HOW THE EU ECONOMY DOESN'T WORK

If you struggle to understand how the European economy works, or not as the case really is, then take a look at this video and all will be made clear - or will it?

THE ROYAL NAVY IS SUNK

Throughout our history, from the days of Henry VIII up until the end of World War Two, Britain always had one of the finest navies in the world – it was something we British were always proud of. No matter if you lived in land far away from the sea, to those of us growing up in the 1950’s our Royal Navy was an inspiration encouraging school children to join the Sea Cadets and take to a life on the ocean as soon as they were old enough.

Another feature of our proud naval history is the number of times we have not only seen off foreign navies, such as the Spanish Armada, but how many times we have defeated the French, not least at Trafalgar. Our Continental cousins on the other side of the English Chanel have built up a reputation for surrender, we had to go in and destroy the French fleet when Hitler’s forces were overruning France during the war to stop the Nazis getting their hands on the French fleet.

So the news breaking today that our Defenceless Minister, Liam Fox, is brokering a deal to share French aircraft carriers is the most shameful in our history, it means we are sunk as a nation and from now on be unable to defend ourselves without French, and ultimately, the say so of the European Union.

This futher political retreat proves that when Cameron, in the run up to the general election, declared that he was not going to surrender any further sovereignty – he was lying. What would have happened in the Falklands, would the French have sent in their ships to have been blown to smithereens by the Argentinians using French made Excorcet misiles? I think not.

The only reason this is being done, alongside the steady and unending destruction of our Army, Navy and Air Force, is to make this country dependent on the European Union for its defence as well as for our food. The ultimate aim is for the EU to run and control everything, so much so any nation wanting to leave will have nothing to leave with, including a means of defending iteself when the EU’s tanks roll down our streets in the same manner as the Soviet tanks rolled into Prague.

There is nothing practical regarding this measure, or rather betrayal, it is yet another sell out by yet another government in our thirty seven shameful and self destructive years as members of the European Union. Sadly, like the rest of us, the Royal Navy is sunk.

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EU SUPPORT AT AN ALL TIME LOW

Surosa blog, calls for a referendum on the EU.

Over on the excellent Scottish blog, Subrosa, there is news of the increasing lack of support for the EU, not just in the United Kingdom, but across all the EU member nations too. The pressure on the EU mounts, how long can the EU keep going when the people are increasingly against it. Read about it at Subrosa.

VOTING FOR DECOY DUCKS

As a UKIP candidate in the general election this year in the constituency of Walsall South, and despite saving my election deposit again and getting a pretty good result for UKIP, the thing that got me most was the blind faith many placed in the Conservative Party when it comes to the very serious matter of protecting ourselves from the European Union.

Over the years since I first began campaigning politically in 1996 for the Referendum Party, I have seen a major shift in the electorate’s attitude regarding the EU. When I first donned my Referendum Party rosette and began pounding the streets of Walsall North, which was where I stood as the RP candidate in 1997, I was shocked by the sheer animosity and ignorance of the EU by 99% of those I met and spoke to. When I touched on the issue of the EU I got blank looks, I was often asked what the EU was and discovered that many did not even know we were members of it nor that, at that time, it was planning to launch its own currency.

In the subsequent elections of 2001 and 2005 I have witnessed a major shift in attitudes and a growing awareness and opposition to the EU over those years. Now when I go out campaigning at least 80% to 90% of people know what the EU is and at least 70% of those I meet are either not happy with it or want us to leave altogether, which is the stance of UKIP and, naturally, myself. So why do people still go out and vote Tory, Lib Dem and even Labour when all three of those political parties are pro-EU?

People know the stance of Labour and the Lib Dems on the EU, those parties still try to con us that the EU is not a threat to our liberty and independence, but sadly the biggest con artists are the Conservatives. They make out that they are EU-sceptics, some of their MPs are, but no where near enough and all their MPs these days just tow the line on the EU, unlike the Tory Euro rebels in the days of John Major’s leadership. The only one of those left in Parliament is Richard Shepherd MP who represents Aldridge Brownhills.

One of those past Tory rebels, Christopher Gill, who is now an active and influential member of UKIP, calls those few Tory EU-sceptics decoy ducks, as all they do is attract the EU-sceptic vote to the Tory Party which then in turn shoots them down by failing to protect Britain against the EU, as we have witnessed with the handing over additional powers to it by signing us up to the ‘European Investigation Order’.

