> A STATEMENT re: JUNIUS

This statement regarding Junius is approved by Team Junius

JUNIUS On UKIP

This article is an abstract from:

LINK

With Regard To JUNIUS

From my conversations with Team Junius:
I gather their aims were largely similar to mine, as was their aim to inform and provide an archive of facts in support of UKIP becoming fit for purpose, to lead to Leave-The-EU, which clearly it currently is not, as it tends to represent its own personal ambitions rather than British self determination, values and ethics.

At the moment Junius team have largely stopped addressing UKIP’s problems, in the belief that it is unlikely that UKIP will have any consequential influence on domestic politics after their failure in the local elections of 2013 when out of over 1,700 seats in which they stood candidates a mere 147 were elected and already they are falling by the wayside and or resigning due in part to lack of vetting, lack of professionalism and in some cases over racism, inappropriate behaviour and convictions for theft etc.

UKIP’s achievements are so clearly the product of a single individual that Junius has stood back from their role exposing UKIP’s ineptitude and dishonesty as unfit for purpose as to continue putting their own jobs at risk is no longer of sufficient consequence in the light of UKIP’s failure to obtain MPs, Police Crime Commissioners, Mayors or any other role of any gravitas or significance in domestic politics in 20 years.

Team Junius, I am told, will possibly re-enter the position of political commentary if the situation alters and UKIP becomes of greater relevance in UK domestic policy rather than self serving also rans!

Although I have heard from members of Team Junius they and others have passed on the UKIP lies that it is claimed that actions and threats of prosecution by UKIP forced Junius to cease posting.

I can assure readers that the UKIP spin is a pack of lies particularly as they have absolutely no idea who the members of Team Junius are nor are UKIP able to identify a single solitary member of the team. It is therefore abundantly clear that no member of the team has in any way been threatened with prosecution, nor contacted by anyone threatening to prosecute nor has any member EVER been cautioned by any lawyer or the police with regard to their publication of facts and views they publish about UKIP and its clique or claque or even members or policy.

May I also add that the ONLY three threats I have EVER received were founded first on the inept misunderstanding of the law by Michael Zucherman when I used the title ‘catterpillars & butterflies thereby bringing into derision the subsequent utilisation of the imagery used by UKIP subsequently.

The second instance was based on lies presented by Mark Croucher, Clive Page & Paul Nuttall for UKIP, in an attempt to bankrupt me to shut down the flow of facts about UKIP which I present. They lost their case in Court and to date have failed to act honourably and pay the some £13,000 they owe me.

The third instance was based on a pack of lies presented by Gerard Batten regarding which the police were misguidedly duped into interviewing me under caution for some 3 hours. The police decision was there was absolutely no case to answer and that I had not acted in any breech of the law and Gerard Batten was shown to have lied to try to build a case.

Let us be certain – I can unequivocally state that any claim by UKIP that they have intimidated those who publish under the name Junius into giving up is untrue and like so many other stories that emanate from UKIP and its placemen is just a pack of lies.

I understand that there is a possibility that even though Team Junius are no longer posting there MAY on occasions be guest postings, hosted on the blog.

This posting was made with the approval of Team Junius

By. LINK

UKIP: Neil Hamilton and Farage's offer of an MEP seat

The Hamiltons: A joke in British politics

We have published - along with GLW - details about how Farage offered Neil Hamilton the lead MEP position in the South West. We were mocked by the Farage sycophants for publishing 'lies'. So is the Independent now telling lies too?

It was interesting to note that Hamilton - the disgraced ex-Tory MP- has always declined to deny the wish to stand as a UKIP MEP when asked by concerned UKIPPERS. We can confirm that many UKIP branch chairmen in the SW are VERY unhappy at the prospect of Hamilton becoming a UKIP MEP. Indeed, complaints have been made to UKIP HQ and Farage faces a potential backlash over this this issue.

We would have thought that the fiasco over Bannerman and Andreasen - who saw the selection process rigged by Farage in order to ensure they became candidates - would have made him realise that his judgement was flawed to say the least. However, Farage is too arrogant to admit personal mistakes and is determined to see Hamilton as an MEP in the South West.

Would any serious party really want the joke that is Hamilton representing them in Brussels? The man has more baggage than an Easy Jet! But what Farage wants, Farage gets. And to hell with the consequences!

Here's a few facts about Hamilton:

Cash for Questions

On 20 October 1994, The Guardian published an article which claimed that Hamilton and another minister, Tim Smith, had received money, in the form of cash in brown envelopes. It claimed the money was paid to the men by Mohamed Al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods. In return, the men were to ask questions on behalf of Al-Fayed in the House of Commons. Smith admitted his guilt and resigned immediately. Hamilton claimed innocence but was forced to resign five days later, on 25 October 1994.

The "cash for questions" parliamentary enquiry took place in 1997, led by Downey. Hamilton vowed that if the "Downey report" found against him, he would resign.

Edwina Currie, a former health minister, gave evidence. She told the inquiry that in May 1988, Hamilton had been unmoved by a set of photographs that depicted smoking related cancers; that is, harm to young people which might be caused by a product (tobacco) that he promoted.^[19] Hamilton argued the pictures were irrelevant. Both Hamilton and Michael Brown had received a £6,000 honorarium and hospitality from Skoal Bandits.^[20] In late 1989, Thatcher banned the sale of Skoal Bandit products in the UK.

Downey reported that he found the evidence against Hamilton in the case of Al-Fayed "compelling". Hamilton received over £25,000 and had deliberately misled Michael Heseltine, then President of the Board of Trade, in October 1994, when he said he had no financial relationship with Ian Greer. In a phone conversation, Hamilton gave an absolute assurance to Heseltine that there was no such relationship. In fact, he had received two payments from Greer in 1988 and 1989, totalling £10,000.^[21] Hamilton had asked for payment in kind so the money would not be taxable. He also failed to register his stays at the Hôtel Ritz Paris and at Al-Fayed's castle in Scotland in 1989.

On 3 July 1997, the enquiry found Hamilton guilty of taking "cash for questions". Hamilton, Smith (also found guilty), Brown and Michael Grylls were harshly criticised. If Hamilton and Smith had remained in parliament, Downey said he might have recommended long periods of suspension for both. Hamilton rejected these findings, whereas Smith, who had stood down, accepted them, apologised for his conduct, and retired from politics altogether.

From Wiki

Still happy for this joker to become a UKIP MEP?

From the Independent:

The controversial former Tory MP Neil Hamilton is being lined up to head Ukip’s list of candidates for the June 2014 European elections, party sources have claimed.

