Farage's UKIP, a home for third rate Tory failures

When I joined UKIP in 2007/8 it was the first political party I had ever been a member of. It is still the only party I have ever been in. Shortly after I joined I went to a local Freedom Association meeting where because we had a mutual colleague called Mervyn King I had a long and informative chat with Alan Sked of LSE who was one of the leading intellectual lights behind the formation of UKIP in the 1990s. When we met Alan had already given up on UKIP as it had become as he had predicted taken over by right wing Tory failures.

UKIP's real breakthrough had come in the 2004 European elections thanks to Robert Kilroy Silk, then a huge media star and easily the ablest politician UKIP has ever had, providing UKIP with a huge amount of TV coverage. I was at Liverpool University at just about the same time as RKS and knew of him as a man of the left. No one ever called Alan Sked right wing either! RKS triumphed in the Easy Midlands to the extent that the number two on the slate the even then useless Clarke was also also returned as an MEP.

RKS correctly identified the next step for UKIP was to go out and kill the Tories. It never happened. RKS was quickly shown the door by UKIP's so called ex-Tories who were very keen to resuscitate the Tories not kill them!

I became a UKIP activist and spent many useful hours travelling up and down to Lexdrum House with Alan Wood, then one of UKIP's few district councillors elected, get this Mr Farage, in a fptp election. Malcolm Wood used to drive us and was clearly discomfited by some of AW's remarks concerning UKIP's hierarchy and their clear desire not to damage their old Tory chums. I have never been one for conspiracy theories and took what Alan said with a pinch of salt. I was wrong to do so. Alan was dead right and to do no damage to the Tories was clearly the hidden agenda of Mr Farage and his cabal.

Since then this pattern of punch pulling where the Tories are involved has become so blatant as to now be obscene.

We have Pearson, Farage's UKIP puppet leader demanding UKIP candidates stand down in favour of Tory candidates in the South West and even going out canvassing for the Tories! Farage had of course absented himself from leading UKIP in the tightest General Election in a generation to take on in Bucks Bercow, formerly a Tory, but voted in as Speaker by Labour and now thoroughly hated by the Tory establishment. That earned Nigel a lot of brownie points with the Tory establishment!

Then we have Bannerman who when a Tory could not get himself selected for a winnable Tory Westminster seat but is now allegedly touting himself round the Tories for a number one MEP slot as a Tory candidate. The South West is currently rumoured to be favoured by Mr B!

Then there is ex-Tory MP Mr Gill of UKIP's NEC. He stood in 2010 for UKIP in his old seat but found out it was the Tory brand not him the voters loved. However he had previously done his bit by 'supervising' the MEP candidate selection process in 2008 for Nigel although perhaps supervising is to strong a word given how John West's confidential test interview suddenly appeared via a London Cab and Morocco on Youtube with the nasty title, ' How not to do politics'. Perhaps Mr Gill can remind us what supervisory action he took about this incident.

And how about Dartmouth, another unloved Tory, unselected in winnable Tory seats, who during the South West MEP selection process had a number of sole speaking engagements facilitated by the then UKIP RO Malcolm Wood. When Alan Wood found out about this he was rightly incandescent with rage as it was so blatantly unfair to the other candidates. Malcolm Wood is now helping the Europhile belted Earl further the cause of the EU as the Tories always have done since 1973.

Mr Farage has frequently claimed he was offered a 'safe' Tory seat if he stood there as a Tory. It is strange that this safe seat has never been named. It is like many of Mr Farage's statements uncheckable.

Nigel is still hopeful however that one day he may be nominated by the Tories to park his bum on the red leather of the House of Lords by Dave for services rendered.

And yet incredibly the UKIP foot soldiers still believe what Nigel tells them that the BNP and the wicked UK electoral system are the mortal danger to UKIP and that only Nigel can save them! To paraphrase General Franco it is the large legion of Tory fifth columnists within UKIP that are the mortal danger and will completely sabotage our withdraw from the EU cause. All the Tories have ever done since 1973 is hand over more and more of our country to Brussels and UKIP's Tories will do just the same. Once a Tory always a Tory!