So as Cameron’s sham promises of standing firm against the tide of EU laws and all its other nonsense, crumbles to the dust, as those of us who are true EU-sceptics predicted the EU continues to ride roughshod over him, his own party members and, more importantly, the betrayed people of the United Kingdom.

Reported in the Daily Telegraph on the 26th August 2010, was an article by Bruno Waterfield which reported that, despite Cameron’s meek and feeble pleas to the EU for spending cuts, it had every intention of defying him and the people of Britain who Cameron allegedly represents, by sticking up a continental two fingers and continuing with plans for an eight per cent increase in spending over the next three years. This is at a time when the rest of us are having to cut our spending.

The EU’s budget is due to increase by £8.8billion to a massive £125billion in 2013. The result of this is that the contribution from the hard pressed and weary taxpayers of the UK to the EU are due to rise by a further £10.3billion. Britain’s massive fiscal contributions to the EU are all for nothing, unless like the handful of insane pro-EU activists within the European Movement and Parliament, the concept of giving away our wealth as well as our freedom to govern ourselves is a good thing – which 99.9% of the people of this country do not.

Thanks to this larges to the EU and Cameron’s unwillingness to stand up to it or, better still, take Britain out, EU officials will be having a nice little jolly at our expense with pay rises of up to 5.3 per cent while British businesses and jobs will be lost due to the burden of EU regulations and harebrained bureaucracy.

However, one British person, if you can call her that as she most probably likes to think of herself as European, will be benefiting from the unwilling largess of British taxpayers, and that is the EU’s High Representative, Baroness Ashton. The EU is set to lavish millions of pounds a year on the renting of a grand headquarters for her and her diplomatic corps. £8million is being put on one side by the EU for the lease of an office block in Brussels for her and her 7000 staff in the EU’s new foreign ministry. This will have a budget of £5.8million a year. The Taxpayers Alliance has said in the Daily Mail article covering this sad tale: It’s a disgrace that the commission is throwing millions of pounds at the EEAS, just so that they can have swanky offices.

This is all thanks to the stance of our three main political parties who, despite their rhetoric, continue to hand power away from us to the EU. When will the people of this country stop voting for “decoy ducks”?

GRAPLING WITH BUREAUCRACY

That oily EU fanatical creep, Denis McShane MP, was made to squirm when being interviewed by the BBC about IPSA, which is dealing with MPs expenses. Our most fanatical pro-EU Member of Parliament stated: 'Look, I want to be an MP, I don't want to have to grapple with this bureaucracy,'".

Now this EU fundamentalist, who never hesitates to slag off anyone who dares to tell the truth about his beloved EU, has had an insight into the nightmare bureaucracy creates, is it possible this dimwitted MP understands the basic principle regarding the draining effect of bureaucracy? Is there a remote chance this has given his tiny brain cells an inkling as to why so many of us, trying to do our work and live our daily lives, loathe the European Union so much with its unlimited outpourings of directives, regulations and other forms of mass bureaucracy - we just want to get on with our work too.

Think about it Mr McShane – don’t just sit there scratching your head saying “Doh, it hurts!”

PREPARING FOR THE NO TO A.V. VOTE

Derek Bennett and his old dog Tess.
A few weeks ago I sent this letter to my local newspapers, which was subsequently published:
"When we go to the polls on the 5th May next year to select our councillors, it looks more than likely we will also be handed a ballot paper for the referendum on the way we vote.

Next year the coalition Government intend to hold a referendum on changing our voting system, we are being given the option of changing from our current first past the post system to an alternative vote method.

When we look into the way the alternate voting system works it could result in the undermining of our democracy and how we are governed in future. Since the end of the last war, in all those years, we have had mostly strong governments with a clear mandate and working majorities in the House of Commons, unlike the strange situation now where the Liberal Democrats, whose vote went down in this year’s general election, is now jointly sharing Government positions after some political wheeling and dealing. With the alternative voting system this will become the norm.

If the referendum next year offers us a straight choice between our tried and tested first past the post system and the alternative vote, then it is in our democratic interests to stick with our tried and tested first past the post system. Don’t be fooled, the A.V. voting system will not improve our democracy, which is already being destroyed by the EU, it will seriously undermine it and ensure the Liberal Democrats will always have an undemocratic grip on power – whoever is in Government."

