UKIP Uncovered

UKIP Uncovered
What motivates the leaders of the United Kingdom Independence Party?

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

A Balancing Report on Yesterday's London Meeting

I quote, unedited and in its entirety, an e-mail received from Robert A McWhirter, another attendee at last evening's meeting, in accordance with our constant striving for both balance and truth:

Quote
Martin, I was there, two rows from the front, albeit 10 mins late. I offer the following counter-comments, as chair of London's Southwark Branch, and as EU elections candidate.

Many of us were dismayed to hear of the unexpected removal of Chris Pratt as London chair last week. I quote my ind-uk mail:

QUOTE

I have just heard that at a committee meeting last week, Chris Pratt was removed as London Chair, and replaced by Gerald Roberts. I gather that no advance warning was given, no branches were consulted, and seconded members, such as Gary Cartwright, suddenly discovered that as
seconded members they had no voting rights. [...and they complain about the way the NEC carries on...]

Whilst wishing Gerald all the best in his new role, I say this on behalf of Southwark Branch, to all voting plotters of the London Committee: Stop acting like a load of Richard IIIs and get your act
together! It's make or break time, 21 weeks to go; do we really need this now???

UNQUOTE

Whilst I accept seconded committee members have no voting rights under the London constitution, why was this not noticed before?
There were no inconsistencies on the office move. Originally, David Lott had believed that there would be "no rates". Yes, he admitted getting some figures wrong, e.g. removal costs, but there were multiple quotes obtained. The discussion on HQ went on and on, and I didn't take minutes, but IMHO David gave reasonable answers to all points.
David apologised to London region for not realising how much they had relied on having the admin office based in London.
On accessing info, it was pointed out that the new party website, due to launch next week, with daily updates, should improve matters.
Re the regional organiser sacking. Jeffrey sadly wasn't there, so we had to rely on David Lott's summary of a phone call he'd had with him, but two points became clear:
Roger and David claim to not have seen the original letter (I believe this; they must get tons of letters with ideas etc., and it's easy to lose stuff - I'm hopeless).
Much more seriously, Jeffrey found that one third of the "salary money" was being diverted to London Region costs. That's a no-no, and could have resulted in a very heavy fine for Jeffrey.
As to whether Jeffrey tried to consult adequately with London, I've no idea, but Chris was on holiday... I subscribe to the cock-up in combs theory...
It was suggested that the party treasurer was sort-of sacked because of a cock-up: they had been forgetting to re-mandate officials every year. It was proposed at the NOV(?) NEC that J-DR's mandate should be backdated to last May. That was voted down, for some reason, and people assumed, mistakenly, that the follow-on was that he had never been validly appointed. Another cock-up, gents? Get your act together!
Evasive about G L-W? Roger specifically said that he would come down like a ton of bricks on ANYONE who leaked NEC business or similar. No equivocation there, but he reserved the right to converse with Greg, in the future, if needbe - say Greg phones Roger with a valid question... Seems ok to me...
Birmingham costs in two months more that a year in London? News to me! We've much more office space, directly employ less staff, and so make savings there... I'm not to bothered about rates, but I am bothered about idiots dancing Squirrel-Nutkin-like in from of Birmingham planning officers...
New phone system... I've done time in the old HQ on many an occasion, indeed have bought new handsets with my own money as needed. If it's a good system, then it's money well spent. WE NEED to invest in kit, and I'm 100% behind this decision.
There was moaning over the appointment and subsequent FT coverage of Max Clifford. People need to realise that our enemies are out to attack us. Peter Mandelson is apparently dismayed by Clifford's move (he told him so) - that must be good news for us as we're riling 'em! The FT piece was 4 years old, and London folks (yes you, Fabian) should have the wit to realise that they are going to dig up dirt - the older the better - and not print our refutations. Get real, and live with it folks. The FT's never going to like us, so don't waste breath on 'em. And if you're unsure, there's always the press office...
"We in London are united" indeed! the meeting was dominated by some 12 or so vociferous members, who frequently heckled and interrupted speakers. Roger and David were perfectly approachable at the interval - I myself spoke to Roger for 5 mins about the Scottish elections etc., and others spoke to him and David too. As for "slinking off", they were the last to leave, chatting to me and Gary Cartwright about POSITIVE things (remember them?) such as Frank Maloney's manifesto launch on Fri. They were happy to talk/ listen to anyone at any time. Please also remember that the meeting broke up after 10pm, having started at 6:30 - I am sure they would be eager to head-off home or wherever, after all that whingeing...

These comments are offered in the hope that they will redress the balance of your informants highly one-sided reporting

posted by Martin |2:08 PM