I attended these hustings yestreen. None of the leadership candidates impressed me but any except Pearson would be better than Farage. What concerns me most is they all lack faith in their ability to speak for UKIP and want Farage to continue as party spokesman! In my book a leader that does not feel up to speaking for his party is not worth having.
The most telling thing to emerge was that the UKIP press office is actually the EFD group press office controlled by Nigel Farage and run by Bridget Rowe! So UKIP does not actually have a press office. This is entirely in keeping with Farage's ambitions to take UKIP into a pan European party with himself as leader.
The candidates performed much as I expected. Pearson mumbled away. He is clearly Farage's man and a first class political disaster that has happened and is waiting to happen again. Malcolm Wood dared not stray more than 2 yards from the Thatcher created Lord all night. Pearson's main attribute is he has money and knows a lot of people with money. His seat in the Lords gives him a platform but given his propensity to put his foot in it that is a doubtful blessing. He was the only one to suppot the BOO group beloved of Nigel.
Gerard Batten spoke well and has some good ideas. In my opinion he lacks political courage and wiil get easilly bullied by Farage. All in all he looked the best of the bunch last night.
Nikki spoke decently but perhaps too passionately. She is the most left wing of the candidates and was the only one to mention education. She has, and clearly will be able to stand up to Farage bullying better than Batten.
Alan Wood has the clearest and best set of political priorities but he is not a good speaker. He knows where the votes are and how to get them. He rightly criticised Pearson for his Islamic remarks, his support of the BOO group and how damaging his Tory ties will be with disillusioned Labour voters. Alan was the only candidate to criticise Farage for stepping down at a bad time for UKIP and will stand up to Farage.
The worst thing about all four candidates was how they floundered on a question about dealing with our ballooning budget deficit and the credit crunch and how spending progammes are paid for. This is the bread and butter stuff of politics and all four are simply economically illiterate even Gerard Batten. Its a standard political interview. First question, what are your policies. Second question how will you pay for them.
All in all not an inspiring evening. Pearson would be best employed as chairman of a fund raising committee. Alan Wood as chairman of the campaign committee. For leader its a toss up between Gerard and Nikki.
Gerard Batten did mention getting back those who had left UKIP. Many of those who have left or been forced out by the Cabal would have made far better leaders than those candidates at Exeter. Their leadership potential and therefore the threat they carried to Farage and the Cabal was precisely why they were forced out and why UKIP is now so bereft of leadership talent.
PS
I received my leadership voting papers just now. I am amused that UKIP has at last seen the merit of using the Electoral Reform Society Service for their elections. When I was on the NEC I argued for this service to be used for the MEP list elections and indeed got a vote passed in the SWCC to use it in the South West. Needless to say on the NEC I was shouted down by the Cabal. Farage stated the ERS only does Single Transferable Vote - completely wrong as usual with NF. Whittaker said he investigated this and confirmed Farage's erroneous view. Clarke seemed to be having apoplexy shouting it was ridiculous as did Zuckerman and the rest. Well look what we have now but Zuckerman uses the ERS!
The whole problem with the Cabal is they do not do their homework. I gave them a fully costed quote from the ERS confirming they could implement any voting system we wanted. This was shouted down and rubbished by the Cabal. Is it any wonder UKIP staggers from crisis to crisis.
3 comments:
Hi,
I gather the ERS usage is being funded by Toby Micklethwaite either in full or in part - However I think you will find that the NEC has commissioned the ERS.
The ERS can ONLY perform to their brief and since the Party Secretary is the very same dribbling fool who advised Farage to NOT use them previously and also to escalate a minor correction to a Guilty verdict and a £3/4Million debt.
It was Ma Zucherman of Bent & Manure who dishonestly attacked John West and lied about Jeffrey Titford having been cleared by OLAF & The Police - a lie!
It was also Ma Zucherman being the legal adviser (after Rachel Oxley) who refused to issue an apology for EUkip's abuse of The Data Protection Act.
I also understand he manages a Zionist anti Palestinian fund in the name of EUkip which would seem to produce no books even though it is an official body of a Nationally registered Political Party!
As for leadership - that Nikki Sinclaire is clearly the most competent, most able, most experienced candidate is a staggering reflection on the incompetence and utter selfishness of Farage that having depended on dishonesty to steal the leadership he has made the most staggering mess of the duty and has abandoned the party for his own gain.
In promoting Nikki I would admit it is largely because she actually knows members, has run the admin and is the only candidate with the intelligence to know her limitations and seek help and delegate - she has openly stated that if elected her first action will be to call on the assistance of her opponents - a master stroke of reconciliation and maximising on talent (there ain't much).
You never know Eric you may get the job doing sums yet ;-)
Regards,
Greg L-W.
Greg,
Thx for your comments. Yes I will do anything, as I know you would also, to get our country out of the EU.
Eric
Hi,
the information you were given with regard to Press is a bit shakey!!
As I understand it there is no longer an IND/DEM Group.
The IND/DEM Group Press Officer who was so catastrophic in his crass handling of the Tom Wise fraud was Mark Croucher, who exacerbated the problem for EUkip.
Mark Croucher was also the Press Officer who with Knapman lied to try to save the day regarding Knapman's utter hypocracy regarding Poles in The Attic.
EUkip also lied to The Press Complaints Commission - Croucher managed to alienate a large sector of the meeeja and others.
Croucher was also Press Officer when the selective quotes trying to exonerate Wise were put on the web site and then ordered removal - had the Press Office handled these matters more professionally there is every reason to believe the debacle may well not have got so out of hand.
Interestingly Mark Croucher was working out of EUkip's office and acting as a spokesman during the EU election and yet again lied outright to the media, making no friends for EUkip.
I understand that Mark Croucher is now in some way employed as an official spokesman for the largely racist, xenophobic, sexually intollerant, anti Jewish violent extremists in the new Pan EU Political Party group The EFD which Nigel Farage leads and not one EUkip MEP has had the morality to disassociate themselves from!
I understand the foul mouthed Death Rowe is associated with both ends of the EFD's media in the EU and Britain and Gawain Towler is modelling bath robes and working largely out of the EFD offices in London.
EUkip being a series of clandestine smoke and mirrors to hide as much of their criminality as possible it is hard to establish what is their structure from day to day as they sequentially ostracise their own staff in the belief that they are Junius!
The only proven leak so far is Mark Croucher who was leaking material from EUkip's data base over and above data he supplied to his close associates in the vile extremist pro EU Searchlight who are closely associated with fabrication of evidence and burglary and extremist anti democratic communist style organisations such as ANaL, UAF and the like.
Minded just how much Farage and Croucher did to raise the profile of TheBNP one starts to wonder who Farage is working for besides his own bank accountS.
Let us hope someone of probity and stature emerges in EUkip to clean up the ordure in the slim hope there is still time!
It clearly won't be Pearson, Batten, Nattrass, Croucher or Farage or ANY member of the present team!
Simple clarity of a well publicised organisational chart would be a step in the right direction & then a FIRM of accountants of a National Stature doing a wide ranging forensic audit of the last 10 years.
Regards,
Greg L-W.
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