Now you would think that a person such as myself who has been active in UKIP for many years would be delighted with the prospect of A.V., which is a form of proportional representation - after all it has helped UKIP greatly in European Elections. However, there are two reasons this system is not good for the country or smaller parties such as UKIP. The first is described above as most election would result in hung parliaments thus giving the Liberal Democrats an undemocratic and permanent hold on power, the second is that the A.V. system is rigged against the smaller political groups and those who vote for UKIP will lose their voice. A.V. plus, had it been on offer, would have been very different and would be more proportional - but this proposed system is stacked against against us - hence the reason it was chosen.

Now plans are being made in preparation for the fight against A.V., and the man who will be taking a leading part in the campaign against is Matthew Elliot of the Taxpayers Alliance. In a statement sent out by e-mail to the supporters of the Taxpayers Alliance, he wrote:

"As you may have read elsewhere, I have accepted an invitation to head the 'No' campaign in next year’s referendum on the introduction of the ‘Alternative Vote’ system for UK general elections.

"From October, I will temporarily step down as a spokesperson for the TaxPayers' Alliance to allow me to concentrate on winning this important referendum. For the following eight months, the day-to-day running of the TPA will be overseen by Matt Sinclair, who will be familiar to all of you as our Research Director. Matt has stamped his intellectual mark on the TPA since joining us three years ago, and I am delighted that he has agreed to become the campaign’s first overall Director, taking responsibility for the campaigning, communications, grassroots and research aspects of the TPA. During this period, I will continue to provide strategic advice and oversight to the TPA. However, given the long term importance of this historic referendum, I feel the need to play a part in the fullest possible way.

"This is a very exciting time for the TPA. In the next few months we will be releasing several new major pieces of research, tackling everything from the public money being channelled to Unions to council non-jobs and publicity and taxpayer funding for environmentalist groups. We will also be starting work on a major project looking at ambitious potential tax reforms. There will also be many more opportunities for you to get directly involved, with local branches of the TPA growing in Surrey, Hull & East Riding, Bath, Islington, West Yorkshire and Aberdeen, and lots of interest in the Manchester-area, Norfolk, Cardiff, Dorset and Devon, where we hope to see new groups forming soon.

"Having spent the past five years campaigning alongside you against expenses abuses by MPs, I know that you share my belief in accountable and transparent politics, which shifts power from politicians to the people. The AV electoral system would be a step backwards on all of these fronts, making politicians less accountable and elections less transparent. From a taxpayers' point of view, I am also disturbed to learn that the referendum is going to cost us £100 million. Britain therefore especially needs and deserves an effective 'No' campaign, and this is why I feel it should be the focus of my attention from October. This is not a decision I have made lightly, and it is not one I would have made were I not convinced that the TPA will be able to continue campaigning at full strength under Matt's supervision.

"Like the TPA, the 'No' campaign is above tribal party politics - it is about fighting for the good of the country and our democratic way of life. There will be many in the 'No' campaign who have never campaigned together and many who have been on opposing sides in party or policy battles. The Trade Unionists, Conservatives, senior Labour Parliamentarians - and, I hope, many of you - will campaign alongside each other because they care as much for the democratic future of their country as they do for their long-held political allegiances."

The following is the full press release put out by the newly formed 'No to AV Campaign':
Matthew Elliott, the co-founder and Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), has accepted an invitation to lead the ‘No’ campaign in next year’s referendum on the introduction of the ‘Alternative Vote’ system for UK general elections. Matthew will continue to provide strategic advice to the TPA, but he will step down as an official spokesperson in the run up to the referendum.

From the beginning of October, the day-to-day running of the TaxPayers’ Alliance will be overseen by Matt Sinclair, who is being promoted from his current position as Research Director to become the campaign’s first overall Director, taking responsibility for the communications, grassroots and research aspects of the TPA.

"For those who are interested in knowing more about the ‘No’ campaign, please do visit our temporary website at www.no2av.org to sign up for further information."


Matthew Elliott said:
“The big political decision facing Britain this coming year is whether we should change our electoral system from one which has served us well for decades to one which even many in the ‘Yes’ camp dismiss as a very poor substitute for the system they really want.

“The key democratic principles of accountability and transparency have always been at the heart of my work at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, and I feel very strongly that the ‘Alternative Vote’ system would make politicians less accountable and make elections less transparent.

“Ditching our electoral system is not only of interest to political anoraks, it is a fundamental change that would affect the major policy decisions on tax, public spending, schools and hospitals for decades to come.

