Now that Head Office is situated in glorious Devon, we have found that more and more members from all parts of the country, who are taking advantage of a holiday in the West Country, are calling in to visit.
They are all welcome.
One word of warning, however. The office is not easy to find on a first visit. For those who have a satellite navigation system the location postcode is TQ12 6UT. Others should head for Bovey Tracey, and then telephone Head Office (01626 830630) and they will be guided in. The office, often quite obvious because of the huge UKIP trailers parked outside, is the first unit on the King Charles Industrial Estate at Heathfield, near Bovey Tracey.
We hope to see you soon.
Bromley by-election donations
Anxiety has been expressed that credit card donations made to the Bromley by-election appeal went into the account of Graham Booth MEP.
This was purely an administrative convenience, and all monies received in this way were transferred into the by-election fund. The reason this occured was because the by-election (on June 29) could not have come at a worse time for the UKIP administration. The head office at Birmingham was being severely reduced in June preparatory to the move of head office functions to Lexdrum House, Newton Abbot, Devon on July 1. So the South-west office (which is paid for out of Graham Booth MEP's account) was requested to administer a by-election appeal which was sent out by that office on behalf of the Party Leader, Roger Knapman.
The only credit card facility immediately available was on the Graham Booth MEP account and that was what we used.
Geoffrey KingscottGeneral SecretaryUK Independence PartyPO Box 408, Newton Abbot, TQ12 9BG
Britain seldom does well at producing political parties outside the mainstream, and UKIP has had a pretty miserable time. But it sprang to life two years ago when it claimed 16% of the vote in the European Parliament elections –forcing the Lib Dems into fourth place. The question for the Tories is whether UKIP could manage this trick again. It is not psephologically impossible. The British electorate is increasingly fed up with its three big parties. The protest vote is there for the taking.
But it needs leadership. UKIP’s surge came when Robert Kilroy-Silk, a former BBC chatshow host, became its figurehead (if not its leader) and proved himself a skilled populist. He portrayed UKIP as a rebel army and started something which caused the Tories deep panic. When he left, the party’s profile sank as quickly as it has risen and at the last general election its voting share returned to a derisory 2.2%.
Order the Book for a Fiver. Proceeds go to the fight against Regional Assemblies