Mr Hamilton, who reinvented himself as a television personality after he lost his seat following the “cash-for-questions” affair, was elected onto the party’s national executive committee two years ago. Party members hope his wife can be convinced to run alongside him.

Showing that the debacle of Robert Kilroy-Silk’s nine-month membership has not put Nigel Farage’s party off celebrity candidates, the pair could be joined on the list by DJs Jon Gaunt and Mike Read.

But The Independent has seen internal emails from grassroots members complaining about being “totally ignored” over selection choices.

To read the original: LINK

Also see: LINK

Another potential UKIP MEP waiting in the wings? - Questions that Patrick O'Flynn and Nigel Farage must answer

Heading for Brussels as a member of Nigel's EUKIP Gravy Train?

Patrick O'Flynn - chief political correspondent for the Express - has been the subject of some interesting discussions recently. His coverage of Farage has been laudatory to say the least. Indeed, he appears to be falling over himself to present Nigel in the most glowing terms - LINK - He even spoke at the UKIP conference!

Sources close to Farage have told us that O'Flynn has been offered a lead MEP position by Farage in exchange for a pro-Farage/UKIP line. We can confirm that Farage has met O'Flynn. The MEP lists have also been discussed.

Would Mr O'Flynn care to comment on this? And would Nigel like to confirm or deny the offer of a MEP seat to O'Flynn? And is O'Flynn's boss at the Express aware of these allegations and the fact that O'Flynn's supposed impartiality has been seriously brought into question?

This is not the first time Farage has been accused of offering an MEP seat to a journalist. Here is an interesting article by Michael Crick of Channel 4. The video that accompanies the original article is also most interesting. Farage's discomfort can clearly be seen. Nigel is not a very good liar! You will need to click on the link at the end of Crick's article to view it.

From Channel 4 News:

In my Channel 4 News report from South Shields last night I was unable to include a series of exchanges I had with Nigel Farage about the controversial former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan, who has frequently in public defended the use of phone hacking.

Mr McMullan had planned to stand as a Ukip candidate in tomorrow’s election in Kent, but then, three weeks ago, the party’s national executive committee barred him from standing. McMullan is now standing as an independent tomorrow, under the slogan “Save Village Pubs” (he’s a pub landlord himself).

I first noticed Paul McMullan’s connection with Ukip when I spotted him at the party’s spring conference in Exeter on 23 March, and I even mentioned his presence in my report from Exeter on C4 News that night. McMullan claimed not only to have joined Ukip, but also that he had been appointed press officer of the party’s local branch in Dover and Deal.

Mr McMullan told me yesterday that while he was in Exeter that weekend, Nigel Farage actually encouraged him to put his name forward as a Ukip candidate, not for the council elections, but for the European elections next year, and the Westminster general election in 2015. McMullan recalls Farage saying: “Marvellous. Go and get the forms filled in,” and encouraging him to join the recruitment process for Ukip candidates.

Yesterday afternoon in South Shields, I put to Nigel Farage Paul McMullan’s claim that the Ukip leader had actually urged him to stand for election. It was an example, I suggested, that the party didn’t know what it was doing. Farage vehemently said he didn’t remember any such conversation. “I don’t recall saying anything to Mr McMullan about him being a candidate.”

Paul McMullan says that he had two personal connections with Farage. He says the Ukip leader was a friend of his older brother in Kent, and also his former father-in-law, whose funeral Farage attended. “I like Nigel Farage very much,” says McMullan. He was the sole reason I joined Ukip, and why I wanted to stand. I joined Ukip because of him. I’m not sure I’ve said anything bad about Ukip, and I still think they make a lot of sense.”

McMullan was subsequently picked as a Ukip candidate for the council elections tomorrow, but then the Ukip high command heard about it, intervened and quickly axed him. “There was a feeling that his candidacy for Ukip would be a distratction as he’d be the story rather than the party,” the Ukip executive chairman Steve Crowther says. Ukip feared their 55 other candidates in Kent would be “overshadowed by Mr McMullan’s personality”. Paul McMullan has described the decision as being “stabbed in the back with a rusty blade”.

If Nigel Farage did encourage McMullan to become a Ukip candidate, it was a highly questionable judgement by the Ukip leader. McMullan has frequently appeared in the media in the last few years defending the use of phone-hacking, both at the News of the World, and elsewhere. “I see nothing wrong with it at all,” he says. “I’d happily hack your phone if I’d got something that suggesting you were doing something against the public interest, like being in the pay of one of the political parties.”

It’s all very curious. One man’s word against another. Nigel Farage against Paul McMullan. Not an easy choice.

To read the original: LINK

Also see: LINK

UKIP's fascist ally in the EDF group makes racist remarks about black minister

Mario Borghezio

And so Farage's friend and colleague in the EDF group - of which Farage is president - has launched a vitriolic attack on Italy's first black minister.

On Italian Radio 24, he said:

• "This is a bonga bonga government.”
• “Kyenge wants to impose her tribal traditions from the Congo."
• "You can't say the word '******' in Italy, only think it"
• "She seems like a great housekeeper, but not a government minister."
• “(Mario Balotelli is) not a minister. He kicks a ball and that's fine if someone from Congo or Africa wants to do that.”
• "Africans are different. They belong to an ethnicity much different from ours. They haven't produced great genes."

And what did Farage have to say? Nothing!

It's no different when Borghezio praised mass murderer Breivik. Farage did nothing! See: LINK

Sorry Nigel, but the days of the media ignoring your racist bedfellows is over. The media spotlight is now firmly upon you. You're going to have to explain why you are still prepared to sit with this man and others like him. And the same goes for all those other UKIP MEPs in the group!

Many good men and women now represent UKIP as councillors. Chris Pain is one such example - a man of integrity and patriotism. Farage's willingness to sit with fascists like Mario Borghezio can and will damage their reputations in the UK. We can't allow this to happen!

It's time for UKIPPERS to demand answers from Farage. Just why are you still willing to sit with a man who praises mass murder and refers to blacks as n*ggers! Is getting more money as part of a group - plus the ego boosting title of president - more important than the reputation of the party and your members?

