UKIP Uncovered

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

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Euro-sceptic picked as Tory Leicester South Candidate

The following is taken from a report in The Times:

Quote
Tories pick MEP to fight by-election By Greg Hurst, Political Correspondent

THE Conservatives last night selected an MEP who was elected to the European Parliament less than a fortnight ago as their candidate for the pending by-election in Leicester South. Chris Heaton-Harris, who was re-elected as an MEP for the East Midlands on June 13, would have to quit his role in Brussels if the Tories were to win the by-election. His was the only name put to a meeting of the local Conservative association last night, a party source told The Times.

The European Parliament is trying to stop its members from having “dual mandates” in Brussels and national parliaments. There are exemptions until 2009, which apply only to MEPs who were MPs or peers when re-elected this month. Mr Heaton-Harris, 36, a trenchant Eurosceptic, fought Leicester South in the general election of 1997 before winning a seat in the European Parliament two years later. His selection was seized on by the Liberal Democrats, who are battling with the Tories over who emerges as the main challenger to Labour, as a sign that the Conservatives had been unable to find another well-known local candidate. No date has yet been set for the by-election, which follows the death last month of the Labour MP Jim Marshall. The Lib Dems have selected Parmjit Singh Gill, a local councillor. Labour selected Sir Peter Soulsby, former leader of Leicester City Council.
Unquote

Early indications that UKIP are running scared of this by-election and in the absence of any celebrity candidate are unlikely to risk seeing their momentum stalled by an early by-election set-back on the tail of their recent EU Election successes. This sits uncomfortably with the fact that Westminster remains the one parliament where the party's stated objective could be achieved.

Sir Peter Soulsby, the Labour candidate - one time leader of Leicester council and university lecturer is very much of the 'OLD' Labour party with strong socialist basic beliefs and as I recall, little understanding of or sympathy for market economies.

Christopher Heaton-Harris will best be recently remembered for resigning as Conservative MEP Chief Whip over the demand by EPP Group Leader Poettering that Tories withdraw their names from the motion of censure against the EU Commission over the corruption in the EU statistics operations. (These events were covered extensively on my blog Teetering Tories).

It is depressing to see Mr Heaton-Harris become the standard bearer for Howard's now eurofederalist/Eu-imperialist party (see today's post on Ironies on Frattini's TV interview); but I presume this has been partly forced by the necessity to find a position for the suddenly and no doubt unexpectedly unemployed third Tory candidate on their East Midlands EU candidate list, just one of the recent (but only early) victims of the hopefully growing - 'Kilroy Effect'.

With such a previous eurosceptic running for the Conservatives, any UKIP decision not to contest the seat could look somewhat more understandable. Subsequent skipped by-elections, however, could revive suspicions regarding their true motivations!

posted by Martin |11:27 AM