My last blog dealt with UKIP's deeply flawed and corrupt process of selecting MEP candidates for the regional lists in the 2014 Euro elections. The same thing happened in 2009 when Mr Gill an ex Tory backbench MP mediocre even by the standards of Tory MPs was put in charge by Farage of overseeing the selection process in 2008. It was my misfortune to be on the UKIP NEC when this process was happening. I was receiving numerous complaints from UKIP members up and down the country about the flaws in this selection procedure. I tried to contact Mr Gill about these in my opinion largely legitimate complaints but he was uncontactable for 6 weeks. It was like a football referee blowing the whistle to start the game and then running off the pitch leaving the players to get on with it.
The NEC, led by the chief Farage apologist D Denny dismissed these complainants, many long term hard working party activists, as "malcontents" a smearing word that was always applied to those who disagreed with Farage and his cabal. My view and that of the late Piers Merchant the returning officer was for UKIP to set up an NEC sub-committee to which all complainants could submit written evidence, appear in person and be questioned by the committee which would then rapidly rule on the validity of these complaints and what action should be taken if such was deemed necessary.
Such a democratic, fair and transparent process got short shrift from the Cabal and never saw the light of day. The result was that Andreasen and others appeared on the UKIP slates and were selected by the EU rules as UK MEPs. This is now coming back to haunt UKIP and is a dire warning of what has, and will happen, when rules are waived and ignored.
It will be worse this time round as the tide is rightly running strongly against the EU and many more cabal cronies will appear on the UKIP slates and be elected as UK MEPs by the EU many will be political dross. It does not matter if UKIP win all 76 or so UK MEP slates. MEPs cannot get us out of the EU only MPs in Westminster can do that. But there is a huge political downdside to these low grade sycophants when they have the letters MEP after their name. They will provide a soft and easy target for the largely Europhile media who will crucify them. Farage will huff and puff. He can brush aside one Bloom with his untenable views on women and association with undesirable mid European parties but he canot brush aside the ill considered public remarks of ten or even twenty of these people. They will make UKIP a laughing stock.
Farage's UKIP cult has many flaws. As in all cults rules are there to be obeyed only if the cult leader approves. Otherwise rules can be waived or ignored. You cannot run a serious political party as a cult. Adolf Hitler managed it in Germany but he had a host of talented people around him to cover his many flaws. Farage has gotten rid of all the talent at the top of UKIP just as Stalin purged the Red Army officer corps in the late 30s. Stalin however had a huge pool of talent to draw replacements from, a huge army and ruthless secret police force. He also had to listen to the Politburo. Farage's UKIP of course has none of these assets.
Worse, as well as lack of political talent, many of Farage's associates come with huge political baggage, the Hamiltons to name but two. Another easy target fror the BBC. UKIP's strategy must start with having squeaky clean candidates as far as possible. This makes them much harder to attack and shifts the battle on to the policy ground that UKIP can win on. Otherwise the BBC and its like will play the man not the ball just as happens in MOTD every Saturday. Its putting the ball in the back of the net that matters.
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