From the Gazzetta del Sud:

A member of the European Parliament from the xenophobic Northern League party on Tuesday made racist comments about Italy's first black minister, Cecile Kyenge. "This is a bonga bonga government, they want to change birthright citizenship laws and Kyenge wants to impose her tribal traditions from the Congo," said Mario Borghezio in an interview with Italian Radio 24. A 48-year-old doctor who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kyenge was sworn in Sunday as integration minister in the left-right coalition government of Premier Enrico Letta. When asked if he considered Kyenge an Italian, Borghezio said, "The country is what it is, and the laws are made of crap". "You can't say the word 'nigger' in Italy, only think it," Borghezio added. "Pretty soon you won't even be able to say illegal immigrant - you'll have to say 'your excellence'. "She seems like a great housekeeper, but not a government minister". When asked about Mario Balotelli, Italy's star soccer player with African roots, Borghezio said, "he's not a minister. He kicks a ball and that's fine if someone from Congo or Africa wants to do that. "Africans are different. They belong to an ethnicity much different from ours. They haven't produced great genes. Enough consulting these Mickey Mouse encyclopedias. "Kyenge is a doctor. We gave her position in a state-run facility that should have gone to an Italian".

To read the original: LINK

Dr Richard North on the 'Rise' of UKIP

UK politics: no further forward

---

I expected a certain amount of hostility when I raised the issue of turnout at the Campaign for Independent Britain meeting yesterday. But when I pointed out that the vote was shrinking, suggesting that this contradicted claims of a popular movement "on the march", I got a general murmur of agreement.

To judge by some reaction though, while Farage is to lauded for his "plain speaking" and "straight talking", that same freedom should be denied to anyone wishing to look beyond the media hype.

Even Autonomous Mind is enjoined to get behind "the only team in town" and to "stop the continual sniping at UKIP". The anointed one's party, it seems, must be exempted from the normal process of critical analysis, as we bow down and hail the stupendous victory of The Great Leader.

Actually, though, Booker is right. He sees in the "surge" for the Farage Pothole Party not any great support for the party itself, but a reaction to the behaviour of the political classes – a Europe-wide reaction which is reflected in the growth of dissident parties in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Greece and elsewhere.

In some senses, it perpetuates the continued degradation of the voting system, which is supposed – in theory – to pick the best individual candidate to represent the voters in their areas. In some cases we have seen elected "paper" candidates with no political experience, representing a party which has no track record in local government.

In other words, the vote was not so much for UKIP as against the political classes, something which was picked up by Martin Hill, the Conservative leader of Lincolnshire county council. He acknowledges that UKIP has successfully "plugged in" to this issue of EU migrants. Unease about this social change has been worsened by a feeling that Westminster is not listening to voters or speaking their language, particularly in rural areas, he suggests.

"People feel there is a political elite a bit divorced from ordinary people", Hill adds. "On the doorstep, it wasn’t the policies, it was about the feeling of the disconnect".

This distinction is incredibly important when it comes to trying to understand the nature of the processes we are witnessing, which are otherwise swamping by the media chatter which is no more accurate nor perceptive than it ever has been.

Crucially, we see in the response to Farage, renewed calls for a referendum, and even the idea of a "mandate referendum". This some Conservatives MPs want as early as next May, in which the public will be asked whether they want the government to negotiate a "new relationship with the EU based on trade and political co-operation".

Slated as a "UKIP killer", if this gathers a head of steam, it is very dangerous for the eurosceptic movement as a whole.

To reject the very idea of such a referendum invites the claim that people are not interested in "Europe", to refuse a mandate is to suggest that we are happy with the way things are, and to vote "yes" gives the prime minister a spurious authority for something he can't do anyway.

On the other hand, the very last thing we want is an "in-out" referendum - which we would be certain to lose, setting back the movement for a generation. If Mr Cameron had any sense, he would offer just that, calling Farage's bluff and lancing the boil.

And it is here that the criticism of Farage is strongest - and rightly so. Ten years ago, many of us were arguing with the man that UKIP needed to develop a credible exit plan.

Ten wasted years later, the party still does not have a credible exit plan. Furthermore, last Thurday's "success" brings us no closer to getting one. Nor indeed does the party have a strategic plan to secure our withdrawal from the EU – other than perhaps getting the anointed one to Number 10 where he can wave a magic wand and lead us to the sunlit uplands.

Yet, to point out that a possible (and likely) outcome of Farage's long-term dereliction is to lead us blindly into a referendum contest that we cannot possibly win is seen by is growing band of acolytes as heresy and even worse.

But, without a plan, without a strategy, we lose. Farage's disparate bunch of amateurs are up against real professionals. Confronted with the might of the media, the political establishment, the wealth of corporate business and the power of the EU, our chances of winning a referendum always were slight. For all the energy and funds expended on the Farage folly, all we might have achieved is one step closer to annihilation.

In my next post, therefore, I will sketch out the bones of a plan, offering ideas of how we can actually go about getting ourselves out of the EU, ideas which I set out to the CIB yesterday.

Photograph courtesy of David Wilkinson, with thanks

 

To read the original: LINK

 

And:

 

I will be in London today talking to the Campaign for an Independent Britain, on the general subject of "the way forward" for euroscepticism.

It will come as no surprise to readers of this blog that my list of things we must have in order successfully to secure an exit from the EU does not include the Farage Party, which is more and more looking like a cul-de-sac. And in a subliminal message which affirms that, we see the front page of the Daily Mail (left) where any news of the "great victory" is remarkably absent.

Unfashionable it may be to say in certain quarters, but to attract the support of 6-8 percent of the electorate in council elections (and 9.4 percent in a by-election) is not evidence of a wildly successful popular campaign. And this is less so when, with each passing election, the pool of engaged voters steadily diminishes, as evidenced by the declining turnouts.

As we have remarked before, the obsession with share of the vote, where turnout is in free fall, has the hallmarks of two bald men fighting over a comb – although it is more like a gang of people squabbling over its possession.


It is perhaps appropriate, therefore, that the newspaper that makes the greatest front-page display of the Farage Party success is the loss-making Guardian. This left-wing newspaper is only too well aware that the only way of resuscitating the flagging Labour campaign is to big-up UKIP in the hope of damaging the Conservative Party.

Therein lies an uncomfortable truth. However, much it may protest otherwise, at its current level of support, when it has absorbed the transferable votes from the BNP, arising from the collapse of another one-man-band, by far the greater bulk of UKIP's support comes from disaffected Conservatives.

Come the general election, which is the only election which matters to the political claque, the Left will certainly be egging on the "party of protest" in the expectation that it will continue to do disproportionate damage to the Right.

And, confronted with the challenge, Mr Cameron's Conservatives will do whatever it takes to neutralise the threat. For, if Farage has succeeded in anything, he has certainly got the attention of the political classes.

The ironic thing is that the most immediate outcome of grabbing the Guardian front page is one of two possibilities – either the election of the Labour Party to office in the 2015 general election (with or without the Lib-Dems), or resurgent Conservatives who will most likely offer as the bribe to restore their fortunes an EU referendum that we cannot possibly win.