“Having spent the past five years campaigning against expenses abuses by MPs, I am keen that power is shifted from Parliament to the people, but the ‘Alternative Vote’ system would give people less control over the laws which govern their lives. Prescribing the wrong medicine doesn’t make patients better, it makes them worse.”


Rodney Leach, Chairman of the No Euro campaign, and now Open Europe, said:

"What I like about Matthew is that he’s not a gun for hire. He’s that rare combination of someone who not only believes passionately in what he’s fighting for, but is also an extremely successful campaigner.
“Campaigning against the ‘Alternative Vote’ system is a natural extension of his fight for greater accountability and transparency in politics.

“I am also delighted that senior Labour Parliamentarians and Unions understand the importance of this democratic issue and we look forward to campaigning alongside them for a No vote in the referendum.

“Some fights you enter to win and some you enter out of principle, whatever your chances. This referendum is both a fight of principle and a fight that we must win.”

GET TOUGH ON THE EU - PLEASE

Lord Stoddart of Swindon, asks William Hague to get tough on the EU.

The Independent Labour Peer, Lord Stoddart of Swindon has written to Foreign Secretary William Hague, asking him to get tough on the EU Ambassador to the United States, Joao Vale de Almeida, who last week claimed to speak for Britain in Washington. In his letter of 17th August, Lord Stoddart said that he was ‘appalled’ but the public statements made by the Ambassador and strongly urged Mr Hague to: ‘…. point out to Ambassador de Almeida that Her Majesty’s Government is responsible for British foreign policy via the Foreign &Commonwealth
Office and that the British Ambassador to the United States speaks for us in Washington. It would indeed be a tragedy were we to find that Her Majesty’s foreign policy interests have been side-lined and replaced by those of His Presidency, Herman Van Rompuy. This would be a great
insult to the very long tradition that Britain has of being respected and influential in international affairs.’

Lord Stoddart also reminded the Foreign Secretary of the Government’s assurances given in the House of Lords, that ‘the authority of the Foreign Office and the status of the diplomatic service would not be affected or, in any way undermined, by the formation of the EU’s External Action Service.’ He called for vigilance on the part of Coalition Ministers to ensure that ’the EU does not obtain additional powers by stealth.’

The full text of Lord Stoddart’s letter to the Foreign Secretary is below:

The Rt Hon William Hague MP
Foreign Secretary
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

17th August 2010

Dear Foreign Secretary,

I was appalled to hear press reports of the recent statement from the EU Ambassador to the United States, Joao Vale de Almeida, in which he claimed to speak for Her Majesty’s Government, in Washington. It is quite obvious that he already sees himself as superior to the British Ambassador to the United States and possibly even to you, Her Majesty’s Foreign Secretary!

This goes directly against assurances given during debates in the House of Lords that the authority of the Foreign Office and the status of the diplomatic service would not be affected or, in any way undermined, by the formation of the EU’s External Action Service. I would add that it is essential that the Coalition Government makes it clear that they will not tolerate any creeping competences by the EU, in foreign relations or any other policy area and makes certain that all its Ministers are vigilant in ensuring that the EU does not obtain additional powers by
stealth.

I am sure that you will point out to Ambassador de Almeida that Her Majesty’s Government is responsible for British foreign policy via the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and that the British Ambassador to the United States speaks for us in Washington. It would indeed be a tragedy were we to find that Her Majesty’s foreign policy interests have been side-lined and replaced by those of His Presidency, Herman Van Rompuy. This would be a great insult to the very long tradition that Britain has of being respected and influential in international affairs.

Stoddart of Swindon.

LOOKING FOR THE ROAD OUT OF EUROPE

A quiet road that could soon be jamed thanks to the EU.

One of the reasons there was no blogging on this site over the weekend was due to this blogger having to pound the roads from Walsall to the home of my mother in North Wales, which is a regular occurrence. This weekend the journey was added to by trying to avoid the V Fest traffic heading to Weston Park, which meant a detour on the way there on Friday evening and a trip along the North Wales coast then down the M6 on the way home yesterday rather than using my normal route along the A5 and M54.

All this, of course is very boring, but soon it could become very costly too and long diversions such as this to avoid road tolls could become the norm. Reported in the Sunday Express (Sunday 22nd August 2010) was the news that the EU wants to merge our UK main traffic routes with those on the Continent to form a transport network which would then be fully under their control. Not just content to steal our airspace and sea routes, as they have already done, the EU’s bureaucrats want to filch our roads too – and then twist the knife even further by charging us to drive on them through the creation of this EU-wide road network.. How much more perverse does our EU membership get?

