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


Tuesday, March 31, 2009 

Fishing injustice

THERE has been a profound miscarriage of justice with regard to Charlie McBride and Charles Jnr, fishermen from Northern Ireland who have been sentenced to two and three months in jail, respectively, for "contempt of court".

The McBrides, owners of the fishing vessel Arcane N907, were convicted of under-declaring prawn and whitefish landings from fishing trips in the Irish Sea in 2007, in contravention of the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy, and fined a total of £385,774. Defra then called in the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), using legislation to enable the courts to confiscate the assets of serious criminals such as major drug dealers.

The McBrides have not been sent to jail for contravening fishing laws, but for contempt of court after trying to raise funds to pay off their extortionate fines by borrowing against their assets (boat, business and houses) "frozen" by SOCA. Apparently, there is no appeal against the sentences.

We don't see bank managers going to jail for losing billions, but we treat fishermen who might be guilty of minor infringements against the thoroughly discredited CFP as super-serious criminals.

Readers who are as enraged as I am can sign a petition on the Prime Minister's website – http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/fishermenPOCA/

Peter Wyatt

Co-chair UKIP Fishing Policy Committee

posted by Martin |1:39 PM


Sunday, March 29, 2009 

Ex-Tory Backer Wheeler gives UKIP 100,000

The report is in The Independent on Sunday, linked here but the interview from the News of the World. A quote:

One of the Conservative Party's biggest financial backers in effect defected to the UK Independence Party last night, claiming he was fed up with David Cameron's policy on Europe.

Spread-betting millionaire Stuart Wheeler said he doubted the Tory leader would hold a referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty – and revealed he is giving £100,000 to the Euro-sceptic Ukip. Mr Wheeler told the News of the World he would vote for Ukip in European polls in June.

The paper said that Mr Wheeler now intended to vote for Ukip - which campaigns for withdrawal from the EU - in the European parliamentary elections in June, although he would continue to support the Tories the local and general elections.

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posted by Martin |8:06 AM


Friday, March 06, 2009 

Farage in the Telegraph frets over the BNP

The article may be read from here. It concludes with this trite view (which can be revealed in its simplistic irrelevance by reading a post I put earlier today on Ironies Toolinked here):

We believe, and polls back us up in this belief, that the majority of people in this country wish to work with the EU on many issues – they just don’t want to be part of a political union. That is the essential position that must be debated, not dismissed by being linked to thuggish extremists.

What a bloody nerve, that from Nigel Farage!!

posted by Martin |5:52 PM


Monday, March 02, 2009 

Article from the Daily Telegraph

I have just helped the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip). I have jumped ship. It is a small party whose main wish at the moment seems to be a desire to become even smaller; so I did my bit and resigned.

Why now? Surely Ukip was on the verge of a great political breakthrough? After the 2004 European Elections, Ukip was on the crest of a wave with 12 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), 2.7 million votes, 16.8 per cent of the vote and membership of 26,000. But now, as the next round of Euro elections approaches, the great breakthrough has turned into break-up.

Ukip's 12 European parliamentarians have, by defection and expulsion, dropped to nine – and one has even left his constituency to live elsewhere, without telling his constituents. At the Henley by-election last year, the party finished sixth, behind both the Greens and the BNP with just 2.4 per cent of the vote, and membership is down to 14,000 (sorry, make that 13,999) and on the slide. To make matters worse there are accusations of rigged internal elections, tales of extravagance and high living in Brussels and an embarrassing stampede to try to board the European gravy train this June. In short, Ukip is in the process of imploding.

I have absolutely no personal political ambition whatsoever. For me the summer was going to involve seeing gorillas in the Congo for Telegraph Weekend and visiting St Kilda for the first time. I was encouraged to stand because of my concern about the state of my country and I reluctantly agreed. Because of a farcical series of accidents, health problems and other commitments, I had a special dispensation to submit my papers a few days late. Or at least I thought I had.

When I contacted the officials as arranged they told me I was out of time. So I phoned Nigel Farage, Ukip's Blair-like, ex-public school leader, who said he was very sorry and would do his best to sort things out, but "it'll be up to the Political Committee". He came back later with bad news. "The Political Committee won't accept your late documents. I'm really sorry." I have since found out that Mr Farage is Ukip's Political Committee. It runs at his whim with no obvious agenda or minutes. Piers Merchant, a former Tory MP who is now Ukip's Returning Officer, informed me that the process was "flawed" and that there should be a re-run. But there has been no re-run and Ukip refuses to send me a copy of the Returning Officer's report even after a Data Protection Act request.

It seems that Nigel Farage has managed to obtain almost complete centralised power of Ukip. Other late nominations were apparently accepted, some people heading MEP lists have been forced out to be replaced by others and three members of Ukip's National Executive Council were expelled for criticising the leader. Other high-profile Ukip members have also been removed over the years, so as not to threaten Farage's control or image. The party's own policies – such as opposition to GM crops – have been reversed without the membership knowing, including me. Stories from Brussels suggest that Ukip's MEPs have come to love the high life of gravy and status. The party created to fight centralised government, sleaze and corruption has become a mirror image of the body it professes to loathe. The grassroots of Ukip are good people, but their party has been stolen from them by their executive; and with David Cameron seemingly afraid to say the word "Europe", they have nowhere to go – unless lured by the false smile of the BNP.

Just under 2,000 years ago Tacitus wrote words to the effect: "Britons are very good at being Roman. They like the baths, the forum and they think they are becoming Roman whereas in fact these devices enslave them to Rome." Replace Britons with "Ukip MEPs", and Roman with "European", and the disintegration of Ukip is explained.

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posted by Martin |9:58 AM
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