I would find this latter even doubly ironic – for UKIP to force upon the nation a referendum for which it is wholly unprepared, where it would be completely outflanked, then to saddle us with a lost vote which will set the eurosceptic movement back a generation.

But then, whatever else, Farage has never included amongst his attributes anything approaching tactical acumen or strategic planning. Right now, though, his dogged pursuit of a twenty-year-old game plan might now look on the threshold of a breakthrough. But the truth is that it has no better chance of success now than when he first scribbled it on the back of a beer-soaked bar mat, at the end of a boozy planning session.

Perhaps that "plan" emanated from the Grand Old Duke of York pub, because Farage is marching his troops to the top of the hill. Too soon, he will be marching them down again, back into the intellectual cul-de-sac from which his "cunning plan" originated.

And that is what I will be telling the CIB today, plus a few more home truths. Those views won't necessarily be welcome, but I suspect there may be a few there capable of straight thinking and I won't have to make a quick dash for the exit. We shall see.

To read the original: LINK

 

UKIP: Nigel's Ultra Secret Election Victory Video

We are happy to present a short film intended for release when Nigel Farage becomes PM. It's Nigel's personal vision of what the UK will become under our new wise leader and all round good egg - the genius that is NIGEL FARAGE, GOD BLESS HIM!

It's production was ordered by UKIP High Command - in association with Peter 'Up the Duff' Reeve Enterprises - in the immediate aftermath of the May 2nd elections.

We expect it to be broadcast to a bewildered nation in 2015 or thereabouts.

 

Congratulations to Nigel Farage for sending shockwaves across Westminster

We will be the first to admit it - UKIP did much better than we expected. They gained 147 councillors, came second in South Shields, shook the political elite in Westminster and brought the EU and immigration firmly into the political spotlight.

However, we must remember that two thirds of the electorate didn't vote and UKIP failed to gain control of a single council. Also, there were approx 2000 seats up for grabs. Gaining 147 seats certainly can't be compared to election landslides under Thatcher or even Blair. The real winner was apathy.

We must concede that many people were attracted to UKIP due to those reports concerning far-right candidates in the party. For example, many ex-BNP supporters decided to vote UKIP because they shared the views expressed by the candidates highlighted in those stories.

All the three major parties have been given a bloody nose by UKIP and an electorate who rightly feel betrayed and ignored by the so-called Westminster elite. Cameron didn't lose as many seats as expected but he now faces increasing pressure to move his party to the right and neutralise UKIP. Labour failed to make the gains they expected and the Lib Dems did very badly - and deservedly so!

Members of the Junius Team have already spoken to senior Tories and we can confirm that they are extremely worried about UKIP. We have been made aware of a report which states that UKIP can be expected to take a  number of seats from them in the Euro elections.

One senior Tory has said to us that Cameron needs to be booted out by the end of the year. He wishes to see an alliance between Farage's UKIP and a revitalised Conservative party under Boris Johnson. And there are many others who share his views at the top of the Tory tree.

Or will a new Tory leader simply ignore UKIP and move the party to the right in order to win back their former supporters? Maggie Thatcher neutralised the NF by doing just that in 1979.

Let us be quite clear on one thing - Farage is corrupt, vindictive and we have no admiration for the man. He's a man motivated by ego and greed. However, we must give him credit for shaking Westminster to it's core.

There are many good people in UKIP and we share their commitment to getting the UK out of the EU. We also wish to see an end to uncontrolled immigration. And that's why it's a tragedy that UKIP is lead by the dishonest and the corrupt.

It's time for UKIPPERS to ensure that talent is encouraged in the party. However, the party is so centralised under Farage that this will never happen. UKIP's undoubted success today will further strengthen Farage's control and thus ensure that his sycophants will remain firmly in place.

Nigel Farage is UKIP and UKIP is Nigel Farage. This will cause serious problems for the party in the future. Any scandal involving Farage could seriously damage UKIP - perhaps fatally.

We can confirm that a documentary exposing Farage is now near completion. The success of May 2nd will ensure that it will now be broadcast. And you can expect other revelations regarding Farage from certain sources - including from his former colleagues.

The spotlight is now firmly on UKIP. The leadership of the party was frankly surprised by the hostile press campaign waged against them  - they haven't seen nothing yet!

But nevertheless, congratulations to Nigel Farage - and those ordinary activists - for making the Westminster 'elite' realise that they ignore the British people at their peril.

See: LINK

A final election round-up!

Women, money, being the centre of attention and booze - Nigel's only real interests. Politics is just a game to him - a means to an end.

And so the nation is off to the polls! UKIP has taken a beating after many of their candidates were exposed as having less than whiter than white backgrounds!

UKIP's leadership has a track record of happily smearing their opponants and former supporters. And yet when it happens to them, what do they do? Cry like a baby and hurl their toys at the Tories complaining that they are being nasty. In other words, the typical actions of a playground bully. Pathetic!

However, we conceed that the 'storm' over Farage's reference to 'coloured' people was scraping the bottom of the barrel. 'Coloured' was never intended as an insulting way to describe blacks or asians. It's the politically correct who have made it so.

We expect UKIP to do better than previous local elections. However, the claims that they will win hundreds of seats is hardly likely. We would be surprised if the gains make double figures. They are far more likely to split the Tory vote and let in more Labour and Lib Dems!

Here is a final round-up for election day!

Farage defends candidate who gave Nazi salute.

Nigel claims he was imitating a pot plant! Yeah, right! Just who are you trying to kid? Do you think we are as stupid as your latest bit on the side? We'd be more likely to believe you if the candidate in question didn't keep changing his story every five minutes!

 

From The Telegraph:
 

Alex Wood, a Ukip candidate in Thursday’s local elections, was suspended from the party after the photo appeared in a newspaper.
 

Mr Wood has denied that the gesture he was making at the time was a Nazi salute.
 

In a blog for the Huffington Post website, Mr Farage said that Mr Wood “has been very unfairly treated”.
 

“I must confess, I nearly had kittens when I first saw this,” Mr Farage said. “I've looked carefully into this and spoken to Alex, and I believe him when he says that he was angrily trying to take a camera off his girlfriend who was annoyingly taking pictures of him in the pub imitating a pot plant.
 

“These things happen - I should know! The fact that this is supported by the people who were with him that night suggests that he has been very unfairly treated.”

Mr Wood yesterday admitted that he was the man depicted in the photo but denied the gesture he was making was a Nazi salute.

“These are pictures that have been taken from a private Facebook account,” he said. “These are not what they seem to be. The supposed salute was my left hand reaching for a friend's mobile phone.”