Once the dirty deed is done, with the full approval of our useless, toothless, two-tone coalition Con-Dem Government, this new EU abomination will then open the way for the EU to begin to tolling our motorway system and any other main routes it takes a fancy to. To add insult to injury we may even find our roads are rebranded “E-roads”.

As my UKIP colleague and friend, Mike Nattrass MEP (shown on a campaign bus with Nigel Farage), who sits on the EU Parliament Transport Committee states: “The EU wants to extend the toll motorways network under the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) Directive despite the fact the under-utilised M6 Toll has proved to be a white elephant.”

He pointed out that motorists avoid the M6 Toll in the Midlands and use other roads as they either want to avoid the cost of using this little used motorway, or as in the case of this blogger, totally object and refuse to use it as a point of principle. As Mike says: “Where is the common sense in the EU’s plans” if it only succeeds in forcing people off our motorways and other fast roads and onto roads which will not be able to cope with the added traffic this would create. Sadly, as we all know too well, nothing the EU does has anything to do with common sense, but all is done to help create its ultimate goal of a single country, the Unted States of Europe where all will be governed by the EU.

For me the regular journeys from Walsall to Wales, which I have been doing since first passing my driving test in 1965, will soon be coming to an end as my old mom is moving back to Walsall and her little house in Dolwyddelan is up for sale. As Mike Nattrass says: Britain should have control over its own roads and not be dictated to by interfering Brussels bureaucrats. The only road I am interested in is the road out of Europe.” Amen to that.

If you have time to read some lenghty EU documents on road tolling, see the links below kindly provided by anti-EU campaigner Anne Palmer:
http://aei.pitt.edu/6662/01/003642_1.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/its/studies/doc/eg06_obu_vehicle_integration.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/its/studies/doc/eg03_efc_enforcement.pdf

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT

By the time you add in his expenses, the ‘Low Grade Bank Clerk’, otherwise known as Herman Van Rumpoy who is now our unwanted EU President, is on a nice little earner of around a quarter of a million quid a year. As Del Boy, who was always trying to track down an easy income by trying to sell useless items, just as the pro-EU Del Boys try to flog us a useless EU, would say: “lovely jubbly”.

Old Rumpy Pumpy is not the only one within the EU’s corridors of corruption earning a nice tidy sum, reported in the Daily Express on Friday 20th August 2010, it seems that there are over 1000 EU bumblecrats earning more than David Cameron, our EU subservient PM who is paid a measly £142,500 a year in comparison.

As many British taxpayers prepare to tighten their already shrinking belts with tax hikes, increasing V.A.T. from January and inflation heading upward, 35,000 Eurocrats will be getting a pay rise of 2.2% from the end of 2010 with a further increase of 1.3% next year. Even for the lowest paid of these unnecessary bureaucrats will have an increase of £2,200 giving them earnings of £40,000 annually.

Nigel Farage, the UKIP MEP said: “Their arrogance is laid bare. All of us face pay cuts and loss of jobs while they get richer. This proves that the only recession-proof job is working for the European Union.” Nice work if you can get it, work for the EU, do nothing of use for anyone and sit back and watch the money roll in.

YOU'RE KNICKERRED

There’s a strange place called the ‘West Midlands’, apparently it’s where I live. I say apparently as I have lived in the area all my life, being born about a mile or so in the slums close to Birmingham city centre in the late forties – which meant I was born in Warwickshire. When, at the age of thirteen, my parents upsticks and moved to Walsall we had emigrated to Staffordshire – then suddenly, without consultation this thing called the West Midlands reared its ugly so-called county and apparently, I lived in it.

At that same time in the early seventies, after Prime Minister Heath, also known as the ‘Incredible Sulk’, took us into the then Common Market, again without consultation, other strange places began to pop up around the country. Sandwell came from somewhere in the bowels of the Black Country and resided where West Bromwich used to be, whilst lovely traditional county names such as Rutland vanished, much to the chagrin of those who lived there.

Of course this was all part of the cunning plan to destroy the identity of England and Britain as a whole to make it easier for us to be integrated with Europe and its ‘Europe of the Regions’ as laid down in the Treaty of Rome which is the founding document of the European Union we have to day.

