UKIP: Futurus, more from Nikki and Hate the EU, Love the Gravy Train

Best of luck to Nikki Sinclaire, Trevor Colman, Gary Cartwright and the Futurus team. A real way forward for the euro-realist movement!

From Gary's blog:

Futurus

It was nice to meet up with some old friends as well as some current colleagues at a recent meeting in London to discuss the relaunch of FUTURUS, the think tank.

One of the many criticisms that has come out of the recent civil war in UKIP is the lack of academic integrity and a reliance on outdated arguments. FUTURUS will not be a UKIP project as such, that would not help our case at all, it will be non-party political, but with strong eurosceptic leanings.

There are certain policy areas in which eurosceptics are provided with rows of open goals. Sadly these are all too often missed, amongst the shadow chasing and in-fighting that dominates our slice of political space. FUTURUS is not the only such project emerging at present, and I think we can look forward to a long-awaited refreshment and rejuvination of our platform.

I was delighted to receive a copy of the new book ”Too ‘nice’ to be Tories?: How the modernisers have damaged the Conservative party” by Anthony Scholefield and Gerald Frost. The author's analysis of the flawed reasoning behind the modernisation of the Conservative party is extremely interesting and their arguments convincing. I strongly recommend it.

To see the original: LINK

And while UKIP continues to implode.........

Nikki Sinclaire Battling for Britain. Her campaign for a referendum on membership of the EU continues to gain support!



From Nikki's blog:

I have always emphasised the cross-party nature of my Campaign for a Referendum on our continued membership of the EU. And so I was delighted recently to have the opportunity to meet two of the most respected eurosceptics in the House of Commons, Kate Hoey and Austin Mitchell, both Labour MPs. After a nice lunch with Kate, I joined Austin for tea, and we had a very productive talk. I look forward to working with both of them in the near future. I was also pleased to be introduced by Kate to Phillip Hollobone, Conservative MP for Kettering. He is a supporter of the Better Off Out Campaign, and I was very pleased when he added his name to the list of signatories on my own petition for a referendum.

To read the original: LINK

The Gravy Train

How rather unfortunate for Farage that Lega Nord now holds the balance of power in the EFD group. Poor Nigel. The demands are already being made!

From New Europe


Hate the EU, Love the gravy train

David Campbell-Bannerman, UK Independence Party MEP has quit the party and rejoined the Conservatives, saying, " I have been pleased with the robust stance taken by David Cameron and Conservative MEPs over the EU budget negotiations and I believe that it is Conservative MEPs who are working hard to defend Britain's interests."

But was that the only reason?

Campbell-Bannerman has been unhappy for a long time and that he has been negotiating a new seat for himself in the next European elections, and it is this that has complicated the defection. It is suggested that the Conservative MEP, Giles Chichester is going to let him have his place as Chichester intends to stand down at the end of the current parliament.

It is beginning to look like the Eurosceptic member is adapting the earnest plea of St Augustine, “Save me from Europe.... but not just yet.”

In 2010, Campbell-Bannerman wrote a trenchant criticism of David Cameron and the Conservatives in the UK Guardian newspaper, accusing them of hypocrisy, "Over the years observers in Brussels have learned first hand how the Conservatives talk Eurosceptic at home but behave quite differently when they arrive in the Belgian capital to carry out their parliamentary work." He added, "It's overwhelmingly clear now that trusting Cameron with Europe will be as misguided as trusting Blair on Iraq."

There is one tiny little matter... Lega Nord are now the largest party in the EFD Group. Will they now exert their influence on the Group, and how would UKIP’s image in the UK be affected by the antics of Mario Borghezio, who spent defection day promoting a book on how white people are the victims of racial harassment?

To read the original: LINK

And congratulations from the Junius Team to Greg Lance-Watkins on his marriage to Lee Rowlands, his long-term girlfriend. The happy event took place today in Chepstow. Have a great honeymoon!