Elsewhere in his blog Mr Farage said he was “pleased” that Sushil Patel, the father of Conservative MP Priti Patel, was standing as a candidate for his party.

Mr Patel’s candidature was disclosed by Mr Farage during a rally in David Miliband’s former South Shields constituency, ahead of a by-election there on Thursday.

In an interview with The Telegraph shortly afterwards, Mr Patel insisted Ukip was not a party which tolerated racism, despite criticism of some of its candidates’ comments in recent days.

He said: “Ukip is not a racist party – it is daylight coming through the darkness hours of this country … Ukip is not racist — they are trying to make progress."

Mr Patel, who emigrated from east Africa, added that many communities had settled in Britain and if the country “was genuinely racist it would be chaos by now”.

Mr Patel said he was standing for elderly people who live locally and who “don’t make a noise publicly, but given the chance on a ballot paper they will speak out”.

He said that he had not told his daughter about his plans: “She doesn’t know anything about it – I don’t see why she should know. She is an independent person, on her own course. I had no reason really [to tell her] – I am an independent person myself.

“I am very proud of what she has achieved — she was a local Conservative here in Hertfordshire. It is up to her to accept it because I know she is a Eurosceptic.”

However, shortly after the interview, Mr Patel said he was standing down from the election. While his photograph was being taken by a Telegraph cameraman outside his home in Hertfordshire, Mr Patel was called inside to take a phone call and emerged 10 minutes later, saying that he was “withdrawing his candidacy” from the elections and pointing to his back.

The announcement appeared to catch Ukip unawares. Ninety minutes later, the party issued a statement which stressed that Mr Patel was still a candidate, adding that he was “currently convalescing from a recent serious operation and is unable to conduct any further interviews”.

Mr Patel said in Ukip’s statement: “I am proud of being a Ukip candidate and very proud of the achievements of my daughter who represents the people of Witham in an exemplary fashion.

“My views are my own and I am astonished that there has been quite so much interest in my candidacy.”

Later Miss Patel denied that she had pressured her father to stand down as a Ukip candidate. She told The Telegraph: “I have spoken to my Dad and I told him it was up to him what he does.

“My Dad was in hospital for major surgery on his back, which is why I am so shocked because I thought he was at home recovering.

“No matter what, whatever the outcome of this, he is still my Dad and I still love him. Nothing will change that, not even Ukip.”

To read the original: LINK

UKIP candidate in Hitler picture storm. UKIP forced to apologise!

UKIP's just lost the Jewish vote! We understand that Hitler's surviving relatives are to complain to UKIP as they feel that Hitler's reputation will be tarnished further if he's seen associating with UKIP.

From the Guardian:

Ukip has stumbled into a fresh row about Nazism after a candidate posted a doctored image of himself on Twitter standing next to Adolf Hitler.

The party apologised for the Photoshopped image and said that Dick Delingpole, a candidate in Worcester who is the brother of the writer and climate change sceptic James, had a "very deep sense of humour".

Delingpole, a businessman who re-enacts scenes from history in his spare time, decided to doctor the image to mock the way in which the Tories have been trawling social media sites to find embarrassing pictures of Ukip candidates. He placed a shot of his head on to the bodies of three men in Nazi uniforms standing next to Hitler.

Writing for the Daily Telegraph under a copy of the doctored image, Delingpole said: "It's no secret that I'm currently standing as a Ukip candidate for the forthcoming council elections. What was a secret until now is my Nazi past.

"As the photo above proves beyond doubt, I was present at one of Hitler's rallies. I was also clearly part of an early cloning [experiment]. And in case you hadn't yet worked it out, this is all utter nonsense. But it has been seized upon by my Tory opponent in Thursday's local election."

Delingpole was alerted to the Tory interest in the doctored photograph when a reporter from the Worcester News telephoned him. He maintains he has done nothing wrong.

"When the first 'Ukip is a hotbed of closet Nazis' thing started to happen – ie the major parties ordered all hands to the pumps to neutralise the Ukip threat – it was suggested that candidates purge their social media of anything that might prove embarrassing. Being a Delingpole I did the opposite. I am adamant that I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of, nothing that I wouldn't happily share with the world."

Ukip apologised but said Delingpole would not be expelled from the party. Carl Humphries, the party's branch organiser for Worcester and Mid-Worcestershire, told the Worcester News: "I can assure you he is definitely not a Nazi or anything like that – he's got a very deep sense of humour. He has been vetted by me; all our candidates are clean in every respect, but I am sorry if this offended people."

Simon Geraghty, who is standing for the Conservative party in the same Riverside ward as Delingpole, told the Worcester News: "I find it absolutely sickening and abhorrent. I think the vast majority of British people will find this shocking – it's not funny at all, it's dreadful and I can't believe he's done it."

The row follows the suspension of a Ukip candidate in Somerset after photos were published of him apparently making a Nazi salute. Alex Wood, 22, claimed that he was simply reaching out for a friend's mobile phone during a Halloween party where he was dressed as a pirate.

To read the original: LINK

Are worried about becoming Gay? Then do some exercise to cure yourself suggests UKIP candidate!

From the Telegraph:

John Sullivan, the party's candidate for the Newent division of Gloucestershire county council, has been accused of making anti-gay comments on Facebook.

He is alleged to have referred to the Victoian belief that physical exercise "released tension and thus avoided homosexuality".

Mr Sullivan is also said to have congratulated Russia when it banned gay pride events in the country, writing "Well done the Russians".

Ukip is against gay marriage but does not oppose gay civil partnerships.

James Carver, Ukip agent for the Forest of Dean and West Gloucestershire, said Mr Sullivan would still stand for election on Thursday but added a full investigation would take place soon.

"Ukip take any allegations of this nature extremely seriously," said Mr Carver. "We are currently looking into this matter, and the medium from which the allegations arose, Gay Star News."

The allegations against Mr Sullivan, which first appeared in the Gay Star News, come after a string of other Ukip candidates were accused of making racist and homophobic comments on Facebook and Twitter.

The claims led to Nigel Farage, the leader of Ukip, to accuse the Conservatives of a smear campaign, claiming the Tories had wasted time and money trawling through thousands of comments made on social media websites by Ukip candidates.

He added that the allegations only applied to a handful of the party's 1,700 candidates.

Ukip has been surging in polls ahead of local elections on May 2, with the latest survey suggesting it could win 100 seats.

The other candidates for the Newent division are Philip Burford (Ind), Andrew Fidgeon (LD), David Humphreys (Green), Janet Royall (Labout), and Will Windsor-Clive (Con).