Ever since this first step to madness we have become used to further acts of state and EU barminess, we are no so attuned to it we almost take it as part of our normal way of life in our pointless, manufactured none places. Now the West Midlands police have just taken another step on the long road to our nanny state EUtopia – the local police chiefs are delving into the underwear of their officers!

There was a time when policemen – and women, actually looked like constables of the law in their blue shirts, ties, blue serge tunics, policemen’s helmets and squeaky and shiny boots. However, these days you when you often see a group of scruffy young men hanging around and take a second look, you suddenly realize they are the fuzz – well they do look fuzzy these days.

When you see them getting in or out of their police cars (they don’t walk the beat anymore) they have all sorts of weird looking contraptions hanging off their belts, fluorescent jackets that make them look more like navies, flack jackets and, if they bother to wear them, peaked hats. The last thing anyone is going to bother about when they despair at the sight of our shabby coppers is what underwear they have on – who cares what lies under when the top layer resembles nothing like a real bobby.

Reported in the Daily Mail the West Midlands none county police chiefs have sent out a dictat to all officers to ensure they wear inconspicuous underwear of an appropriate colour – don’t they have anything better to do, such as catch criminals and detect crime?

Anyone arrested by the police in the West Midlands now faces the response: ‘You’re knickerred sunshine’!

WE DID WARN YOU

Inflation has been back in the news of late as the costs of things increase more than the Bank of England’s Monetary Committee want. They have a problem as they don’t want to up interest rates in order to bring our inflation rate down in case it stifles what little growth there is. However, if it’s bad for the bods at the Bank of England, just consider the headache facing the shadowy figures in the European Central Bank (ECB).

Our Monetary Committee have only the disparities of the various parts of the British Isles to cope with, the ECB has a vast area covering all its eurozone countries with all their varying economies to struggle with and just one interest rate to do it.

As Euroscpetics constantly warned, this is an impossible task as a ‘onesize fits all’ interest rate cannot work for the whole of Europe. Sadly, the introduction of the euro had little to do with common sense or any fiscal logic, it was formed with the sole intent of tying all of Europe together and the further the EU’s political aim of creating a single nation called Europe, or as it will most probably become, the United States of Europe under the full control of the EU Commission.

Despite their ideological fantasies, the euro just aint working and is creating immense pressures on the economies of the European Union nations within the eurozone – this is now creating inflation which is becoming a serious problem for the ECB.

As we warned, the German economy could do with a higher interest rate as its economy begins to improve and its manufacturing sector increase, while Spain, Portugal and other countries could do with lower rates as they still suffer, the increase in their V.A.T. rates to try to pull them out of the mess has not helped either as this too has added to the cost of living in those countries.

As the sickly monopoly money, the euro struggles, and its member countries suffer, those of us who have long been against the political integration of the European continent into one nation can sit back and gloat; we did warn you. We also warn that the only ay out of this mess is to disband the EU and its failed concept before more harm can be done.

LORD PEARSON RESIGNS

Lord Pearson of Rannoch, resigned as UKIP leader.

As many who read this blog will know that I have been a member of the UK Independence Party for many years, I joined in the summer of 1997 after first becoming involved with the Referendum Party. Over those years I have both seen a lot happen regarding UKIP and done a lot with the party, including serving on its NEC, serving on the conference committee six times and being Regional secretary from 1998 to 2006 as well as being the Walsall branch chairman for the last ten years.

I have seen the party evolve from few, if any, knowing who we were or what we stood for, to it becoming a national party recognised by most, with MEPs and many councillors being elected and our vote increasing year on year in all elections, although this has not yet resulted in us getting any MPs into Parliament yet.

During all this time I have been writing about and generally been involved in the anti-EU campaign by joining other organisations such as the CIB, BWMA, Democracy Movement and attending all ten of the Congress for Democracy meetings in Church House in London.

It was at those Congress for Democracy meetings, which began in December 1998, I first became aware of Lord Pearson of Rannoch, who has just announced his resignation as UKIP leader. In those days he was a Conservative Peer in the House of Lords and very much a Eurosceptic. Whenever he spoke he always got in the line that he was a "come outer" as far as the EU was concerned despite the fact this was a position the Conservative Party has never taken, or will take. Eventually, because of his increasing support for UKIP's stance on the EU he had the whip withdrawn in the Lords and then joined UKIP - and we were all delighted to have him where he belonged - with real Eurosceptics rather than the sham Eurosceptics in the Tory Party who are described as 'Decoy ducks' to attract the anti-EU vote despite the fact no Tory administration will tackle the serious EU problem.

