Former UKIP leader and current MEP Nigel Farage has today been dealt a hammer blow as Euro rebel Nikki Sinclaire MEP was reinstated by the National Executive Committee.
Sinclaire left the Europe for Freedom and Democracy (EFD) alliance (of which Farage is joint leader) due to it containing one or more right wing anti-Semitic parties and chose to sit with the non-allied MEPs in the European Parliament. Farage went into a frenzy and along with Paul Nuttall MEP called for Sinclaire to be booted out of UKIP.
She was expelled in January but was today reinstated, leaving Nigel Farage humiliated and severely weakened.
UKIP has evolved. It’s no longer the people’s party that wants out of Europe. It’s the political arm of a group of hedge fund traders that want to repeal the Hedge Fund Directive in Europe, and these fund traders would only step in with donations if Lord Pearson was the UKIP leader (hence the departure of Nigel Farage from this position late last year).
Which brings me back to a post I made last week about Hamish Howitt being the surprise PPC for Blackpool South. He was plucked out of obscurity by Dr Fred McGlade and in conjunction with Paul Nuttall MEP was imposed upon the local UKIP membership. He’s well known for being a one trick pony, and one has to ask why someone like him was selected.
But looking at the cash for manifesto promise arrangement going on at the top of UKIP, I don’t think it would be out of order to suggest that smoking related commercial interests are involved. This surely makes UKIP a self-serving sham.
Excellent article Phil, just gives me another addition to my ever-growing list of reasons not to vote UKIP. They are doing themselves no favours, Hamish is not the only pro-smoking landlord in their candidates another well-known publican from Chorley, Nick Hogan is also a candidate.
On a slightly unrelated note of interest I walked past Hamish’s bar the other day and all the pro-smoking propaganda has been removed and there is posters in the window saying Magic Bar coming soon. I could find no reference to this from local sources but a quick google search led me to a Southport (of all places) website advertising a magician is opening a family-friendly ‘Magic bar’ which will be the only one of its kind in the North West, sounds interesting!
Yeah I heard about that the other day funnily enough.
Howitt will still own the place.
Oh that spoils my fun, I thought he had got shot of the place full stop and handed over to someone else.
I’m only speculating
But he did want to convert some/all of that building into flats…
I remember reading that, if he hadn’t wasted so much money on his silly and pointless campaign he could have redeveloped the site which would be the best thing for it.
Great idea provided Hamish makes himself and the Irish refugee McGlade disappear permanently.
I do not believe the UKIP leadership have wanted to get out of the EU for years, it has been too much of a gravy train for the selected few. You cannot get out of the EU by being in it, the only way out is through the British parliamentary system and without anti EU MPs that will never happen.
The original stated reason for UKIP getting into the EU was to get the money from EU to support the fight here in the UK, this was a clever con and still deceives many UKIP members. For years UKIP have not made any serious effort to get into the UK parliament they have just done enough to keep the membership sweet.
I have had it from an impeccable source that Paul Nuttall MEP stated to a UKIP member, that UKIP will only be seriously contesting one seat and will do whatever is necessary to win it, that being the one that Nigel Farage is fighting and they only expect to get that one seat.
I believe the new leader Lord Malcom Pearson to be bright and honourable man, Nikki Sinclaire MEP to be a good honest caring person, however the majority of the UKIP leadership are either sheep or on the gravy train.
The membership is falling, there are branch chairman, branch officials and members resigning or not renewing their membership in many parts of the country, there are many calls for Nigel Farage and Paul Nuttall MEP to resign, there is talk of a breakaway UKIP group forming. The whole lot may yet implode. it is all very Sad.
Yes very well said Bruiser, Hamish is getting all cocky thinking he has a fighting chance at Blackpool South. But in the last few elections where proper, serious candidates have stood in Blackpool South, UKIP has never even managed 4 figures and I don’t believe for a second Hamish will change that. For UKIP to actually get us out of the EU would require a Commons majority because Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem MPs would all vote against it. I have no plans to vote UKIP but I do believe strongly we should leave the EU and I think we should have a public referendum on membership.