To read the original: LINK

UKIP accused of electoral fraud

From Sky:

Northumbria Police confirmed officers are investigating allegations of electoral fraud by UKIP in the Cowpen area of Blyth.

But UKIP claims the party wasn't informed about the allegations and the first time they heard about the police investigation was when it was announced in the press.

UKIP Party Director Cllr Lisa Duffy said: "So far all we know of the allegation is what we have read in the press. At no time have the police contacted us and our calls to them have gone unanswered.

"It is hard for us to rebut these damaging allegations while the police will not say what they consist of."

The news of the alleged fraud comes just days before Northumberland County Council elections, which are to be held on May 2.

UKIP candidate Barry Elliott, who is standing for election in Cowpen, told Sky Tyne and Wear no allegations have been made against him personally, and that he has "nothing to worry about".

Cllr Duffy added: "Through the media we have discovered the allegations concerned one of our supporters who helped an elderly neighbour with her postal vote form and offered to post it for her.

"We understand a complaint was made by a member of another party who arrived at the lady's house an hour later.

"As things stand we have received damaging press coverage while the police have made no effort to contact us, the local candidate, or the member involved."

A Northumberland County Council spokesperson said: "We are aware that an allegation has been made and that the police are investigating.

"As a local authority we have no investigatory powers although we are working closely with the police to look into this matter.

"We issue extensive guidelines to candidates and political parties nefore and during the election process and any allegations of this nature are extremely rare.

"We'd like to reassure voters in Northumberland we have well established and robust systems in place for managing local elections."

A police spokesman said: "Northumbria Police can confirm that they are investigating a complaint of possible electoral fraud in the Cowpen area of Blyth and that yesterday a 30-year-old man attended as a voluntary attender in relation to these allegations, where he was interviewed under caution.

"This remains an on-going criminal investigation and all relevant parties have been updated including the candidate affected and the returning officer of Northumberland County Council".

To read the original: LINK

And finally .......

Robin Page - blocked from standing as a UKIP MEP candidate because Bannerman had been promised the lead position in the Eastern Region - on local government

From the Mail:

Exactly one year ago, after three recounts, I was swept back into power as a local district councillor by a massive two votes. Despite an astonishingly vitriolic campaign against me, I unseated a Liberal Democrat — and life as a district councillor began again.

I say again because I had already done 36 years during an earlier stint as an Independent on South Cambridgeshire District Council. I’d resigned in 2006 as a matter of principle, fed up with the pervasive culture of political correctness and the crazy rules on ‘standards of behaviour’ for councillors introduced under Labour by John Prescott.

That’s right: John Prescott, the man who romped with his mistress on the desk of his Whitehall office, issuing edicts on standards of behaviour. What a joke!

Anyway, I stood for election again last May as an Independent because I felt someone had to speak out against the environmental vandalism the council was wreaking in the name of ‘planning and development’.

In conjunction with Cambridge City Council, South Cambs seemed determined to trash the once beautiful university city and parts of its surrounding Green Belt.

Now, as the country votes on Thursday in local elections, I feel duty-bound to offer an insight into what really goes on in our town halls.

Public service? Forget it. Councillors are more interested in feathering their own nests, wasting money on the trappings of office and imposing politically correct drivel on council taxpayers.

 Public money is not only being thrown about like confetti on non-jobs and PC projects in my council: I know that it’s happening right across the country.

 

Democracy and independence? Cobblers! I believe the sheep on my farm have more individuality and freedom of thought than most councillors, who are merely party hacks obsequiously following the diktats of their political masters in Westminster.

Once, our council meetings started with a Christian prayer. Today, oh no, we can’t have that in 21st century Britain: Christianity can’t be seen as having a part in ‘diversity’.

So NOW, the chairman begins each meeting with the fatuous sentence: ‘We’ll stand for a minute to remember the reasons why we are here and the people we serve.’

Presumably, this means that the Tories are thinking of Conservative Central Office and the Lib Dems are praying to the god of diversity for the soul of the liar Chris Huhne.

Councillors are endlessly told we must ‘embrace diversity’, even if by doing so we’re robbing needy people of help and wasting money. It’s a farce — and an undemocratic one at that.

I recently attended a diversity evening course that cost the council £1,900. It was held in the council chamber where £45,000 had just been spent on new furniture — to replace some that was barely eight years old.

Public money is not only being thrown about like confetti on non-jobs and PC projects in my council: I know that it’s happening right across the country.

Only this week, we learned that Middlesbrough council had appointed a so-called ‘thrift tsar’ to save the council money — on a salary of £95,000.

And while local authorities are chucking good money after bad and bleating about the austerity drive, it also emerged that, in total, councils have failed to collect £2.4 billion owed in council tax.

Amid all this waste, an elderly couple in my ward have been told that their twice-weekly check-up phone call from the council is to be stopped.

They are in their 80s and have health problems (diabetes and osteoporosis).

The calls were a replacement for the warden who used to visit them to make sure they were all right. But she was axed last July and now the council says it can’t afford even the two phone calls a week.

As you might expect, the couple were distressed, but a sense of pride and dignity meant they refused my request to try to highlight their case in the local newspaper.

Instead, I raised their case during that diversity course meeting — asking my fellow councillors how struggling local people such as this couple fitted into the council’s vision of ‘diversity’.

I was stunned when one of the Tories told me: ‘They represent old, entrenched views. Quite unsuitable for the 21st century.’

Perhaps I, too, am not suited to the 21st century!

For me, life as a councillor started so differently. Back in 1970, as a 26-year-old, I decided to stand so I might be able to represent my village and to help to retain the good things about rural life.

I’d spent all my life in the village of Barton in Cambridgeshire. I still live in the house next door to where I was born, on the small farm where my father worked for 60 years.

I had an idyllic childhood and the pace of life was as it had been for generations. Two carthorses stood side by side in the stable, and during summer, the dairy shorthorn cows walked to and from milking to the spiralling song of larks and yellowhammers. It was a life in which farming and nature were in harmony, and the whole village appreciated the land and the seasons of the year.

But then the roads were widened, cars started going faster, commuters moved in and cattle were no longer to be found in the fields, which were turned into prairies of wheat or used for new housing developments.

I felt I had to do something.

Once elected onto the council, I fought for local issues: to get a speed limit in the village; and to secure the  the appointment of a ‘conservation officer’ to protect the historically important areas of our locality. I backed the idea of the Green Belt to check urban encroachment. I even orchestrated a successful battle to stop the rents of 134 council houses being increased in 1973.

One of my most satisfying achievements was to get permission for an extended family of Romany gypsies to remain on a small field, in the Green Belt, which meant they were protected from living on the increasingly busy roads and from potential harassment.