After Nigel Farage gave his shock announcement at the UKIP conference in Southport last year that he was standing down as leader so that he could campaign against John Bercow, Lord Pearson became the lead candidate in the leadership election and won a substantial vote. It then fell on his shoulders to take UKIP into the general election, which is where things began to become unstuck.

His stance on UKIP candidates standing down for Tory EU-sceptic candidates was not appreciated by all in UKIP, nor did it go down well with many when he promoted Tory candidates above his own party candidate. added to that his performance with the media was no where near as polished as that of Nigel Farage, who is a master when put in front of a camera or a microphone, this too was a disappointment for many.

However, Malcolm Pearson is not going to walk away from the party and intends to continue fundraising, which is where he excels and is a roll within UKIP which is much neaded. He will remain as a valued member of UKIP and he stood for what he believed in, but the nature of the party has changed and developed over the years and all UKIP members know that there is little point in doing deals with Tory Eurosceptics as that party will never change from its pro-EU stance. What the next UKIP leader needs to do is negotiate with those Tory Eurosceptics, but not offer to stand asside for them but to offer them a place within UKIP as they are currently wasting theirs, and everyone else's time. If they are really serious about Britain freeing itself from the EU's bureaucratic, restrictive and expensive shackles, then the biggest shake up they can do which would have the most impact would be for those Eurosceptic sitting Tory MPs to join UKIP and sit in the House of Commons as UKIP MPs - this really would bring the EU debate to the fore and put pressure on our arrogant political elites.

Lord Pearson's press statement is below:

Leadership Resignation Statement from Lord Pearson of Rannoch
I took over as leader of UKIP last year to see the party through the General Election, and said I would then consider my position. We increased our vote by 50%, and have many exciting plans for the future. But I have learnt that I am not much good at party politics, which I do not enjoy. I am also 68, and need to give more time to my wider interests. These include the treatment of people with intellectual impairment, teacher training, the threat from Islamism and the relationship between good and evil - not to mention my dogs and my family.

So it is right that I should stand down on September 2nd, early in the Parliament, to give a younger leader time to be established before the next election, which may come sooner than we think. There is no shortage of talent in UKIP, and the new leader will have my full support. I will continue to do what I can to raise funds for the party.

UKIP has never been more important for our freedom as a self-governing democracy. We have a coalition government which supports every new power grab by Brussels: supervision of our financial services; an EU diplomatic corps; new police and surveillance powers; bailing out the folly that is the euro.

Much of this is illegal under the Treaties, but that has never worried Brussels or the Luxembourg Court, which now make most of our national law in a secretive process over which Parliament has no control.

History teaches us that trouble lies ahead when a regime is free to break its own laws with impunity, when it is supported by a puppet court, and when its people are powerless to get rid of it. That is what the European Union has become, and the only way out is the door.

Now the British people are to be allowed a referendum on how they elect their MPs, but they are denied the referendum they were promised on whether those MPs should govern the country; on whether we should remain ensnared in the tentacles of the corrupt EU octopus, or be set free to enjoy the fruits of democracy and free trade.
UKIP must go on telling the truth about “Europe”: how we cannot control immigration if we stay in the EU; the madness of throwing £6.7 billion a year in net cash down the Brussels drain when we face savage cuts at home; the terrible suffering in developing countries caused by the Common Agricultural and Fisheries policies; that only some 10% of our GDP goes in trade with the EU, yet its dictats strangle 100% of our economy; that leaving the EU would create jobs, not lose them.

UKIP deserves a better politician than me to lead it and show the country how liberating and enriching life would be outside the EU. I am confident that one will emerge. Malcolm Pearson August 17th 2010.

BACK TO WORK

The holiday is over and its back to work. It’s been a pleasant two weeks off for this blogger, had a couple of days in North Wales, pottered around at home doing a few neglected jobs, a trip to Hampton Court Palace to Henry’s old place, which was an interesting day, and of course, our Walsall UKIP branch held our fund raising garden party on Saturday which proved to be a very good social occasion which also raised a few pounds for the kitty.