Unfortunately the previously the good candidates have not had any support from upstairs, McGlade and this lot will try to make a bad decision work. The vote may go up but UKIP membership will go down. I believe the incumbent will be returned (just).
I sincerely hope not, the only prospect worse than that muppet Hamish getting in is Marsden holding on. He has shown a complete lack of committment to Blackpool and has proven to be a useless MP yet gullible people still vote for him. Why are Labour supporters so small-minded? I haven’t officially decided my vote yet but I have ruled out UKIP and Liebour already. I just wish people would think before they vote and vote for the person not the party.
I agree with that, but as you know Labour voters will vote Labour come rain or shine. The trick is for the Tories to engage those disillusioned Conservative voters that switched to Labour in 1997.
Voting along the lines of your favourite candidate – who might be Johnny Fartpants of the Clueless Monkey Impersonators Party – would simply sign the constituency over to Gordon Marsden once again.
I’m sure Gordon’s a nice bloke and he’s certainly more politically savvy than the likes of Ron Bell. But as we have discussed so many times, he doesn’t show enough interest in the town and doesn’t accurately represent the town.
Ron Bell, I suppose, does. He’s not that bright, he’s from a working class background and he lives here. The only faux pas is that by some miracle he ended up with a big house worth a lot of money. Anyone know what he actually did to accumulate his cash?
I heard he was the director of a Nigerian bank. I wonder if he was the one sending out those email scams!
I agree totally I have nothing against Marsden as a person, as you say he probably is a decent bloke but as an MP I can’t stand him and I despise his party evenmore. He is well-educated and an experienced politician (not a good one but experienced) which is a total contrast of Hamish, a one-man band with a non-cause. I will consider other candidates but tactically as you say Ron Bell is probably the safest bet to oust Labour.
Also forgot to add-on Mr Bell doesn’t really live in a ‘big house’. Division Lane may be a nice road with some very posh houses but I have seen Mr Bell’s house and nice as it is he actually lives in one of the smaller, less expensive houses. Also he has earned that house through shear hard-work, after retiring from the forces he ran a successful business.
Doing what?
According to his profile he served as a director on some local blue-chip companies and ran a recruitment consultancy.
I think the blue chip company will have been the aforementioned Nigerian bank.
I thought he was involved in property, after all he does have all the connections.
I think Phil is a lot closer to the mark than TB.
Theres a reason for the deafening silence from Mr Bell since Kensingtongate!
It will all come out in the wash. (GE Campaign!)
I can confirm he is into property, just how much I am not sure but I am working on it.
If membership goes down surely McGlade will realise that the ship is sinking and he cannot go on ruling with an iron fist.
Dr. McGlade couldn’t give a monkeys he will still get his £50,000+ from the EU, he’s on the gravy train to!!!
It’s such a shame as the demand is there for an end to our membership of the EU, , it looks like we will have to do what the left have managed to do over the years and infiltrate the political class and in so doing turn the mainstream parties against the EU.
I agree ZF, I certainly believe a majority of the population would support EU withdrawl I certainly do. But like I said MPs of all 3 main parties are hostile toward it. You get the odd outspoken MPs who back it but generally they would all vote against it and like the EU constitution they won’t give us a vote because they know they’ll lose.
That’s not the reason any more. The reason is because the Lisbon Treaty is now ratified.
What the Conservatives did promise was to give a referendum if the treaty was still in discussion, which at the time it was in Poland and the Czech Republic I believe.
Labour just went on ahead and signed up to it with no referendum because Labour Knows Best™.
Then we should be given a referendum on continued membership of the EU.
If you take a poll now then you would find must people would want to take us out of the EU. However it is a well recognised fact that support for the Liberal Democrats raises during run up to elections, this is because they get air time. If there is a run up to this referendum and both sides where given air time to put their views forward, then perhaps, some people may change their mind.
When are these leader debates going to be – any idea?