UKIP'S STEADY MOVE FORWARD

Jane Collins, UKIP's highest ever polling Rotherham candidate.

What stunning results UKIP had in the three by elections in: Rotherham, Middlesbrough and Croydon on Thursday 29th November. The party that will be celebrating its twentieth birthday in 2013 has seen its best ever election results coming second in Rotherham and Middlesbrough and third in Croydon.

Without doubt Jane Collins the UKIP candidate for Rotherham is now a star of UKIP with the best ever UKIP vote of almost 22%. The polling results for Rotherham were: Labour 9966, UKIP, 4648, BNP 1804, Respect 1778, Conservative 1157, English Democrats 703, Simon Copley 582, Liberal Democrat 451, Trade Union & Socialist 281, Paul Dickson 51, EDL 29.

Richard Elvin, UKIP candidate
in Middlesbrough.

Richard Elevin also did well in Middlesbrough and also came second and again pushing the Coalition parties down the list into third and fourth places. The polling results there were: Labour 10201, UKIP 1990, Liberal Democrat 1672, Conservative 1063, Peace 1060, BNP 328, Trade Union & Socialist 277, Mark Heslehurst 275.

Winston McKenzie,
UKIP's Croydon candidate.

Last not least and coming in a still respectable third place was UKIP’s Winston McKenzie who campaigned on Croydon. Winston is quite a character and as an ex boxer its safe to say he fought a tireless campaign and punched above his weight. The results in Croydon were: Labour 15898, Conservative 4137, UKIP 1400, Liberal Democrat 860, Green 855, Respect 707, Christian People’s Alliance 192, National Front 161, Communist 119, Raving Monster Loony 110, 911 Was an Inside Job 66, Young People’s Party 63. UKIP steadily moves forward in all these polls doing better than ever before, its support is growing with an influx of over 700 new members in one weekend alone, could UKIP’s 20th year also see its very first elected Member of Parliament?

ABSTAINING FROM LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS

Back in the days of the cold war when there was always the fear that Communist Russia would break out and invade the West, someone said to me, if the Russians wanted to invade Britain all they need to do is create a way of spreading an inch of snow across the country, everything would grind to a standstill, and then they could move in a takeover as they know how to deal with several feet of snow in their winters. There was a certain ring of truth with that statement.

You go to parts of the world where the weather conditions are far worse than here in the UK and life goes on as normal, but here the moment we have a bit of wind, rain or snow we make a real pigs ear of everything. Yesterday, Wednesday 21st November, was one of those days.

The wind blew and the rain lashed down and the trains stopped. This always happens on days when I am on deadlines and want to get home early to get ready for an event. The event yesterday was to be a debate on the now failed Parliamentary Bill by Nadine Dorries that Girls at school should have lessons on abstinence. The motion for the debate was should Nadine Dorries Bill be accepted. Speaking against the motion was Chris Bryant the Labour MP for Rhondda and Andrew Copson of the Humanist Society. Speaking alongside me in favour of the motion was Matt Brinkley who is a Christian member of the Challenge Team UK.

Now this is not a topic I would normally speak on, in fact when I was contacted by the Chairman of the Warwick University debating society by a very bright student named Akash, I passed on the message to others but the moment they saw the topic none wanted to know. It’s not the sort of issue UKIP members normally debate. However, one young UKIP member was going to do it but there was confusion over the dates which meant the event dropped into my lap as I did not want to let Akash down, which takes us back to me standing on a deserted station waiting for a London Midland train desperate to get home on time with no information as to what was happening, unless you call a sign flashing that trains that were due in two hours previously were “Delayed”.

London Midland Trains have taken a lot of flack of late as they seem to have more trains scheduled than they have drivers, but when things such as problems somewhere on the line happen delays and cancellations are situations out of their control, but it does little for your blood pressure when you are a stranded passenger on a tight deadline with no real up to date information. Not even the London Midland Trains employee working in the ticket office had a clue as to when a train would actually arrive. If passengers are expected to cope with delays and cancellations then it is only a matter of courtesy to give some real and up to date information which will be of help and of use – even if it is so you can call and let others know you cannot make it instead of being abandoned as if the train operators don’t care. Passenger need the full facts to enable them to re-plan and organise how they are to get where they are supposed to be going and at what time.

As it happened I managed to cadge a lift to the next station on the line which was Birmingham International, where all trains stop, then got the first train out of there which meant instead of getting back to my Walsall home early with time to have something to eat and get ready, I just did it by having a rushed meal, a swift change and back out again – all for a debate which I was not really up to scratch on which we lost anyway by a substantial margin.

The students obviously have no plans to abstain from hanky panky, but I am seriously wondering about abstaining from London Midland Trains.

NIGEL FARAGE, FLYING GORRILAS & THE SMELLY FOOT DANCE

Here he is once again, Nigel Farage the UKIP leader at his very best showing the EU parliament what a waste of time and money it is and just how mad the EU is.  He gives a fine example of why the UK should get out and why the British people now want out.

