Who am I?
After graduating from Oxford, I worked for NatWest. I now have a banking consultancy business -
http://www.bankexperts.co.uk
Separately, I run a group of self-help web sites for people short-changed by personal finance products -
http://www.financevictims.co.uk
I hope to start a UKIP branch in Welwyn Hatfield.
[At the E Counties meeting I had the distinction of getting a (friendly) heckle from John Youles, and at Lechlade I did the short final spot.]
Why did I join UKIP?
Historically, we joined a Common Market to stem our economic decline. That decline was reversed, but that was thanks to UK government policies, not thanks to the European project.
We are now in a political European Union, where most governments favour ever closer political union.
- It's hurting our living standards (e.g. through dearer food), not improving them. This will get worse.
Its governments are run by economic illiterates who didn't realise what harm the Euro would do
They spend our money badly, for instance subsidising countries like Spain, Greece and Ireland. I agree with aid to the third world properly delivered, but not to countries that are already quite rich. Aid to Spain or Greece or Ireland is not money well spent
And how much of our money is spent fraudulently? Nobody knows.
So increasingly we are governed by incompetent, invisible, unaccountable bureaucrats from other countries who want to increase their control over us.
Our main parties won't reverse this. The Labour hierarchy are going with the flow, the Lib Dems actually support this mess, and the Tories are so split that they can't have any meaningful policy about it at all.
The European Union is the single worst thing that's happened to this country for decades.
Where next?
Some people ask if UKIP should be a pressure group or a political party. It's a false choice. The pressure group that other parties fear most is a new political party which takes votes from them.
Credible mainstream parties need more than one policy. UKIP hasn't got the resources to have a detailed policy on everything. Anyway, we don't want so many policies that they dilute our central message.
Personally I favour smaller government, simpler government (including tax simplification), deregulation, and a fairer voting system. I oppose trendy gesture politics, and political correctness for its own sake. Much of this agenda is impossible inside the European Union.
I'm not interested in a party that looks to the past, or in a party that is racist, or in a party that is insular.
Let's say for the sake of argument that we favour deregulation and we're against PC gesture politics. Those two principles alone should give us plenty of opportunities for rapid response media releases as the government announces new, ill thought out initiatives off its own bat.
Combine this with highlighting implementation of instructions from the European Union, and we have plenty of opportunities for media releases.
Actions
In the short term, let's target the Centre to get out rapid response media releases in those areas, with simultaneous emails to branches so that they can cascade to their local media - and keep their branch web sites updated. Suggestions for topics from members INTO phpbb_the Centre should be encouraged, as a quick informal way of showing what issues we consider important, and whether party opinion is strongly divided.
Unlike the big parties, we don't have to release blizzards of media releases about everything. Good. That lets us concentrate our releases on issues relevant to our core principles (I suggested some above). Every release can highlight the relevant core principle.
Maybe this week by week activity will start to highlight areas where we should consider working up more detailed policies in the medium term.
This action programme should be manageable within central resources (though maybe the structure would have to be looked at). Importantly, branches will be involved on a week by week basis.
Let's use the internet to unite branches and the centre regularly in shared actions, and work together for the future together as one party.
Regards
John Page