Back then, it was possible to discuss contentious topics such as gypsy camps openly and honestly.
Today, that is impossible.

Recently, I raised the issue that there was a problem with Irish travellers in our district, but I was shouted down for being ‘racist’.

In the Seventies and Eighties, we were a fiercely independent council, dominated by no single political party. Of course, there were liaisons and deals, and — just as today — dubious planning decisions that suggested the brown envelope was more persuasive than the democratic vote.

But open debates were held and for the most part it was democratic. We councillors — the local butcher, the baker, the teacher, the farmer and the housewife — were all doing our bit, and we got no payment at all.

I was working as a part-time postman and money was tight, but I regarded my council duties as a public service. Back then, there was no such thing as an ‘attendance allowance’.

But council life began to change for the worse during the years of New Labour in the late Nineties.

First, there was the introduction of ‘allowances’ (as pay for councillors is euphemistically called).

Almost uniquely among my colleagues, I have never claimed my expenses entitlement.

'Scandals are happening right across the country. Decisions are being made to shut much-valued local hospitals or make cuts to policing levels'

And as for the idea of getting paid allowances, I can’t see any justification at all. Some colleagues argue that these allowances compensate them for having to take time off from their work during the day.

But when I suggested that we switched to evening meetings, there was an outcry from those worried that it would deprive them of their council income!

We’re talking sizeable money here. The chairman of South Cambridgeshire District Council, who, as a fruit farmer, I assume makes a perfectly good living, also gets more than £16,000 a year from the council. Seven other councillors rack up more than £10,000 a year, and our total bill for councillors’ allowances comes to more than £369,000.

I wonder how many old people’s warden wage packets that would pay for?

At the same time, councils have become depressingly politicised. Gradually, the party machines have edged out Independent councillors. Today, there are only seven of us left out of 57.

The Tories are in power and they vote as a block. They join the Lib Dems for ‘pre-meeting meetings’ to decide the agenda.

The result is a shamocracy in which the public rarely hears the real issues. Free speech becomes stifled. For example, I once dared to scold another councillor for risking accusations of impropriety by attending a ‘soirée’ hosted by a property developer

She reacted very badly and I found myself summoned before the Standards Board.

This quango was part of the £8 million-a-year town hall ‘thought police’ introduced by John Prescott to ‘monitor’ councillors and prevent them from championing local issues — it has fuelled thousands of petty and malicious complaints. I had to attend what was tantamount to a kangaroo court, with big-wig lawyers who argued over the meaning of the word ‘soirée’.

Eventually, after six or seven hours, they decided that the councillor had not been to a ‘soirée’, but had enjoyed tea and biscuits.
The case must have cost the council at least £5,000, and I received a mild reprimand. What a waste of time and money.

Shocked by the whole experience, I realised that local democracy had become a charade. Shortly afterwards, I resigned. I had already been upset by the decision to sell South Cambridgeshire Hall, where councillors met, to a developer — and to move the council offices to the artificially created village of Cambourne.

The place where we now meet is utterly soulless and looks like a nuclear power station.

No one can ever convince me that this was not a deliberate decision to lend legitimacy to council decisions to concrete over the Cambridgeshire countryside.

For this is what the construction of thousands of new homes in places such as Cambourne amounts to.

There was a time when local councillors would have tried to block such proposals.

'I regarded my council duties as a public service. Back then, there was no such thing as an attendance allowance'

 

But having served on the planning committee for 20 years, I witnessed the shift away from making decisions that were in the interests of local people towards a slavish toeing of the line of central government.

Or worse, the risk of councillors offering themselves for hire to property developers — trading on their inside knowledge of the planning system to receive fees of up to £20,000 for advice on how to get developments approved.

It should be remembered that as part of the Government’s drive for more homes, for every new house, local authorities receive a ‘New Homes Bonus’ of several thousand pounds as an outrageous financial inducement for councils to grant planning permission.

These are nothing less than legalised bribes.

The most outrageous scheme in my ward — though I am not saying that anything untoward has happened during the negotiations — is for a new stadium for Cambridge United Football Club, along with 420 houses, to be built on the Green Belt. If it happens — close to the poet Rupert Brooke’s famous village of Grantchester — it will be nothing less than an act of environmental vandalism.

Yet thanks to the ‘New Homes Bonus’ — or should that be ‘Bribe’? — South Cambridgeshire District Council could get a share of £3 million.

This, despite the fact that local people are overwhelmingly against the development.

Similar scandals are happening right across the country. Decisions are being made to shut much-valued local hospitals or make cuts to policing levels.
A
s a long-standing countryside campaigner, it was this wrecking of the environment that inspired me to stand again for election as a councillor.

I realised that my earlier resignation on a point of principle had achieved nothing. It had simply allowed a bad council to continue on its way with less criticism.

On my return to the council, I noticed that the bureaucracy of ‘officers’ had become ridiculously bloated. For instance, we have a ‘monitoring officer’ to dictate what we councillors can and cannot say.

No, it’s not 1984 — it’s 21st century Britain.

Councillors risk being accused of ‘bias’ and banned from proceedings. There is a monthly magazine, produced in council time by council staff.

On my return to the council, I noticed that the bureaucracy of ‘officers’ had become ridiculously bloated. For instance, we have a ‘monitoring officer’ to dictate what we councillors can and cannot say.

It’s nothing more than a propaganda sheet that peddles the myth that the council is operating wonderfully — when I know it is often inefficient and sometimes incompetent.

These bureaucrats inundate us with reams of useless information. (I think they do it to make themselves indispensable). They seem determined to bump up costs.

It’s not just my local council, either. A few weeks ago, I read that cash-strapped Durham county council had given its chairwoman, Linda Marshall, an annual clothing allowance of £8,850 a year.

After all, perks are all the rage in town halls today. When I was re-elected, almost the first thing I was asked was: ‘Of course, you’ll want a free council computer.’

I replied that I wouldn’t. I had my own computer and didn’t want to waste public funds on computers that cost £843 each, plus running costs of £129 per computer per year.

Of course, my parsimony was not shared by my fellow councillors. I learned that out of 57 colleagues, 50 have gone for the ‘free’ computers.

Though, of course, they are not free. All told, they cost council taxpayers almost £50,000 a year.

But then, what’s the odd £50,000 frittered away on computers, or £45,000 on buying unnecessary new furniture, or to pay the salary of a monitoring officer to keep councillors in line, when you can make savings in other areas, such as cutting services to the elderly

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2315521/Democracy-Dont-make-laugh-This-really-goes-Town-Hall.html#ixzz2S7aiaqcB





UKIP: Election bits and pieces

 

David Bannerman

 

David Bannerman is seeking the third MEP position in the Eastern Region.