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN - THEY STAYED AT HOME

There was never any need to recruit the services of a fortune teller to predict a low turnout for the Police and Crime Commissioner candidates last Thursday 15th November 2012, the signs were there for all to see. So the heading of the last posting on this blog, ‘The Electorate Vanishes’ did not come about due to Gipsy Rosa Lee peering into her crystal ball, or poking around the tea leaves in a cup Earl Grey, but because it was obvious to all the turnout was going to be low – and low it was.

As pointed out before, this was a vote that people had not wanted, called for or understood, however, the results threw up a couple of interesting things. One of these was how well many of the independent candidates did, especially those who had police experience of some kind. To me this shows that despite the fact it was virtually impossible for these independents to distribute over two million leaflets in their police authority areas, as there was no free post by the Royal Mail, unlike in General and European elections, they must have taken the time to research their candidates on-line and those few who did vote gave their votes to those with that police experience.

This was good to see as the big problem with the British people is their tendency for zombie like voting and always voting for the same political party regardless. For too many years people who have always voted for one party have done so without asking the question – is this what I want? I have stood on the doorsteps of voters during election periods talking to people who have told me what they want, then told me they are going to vote Tory or Labour because that’s the way they have always voted, despite the fact they will be voting for everything they have just told me they don’t want.

At least in these elections the voters went to the polling stations with their brains switched on. Obviously, many did not vote either which was also a clear message from the electorate that they did not want this vote, this was not apathy but a quiet unspoken rebellion. The sheer volume of spoiled ballot papers sent out a message too.

As a member of UKIP it was good to see its fortunes on the rise with some very good results in by-elections, not least Corby where UKIP had a very good result with an excellent candidate in Margot Parker who achieved just under 15% of the vote.

The party that really suffered was the Liberal Democrats who, under Nick Clegg’s useless leadership, is really suffering – they lost their deposit in Corby and were knocked back all over the country in the PCC votes and by-elections.

Closer to home for this blogger, we had a by-election too in Walsall where our UKIP candidate, Liz Hazell, got just over three times the vote of the Liberal Democrat in the Bloxwich West ward, as you can see from the results below.

In the Police and Crime Commissioner elections the people have spoken – they stayed at home. 



The Bloxwich West by-election results, Thursday 15th November 2012.



THE ELECTORATE VANISHES

The big day is looming, which of course is Thursday 15th November 2012, the day of the very first elections in the UK for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC). Ok, don’t start jumping up and down with joy shouting ‘Yippee, I can’t wait’! In fact, most people you speak to don’t have a clue about these elections at all and the vast majority have decided to stay at home and watch the telly rather than go out and vote.

The problem is most people see these PCC elections as a vote they did not want, did not ask for, candidates they do not know in an election they are not much interested in. Sadly, since the two-tone Tory Lib Dem coalition were elected to misgovern this fair land, they have had a fetish about giving the people votes on things they do not want yet ignore the one vote the people are increasingly calling for.

They have given us a vote on the AV voting system that was designed to well and truly confuse the electorate, so those that did vote at the time gave the coalition the two fingers to that one. This Thursday, there is going to be a massive yawn across the land as the people, in their hoards, clamber excitedly to not bother to vote at all in order to put people they know nothing about in some extremely highly paid positions – all at their tax paying expense. Ironically, the vote is being done by the very same AV system they voted against the last time they were given an unwanted plebiscite, while the Referendum for an in/out vote on our problematic and expensive membership of the EU, which everyone really wants – never comes.

Although the whole system has been set up in such a way that makes it very expensive and extremely difficult the very people David Cameron said he wanted to stand in these PCC election, i.e. independents, a number have managed to get their names on ballot papers, but it is the candidates who have political parties behind them that are better able to fight these elections.

Bill Etheridge: the UKIP
West Midlands PCC candidate 

UKIP has candidates too, although not in every area but it does have the same number as the Liberal Democrats nationally – and better candidates too. Here in the West Midlands we have Bill Etheridge as our UKIP PCC candidate, Bill is a no-nonsense chap who, if elected as he deserves to be, will make sure our PC’s no longer have to put up with all the time wasting PC nonsense they are currently mired in. UKIP’s stance too is one of opposition to the privatisation of our police forces which is creeping steadily in.

Margot Parker: the UKIP Corby
Parliamentary candidate.

However, it’s not just the PCC elections on Thursday, there are by-elections too, not least the Parliamentary by election in Corby to replace the disappearing MP, Louise Daphne Mensch.. UKIP there has been fighting a brilliant campaign and has an excellent local and well known candidate, Margot Parker, who could attract a very substantial vote, especially as UKIP is the only political party that wants to remove the power of the European Court of Human Rights which has banned the elected British Government from deporting Abu Qatada to face trial for terrorism in Jordan.

Liz Hazell: the UKIP Bloxwich West
Council by-election candidate.

