and as John Whittaker rightly says, those academic publications that could be considered to be on the fringe will find a poor ranking makes their viability very difficult.  Of course, the less academic publications there are the easier they will be to control ...

UKIP a Hit at Aylsham show

THE NORWICH Branch is to be congratulated for taking a stall at the Aylsham Show. With an average attendance of 15,000 visitors, it is considered to be the largest of its type in East Anglia.The stand was very professional in appearance and attracted a lot of interest.Special thanks go to Stuart Agnew for sponsoring the stall and to the many Norfolk members who gave up their time to take part in talking to the public and handing out literature. The day was a great success and our stall looked far more professional than the Conservative one (no other parties attended the event).We were very successful in spreading our message,we gained a number of new members and thousands of leaflets and DVDs were distributed.

UKIP choses candidate to fight for Chester seat

BUSINESSMAN Allan Weddell has been announced as UKIP's parliamentary candidate for Chester.
His selection was welcomed by party leader, Nigel Farage, who was at the city's Blossoms Hotel to meet him and other local activists on Tuesday.

"I'm delighted Allan is our candidate in the next General Election and I believe he would make an excellent MP," said Mr Farage, who was in the North West to spearhead the party's Euro-election campaign.

"The next elections will be the Euro elections on June 4 next year and it is important to highlight just how important these are to the British public.

"More than 75 per cent of our rules are handed down from Brussels and our membership of the EU costs very man, woman and child in this country £900 a year."

Mr Weddell, who is married with two grown-up children, is a company director from Queen's Park, Chester.

A former Conservative, he stood in the last two General Elections in Chester and the last two European Elections for UKIP.