It looks as if the money raised will soon be needed to fund a forthcoming Council by-election due to the sad loss of Walsall Councillor, Albert Griffiths. It always seems a bit ghoulish when someone dies and the first thing all the local political activists think of is when the by-election is to be held. His funeral is to take place this coming Friday and on the following Monday the Walsall Elections Office will post a notice of vacancy. No doubt, just as we in UKIP have been doing, all the other political parties in the borough will be deciding who their candidate is to be. It will also be interesting to see if the Liberal Democrats get a pounding again, that party is in real trouble, especially if we in UKIP can beat their vote when we never even campaigned in a by-election or did any work at all.

Now I have got to knuckle down to things and start putting a few more posts on this blog, I have got my Euro Realist newsletter too to complete before the end of the month and not to forget the UKIP conference in Torquay on the 3rd & 4th September, so its back to it, a hot and sweaty keyboard awaits.

BLOG ON HOLIDAY

Derek Bennett on holiday in Corfu 1970.

For those who visit this blog from time to time, you may be wondering why there have been no postings over the last week. Well, to tell the truth, this blogger has been doing lazy in big style due to taking a two week break from everything.

Apart from going to North Wales for a couple of days at the start of my holiday period, I have been pottering around at home doing as little as possible, although the same cannot be said for the EU and its treasonous sycophants. I have been keeping up with the press and two stories in the Daily Mail on Friday 6th August 2010 hit me right between the eyes.

One of the stories is on the ridiculous issue of immigration, I say ridiculous because this issue is by far the one of greatest concern to the majority of British subjects, but one that all Governments will ignore as there is little or nothing they can ever do about it due to their compliance to their, and our, masters in the EU. Oh we hear lots of waffle and rhetoric, but when it really comes down to it no Euro subservient Government can ever do anything to reduce the levels of immigration as it is the unelected elites of the EU that makes the rules, not anyone we elect to give the false impression that they actually govern this land. Because of this anyone from anywhere in the EU can come and live here but those who speak the same language or share the same culture or have historical ties to the nation, such as our Commonwealth friends, cannot. For them to come here there is a great deal of rigmarole and no definite promise of residence at the end of it.

Because of the EU people we have little connection with such as those in Hungary, can upsticks and settle here at the slightest whim, whilst our Australian cousins may not. What make it even worse, which is the reason I mentioned Hungary, is that country with few ties to us is now set to hand our EU passports to any odd-bod who claims to have ties to it. People from none EU countries, most of who will be from the fringes of the continent of Europe, will be able to claim their right to an EU passport through Hungary then come and claim squatters rights, council homes, dole payments, use of the NHS, schools and just about anything provided here - and there will be nothing our two-tone government can do about it - unless it quits the EU - which it will never do as all three parties are pro-EU.

The other sad EU saga was the tale of the frightening European Arrest Warrant rearing its scary head again. We now have British subjects languishing in some pretty dodgy prisons all across the EU, either awaiting trials that never seem to come such as poor Andrew Symeou, or other locked away on the flimsiest of evidence and trials that can be best described as bouncing in kangaroo fashion, such as Gary Mann now rotting in a Portuguese clink for a crime there is no evidence to link him too and a trial that was far from fair or just. Now five young British lads have just been added to the growing tally of poor souls who are victims of the European Arrest Warrant and are now imprisoned in Greek jail in Athens.

The five young British lads stand accused of attacking a man outside a nightclub in Crete when they were on holiday there two years ago. The evidence against them, as is often the way with these EU arrest warrants was ludicrously poor, but that never prevents these foreign courts when they are out to nail someone - anyone - for a crime they want tidying up. Sadly, instead of our British Governments standing up against this, as should be its duty to protect its electorate who it is supposed to serve, this and past Governments have abandoned us to the vagaries of EU justice and now always places the EU above its own people - hence this injustice.

Before I took my break I also came across a solicitor representing a British man, now stuck in a Portuguese prison. This chap, who comes from the Midlands, owns and rents out property in Portugal. Due to the fact that one of his tenants, who he was in dispute with, was murdered by an unknown assailant that the Portuguese authorities added these two flimsy links together and decided that this person must be guilty of the crime. No other evidence or facts was looked for by them, although there is lots to prove the person is not the man they are looking for, but that has not stopped them from banging him up and leaving the poor chaps life on hold while they faff around trying to link him to a crime his solicitor has confirmed the evidence proves his innocence rather than his guilt.

There was a time when all other countries had to give good evidence when presenting an arrest warrant and British Governments used to put the liberty of the people of this land before all else - but sadly not now. Like me they are all on holiday while the EU runs everything.