Here too in the West Midlands we have council by-elections taking place on the same day. Roy Harvey is standing for UKIP in Rugby in the Bilton Ward, then in Wolverhampton in the Park Ward David Macintosh is the UKIP candidate. Also last by far from least, in Bloxwich West which is my own part of the world in Walsall Liz Hazell, our UKIP Walsall branch treasurer, is our candidate. Our Walsall UKIP members have been busy in the ward delivering leaflets and are hoping that Liz gets a good vote too on Thursday.

As is now a long held tradition with our Walsall team, we will all meet up for a drink in the Lyndon House Hotel before the Bloxwich West count on Thursday, then at 10 pm head off to the Town Hall to see what the electorate have decided for us. As far as the PCC elections go with the first and second choice voting system, the electorate are going to find all sorts of ways to mess up their ballot papers, or those few that vote will. This Thursday could not only see the ex Corby MP being like the old film title, ‘The lady vanishes’, but as far as the PCC elections go it may too apply to the electorate as the voters vanish.

THOSE WE WILL REMEMBER AND SALUTE

Old shipmates Fred English Arthur Whitaker.

Walsall Council come in for a lot of stick for many reasons, but there is one thing it gets right every year, and every year I remind people of that fact on this blog, which is, of course, the ceremony and service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in the town centre. 

Along with the Walsall Ministry of Churches I always think they organise one of the best Remembrance services in the Midlands. Over the years I have attended many ceremonies from a very small event in the North Wales village of Dolwydellan in the days when my late parents lived there, which was never attended more than a dozen or two people, to a much larger event in Birmingham that did not impress me at all, and also the big one in Whitehall in London which gives you a sense of immense pride, but sadly, due to the sheer volume of people there, you see very little. Out of all of them the best for me of all is always the service in my home town of Walsall. 

Every year we join the parade representing UKIP, and every year we see many of the same old veterans taking part with great pride, as well as many young members of the various cadets and those now serving in the forces. It is with great honour I lay a wreath at the cenotaph, however, the sad thing from all these annual days ot remembrance is that some of the veterans who always attend every year are no longer present. 

Back in 2007 after the parade and service, as we so often do, we called in the Lyndon House Hotel, where a lot of the veterans go, and we got chatting to an ex Merchant Navy man, Arthur Whittaker. He and my father in law, Fred English who served in the Pacific fleet, became pals and old shipmates almost instantly, and every year since we would always meet up in the Lyndon after the parade. Sadly after today’s service and parade we learned that Arthur has joined the ranks of those no longer with us, he passed away in May this year, 2012. He has now become another of those who we will remember and salute - he served his country in its hour of need.

TIME FOR A DIVORCE FROM THE EU

Here he is again, Nigel Farage the UKIP leader this time giving many sound and sensible reasons why the UK needs a divorce from the EU.  Sadly, Mrs Merkel, the German Chancellor, does not want to listen.  In the EU only the opinions of those who are in favour of the EU are heard - they try to claim it is democratic.

A DOGS DINNER OF HYPOCISY

One of the fact of political life is that at some time or other it inevitably makes hypocrites of those involved – myself included. My hypocrisy comes from the time when we in the UK were given our one and only vote on membership of what was then called the ‘Common Market’, which has morphed into the EU without anyone being asked if they wanted this. In that 1975 referendum I voted ‘Yes’ to remaining as a member.

To impound my sins of hypocrisy in 1970, which was the very first time I could vote in a General Election, I voted for the Heath Government, I also voted Conservative in every election up until 1992 in the misguided belief they would care for the interests of the UK more than any other political party, despite the fact they are equally guilty in the crime of handing over our sovereign and democratic nation to an outside power. These past votes are errors I wish I could go back in time and change using my current knowledge of things – but I can’t. So when I campaign and voice my total and utter opposition to the European Union and all the harm it does to our country, I do so knowing full well my past actions helped in the creation of the problem – which now makes me a hypocrite.

Although not new to the hypocrites club, Ed Milliband when voting with the Tory rebels in Parliament for a cut in the vast sums of money British taxpayers are forced waste on the EU, ensured that he and his party became fully paid up members. His is the party under the disastrous leadership of Tony Blair that ensured a vast chunk of our rebate was given away, also his party always voted in favour of increasing all past EU budget increases. Suddenly, we are obviously supposed to believe the extreme left wing Labour leader and his motley crew have experienced a hallelujah moment and recanted for all past sins by actually thinking about the taxpayers of this land – nah, I can’t see it either.

So, the hypocrites that call themselves Tory Euro sceptics are all cheering at their victory, even though Cameron and the rest of the EU can take no notice as the vote was not binding on anyone, nor are most of them talking about leaving the EU even though this is the only possible way of stopping the fiscal and legislative drain of wealth and power from the UK to the EU. A few Conservative MPs have begun muttering about EU exit, but as anyone can see from the Carsewell Bill, this is not supported.

The whole thing is turning into a dogs dinner with large helpings of hypocrisy. We now await to see what the Europhile Tory leader, David Cameron, will do next.