 

We note that he brought over to the Tories material on UKIP - material that will be released by his new masters before the 2014 MEP elections. We are assured that it will destroy Farage's reputation once and for all.

 

We shall see.

 

Nigel Farage - Mr Nice

 

Farage is trying to rebrand himself as a man who has the best interests of the British people at heart - a lovable, colourful rogue who would be happy to buy you a drink and listen to your woes. The reality is very different!

 

 

Farage is a man without a shred of integrity, a man lacking in morals, a drunkard, a man who has become very rich thanks to the EU and his MEP salary, a man who pays large amounts of money into offshore bank accounts to avoid paying UK taxes, a man who cheats on his wife, a man who is happy to smear and threaten those who dare question him, a man incapable of accepting criticism, a man who controls UKIP through his sycophants, a man who offers MEP positions in exchange for their loyalty and more!

 

Farage is a disgusting creature - a stain on British politics. Nice, he's not!

 

UKIP to be exposed on TV

 

The TV documentary on corruption and racism in UKIP is coming along nicely. Material has been gathered and people interviewed. Watch this space!

 

The Fuller emails

 

Our readers will remember that we published transcripts of emails - LINK - between Fuller and certain people within UKIP. We had promised to publish the screenshots but have held them back as they may be used as part of TV report on UKIP.

 

Suffolk Tories spike UKIP's guns!

 

How we laughed when we read Mr Gulleford's comments regarding the story below. Gulleford - known as Gollum to his friends - has ambitions to became an MEP - ambitions that are far beyond his intelligence. Fortunately, Farage hates him and has already made it known that he "will never become an MEP".

 

Christopher Hudson

 

From the East Anglian Daily Times:

 

Suffolk: Tories’ EU argument infuriates poll rivals

 

TORIES in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich have called for the Government to bring forward a referendum on the future of Britain’s position in the EU to before the 2015 general election.

 

The move comes as parties step up their campaign for the 75 seats on the county council – with some Tories fearing that a strong UKIP performance could cost them votes and seats.

Constituency chairman Christopher Hudson, who is seeking re-election as county councillor for Kesgrave, said: “We Conservatives in this constituency are assuring voters in our area that we are committed to give voters a clear choice on our country’s membership of the EU.

“It is vital that we connect with the people on this central issue ASAP. This matter will not be determined by the county council but by the sovereign will of Parliament.

“Our pledge to voters in this area is genuine, serious, democratic and will indicate grass-roots reaction to this EU membership issue.”

UKIP spokesman Stuart Gulleford was not impressed by the Tories’ move. He said: “This is a blatant attempt at trying to get votes from UKIP supporters.

“We haven’t raised the EU or the referendum because it is not relevant to these elections – but we’re getting a lot of support. Sometimes it’s difficult to find people who aren’t voting UKIP.”

His party is fighting the county council elections with a specific local election manifesto – and is hoping to build on the one seat it won in the 2009 poll which was held on the same day as the European elections.

 

To read the original: LINK

 

Dr Eric Edmond

 

We note that Dr Edmond tried to rejoin UKIP after being asked by UKIPPERS to stand as a candidate in the local elections. His membership re-application was blocked due to his known criticisms of Farage and his sycophants. Democracy at work in UKIP! Criticise the Fuhrer and you're out!

 

Dr Edmond was thrown off UKIP's NEC after raising concerns about corruption in UKIP.

 

Dr Edmond has a blog: LINK

 

Dr Richard North on UKIP

 

Dr North used to share an office with Farage in Brussels.

 

From his website:

 

The Observer is running a front page story on UKIP's "chaos" over policy. One response, though, is to smile at the din of the chickens, inbound to diverse roosting points. At the same time, one despairs at the ten wasted years when some serious policy development could have been underway.

Then, one can only marvel at the irony at the Observer identifying the ghastly Bloom as the "senior MEP" complaining about the lack of policy. Farage aside, if there is one man at whose door responsibility can be laid for the policy vacuum, it is Godfrey Bloom.

On the other hand, though, this is a win-win situation for UKIP's critics. Given a policy vacuum, they can criticise the party for its lack of policy. But, had the party actually develop any policy worthy of its name, it would then be open house on attacking UKIP policy.

The fact is, of course, that no matter what UKIP did at this current juncture, it is creating such a "disturb" that its rivals would be seeking weaknesses to bring to the attention of the electorate. That is what party politics is all about.

The great shame is that, should UKIP actually succeed in gaining a number of seats, then the policy vacuum will really matter. Successful candidates will find themselves having to make policy on the hoof, with all the lack of coherence and contradictions that that implies.

From there, the likelihood is that we will see a familiar pattern. The newly emergent party will be no more able to deliver than the ones it replaces. After a short honeymoon, faction fighting will break out (as it always does). Disillusionment will sets in, the public will loss faith and move on to another potential saviour – or give up altogether.

It is never possible, nor wise, at this juncture, to predict what will happen, but one can always learn from the past and what has happened. And here, for more then ten years, I have been warning UKIP about its lack of intellectual base, and the lack of is policy development. Now, the wasted years are taking their toll.

Needless to say, Lord Ashcroft in the Mail on Sunday has a different "take", charging that the UKIP leader is in it for himself, destroying the only chance eurosceptics have of getting an "in-out" referendum.

If it was the case that Cameron's offer of a referendum was genuine, and that he was truly set to give us an "in-out" choice, instead of a rigged poll, based on some mythical renegotiations. But, since the offer lacks any credibility, Ashcroft's points simply amount to special pleading.

What the establishment politicians cannot cope with though, is that they are so tarnished by their lies, deception and indifference to public wishes, that an increasing number of voters would prefer the dubious blandishments of the Farage show, compared with anything that they have to offer.

No one with any intelligence seriously expects UKIP to deliver anything of substance. But as a commentary on the poverty of establishment politics, it is very hard to beat.

To the extent that a vote for UKIP is a vote against the establishment, it doesn't really matter what the likes of the Observer or Lord Ashcroft say. In fact, the more they squeak and squirm, the more attractive UKIP becomes – since the whole objective is to see the establishment in disarray.

But when the UKIP supporters are done, there will still be that policy vacuum, and there will still be some serious politics to do. One trusts that there will be some grown-ups left to fill the gaps that UKIP leaves.

 

To read the original: LINK

 

And click HERE to read the Mail's excellent article on UKIP and their far-right candidates.

 

Also see: LINK