Anthony Butcher

But in this case only about 3500 people actually voted. Assuming, as a guess, that we could double that, we are still only talking about 7000 members voting, which would be £1470.

The ballots can still be sent with the magazine, just as a separate piece of paper. No need for envelopes or a separate postal delivery.

Percy the Poodle

I found the ballot paper rather confusing as it had some of the candidate's blurbs on the back and i wondered if it was the right one. The lack of any numbering which would have been free also bothered me, but i am an optimist so i voted anyway.

The result was good though

I think the candidates should have to be members for a while before they can stand for the NEC to prove their commitment to the party. It would cut down the number of candidates which is a source of confusion to most members who will have only heard of 2-3 of the candidates.

Exorcist

Anthony

I doubt whether the majority of members think the NEC is an irrelevance. On the contrary they probably have no idea of their party's structure and the part the NEC is supposed to play in policy and decision making.

Most UKIP members are not politically active. They have probably paid their subscriptions, read the manifesto, read the quarterly UKIP magazines, voted UKIP, congratulated themselves on doing their bit to save their country and thought no more about it. I speak from experience having written to constituency members requesting help in our Association's activities. The response has been abysmal.

In answer to your question "what is the point of the NEC at the moment?"I would like to quote Gerrard Batten's NEC election address. Unfortunately it is on the back of my ballot paper in the waste paper bin of some distant office.

From memory he points out that, constitutionally, the NEC is UKIP's highest decision and policy making body and at the moment it is being side lined. This is a matter that requires urgent correction. That is why he got my vote.

Anthony Butcher

I actually meant what Gerard Batten was saying - the NEC doesn't appear to play a role in the running of the party at all. It meets once per month, which tells us that it cannot really be an active participant in the day to day running of the party.

Hence most people in the party don't take any interest. Had it been a leadership election, then the number of votes would have been a lot higher I expect.

While the NEC may technically be the highest decision making body, that doesn't appear to be the case in practice. I may of course be entirely wrong on that point; I am just talking as someone active in the party, but not involved in the running of things.

However, you will recall that the election strategy document was withheld from the NEC due to the leak. That suggests to me that there is clearly a decision making body above the NEC that chose to make that decision.

Exorcist

My point is that there should not be a policy making body above the NEC.
Whatever this "higher body" may be it is unconstitutional, unaccountable and undemocratic.

I am suffering from deja vue. I started out wanting my country back. I end up wanting my party back as well.

Anthony Butcher

That would be the party leadership.

It seems a more sensible structure to me. The NEC is perhaps best reserved as an oversight body if it can only meet once per month. I think that the military hierarchy is a reasonable structure for getting things done, as long as it is properly accountable and monitored.

Exorcist

The day to day running of the party is an administrative matter which has nothing to do with the intended role of the NEC. Constitutionally the role of the NEC is to form policy and make political decisions. To do this it can and should meet as often as required.

Anthony Butcher

I am not sure that this is necessarily the best way of running things. I would have thought that political decision making should really be in the hands of the "shadow" cabinet; i.e. the people who would in theory have to implement the policies.

Exorcist

So did Stalin, Hitler, Saddam and Mussolini