UKIP Conference 2005

Britannist · 09-10-2005, 06:11 AM

Did you attend the UKIP party conference on 9.10.2005 in London? If you did, do you regard the Conference as a success or failure? Please vote in the poll at the top of this page. Thank you.

Was the Conference as successful as last year's at Bristol? Was holding it in London a good idea? What were the views of other delegates that you spoke to on the progress (or lack of it) of UKIP? Do you think the party will have a new leader when the next conference is held? The party membership is thought to be down to 20, 000 from a peak of 28, 000 at the time of last year's EU Election. How many members do you think UKIP will have in 12 months time? It would be interesting to read your views and opinions.

REPORT ON UKIP 2005 ANNUAL PARTY CONFERENCE (from the UKIP website): -

The Party Conference was opened by Jeffrey Titford MEP, who Introduced Party Leader Roger Knapman MEP. Roger rallied a packed hall to take UKIP forward as the only real opposition.

Jeffrey then introduced Geoffrey Kingscott - UKIP General Secretary, who in turn introduced Dick Horsnell - Fund Raising; Steve Allison - By Election Co-Ordinator; Jonathan Arnott - local government Co-ordinator; Steven Sobey - Press Officer; and Tony Butcher - Research Co-ordinator;

Alan Bown then came to the stage, to a huge standing ovation. He gave details of a public speaking competition to be announced in November's newsletter to find the future stars of UKIP.

Local Authority Election Strategy.

David Samuel-Camps explained that UKIP Local is being created to standardise all literature, give UKIP a National identity, and show the public that we are concerned with local issues

Mark Croucher gave details of how the UKIP press office will offer help and advice to local branches to assist branches in getting press coverage in the media.

Jonathan Arnott gave details of the new Local campaign leaflets that would be created for branches to assist in winning council seats.

Clive Page - press officer, gave a personal and at times humorous account of the work of the London press office. Clive explained that the BBC have retrained their staff in Brussels and that there is no conspiracy and that we do get a lot of support from the BBC in areas of the country that we have proven support, he asked that members make every effort to get elected to any local committee or council seat to raise the profile of UKIP.

Peter Baker gave an update on Party reform and said that we need to move up a gear - we need to improve the internal structure of the party, and show that we are much more than a party wanting out of the EU.

Motion 1 (see conference 2005 page for details)
Vote Result : For - 180; Against 260

The Younger Approach

Matthew Faithful spoke of building a bridge between the experience of age and the energy of youth. He went on to explain that today's children are being mislead in their education because they are not taught anything about their heritage. As a result, they do not now know who they are or where they come from. The young are our future - we need to ensure that they are supported.

Katie Davies - UKIP Youth is about getting younger people involved in the future of their country.
Delroy Young gave great support for a youth movement within UKIP and spoke out against multi-culturalism.

John West gave a very well received speech on getting young people to fight for this counry's independence.

The Constitution by the Back Door

Nigel Farage thanked Jeffrey Titford for taking over the Party Chairmanship at short notice this week. He also thanked Roger Knapman for leading the party so strongly.

We need to keep the pressure up. Although much of the media thinks that the issue of Europe is over - we must keep the message in the media and bu ld on local issues.

Nigel - Ken Clarke would be the best person to lead the Conservative Party, as this would show the country the Conservative Party's true colours - the pretence would be over.

Afternoon Programme

Roger Wilson spoke on his personal view of defence. He highlighted that the UK would not currently be able to defend its borders. Roger spoke of the destruction of our Army and Navy and the use of MOD land for housing and business development - and gave facts and figures on the amount of private enterprise that is involved in this breakup. He claimed that the destruction of our armed forces is part of the process of trapping Britain in a single European state.

Gerard Batten spoke about the urgent need for the UK to regain control of its own borders. He called for people refused entry to be deported, for foreign speaking immigrants to be given help in teaching English to help integrate them in to a free and independent Britain which has hope for the future.

Motion (see conference 2005 page for details)

Vote Result : Overwhelming vote AGAINST

Will the euro bring down the EU?

John Whittaker spoke on the state of the economies in EU member countries with the euro as their currency. He graphically demonstrated how damaging it has been to the eurozone economies. Only Luxembourg is doing well. The rest are doing poorly or are in dire straits.

Motion 3 (see conference 2005 page for details)

Vote Result : Overwhelming vote FOR

Dick Morris - congratulated UKIP on changing the course of history by gaining 17% of the vote in the EU elections in 2004 and by doing this pressuring Tony Blair to offer a referendum on the EU Constitution. He credited UKIP with stopping the Constitution in its tracks but claimed that the EU will now try to introduce it by stealth.

He claimed that Turkey is UKIP's next challenge - do we want Iran and Iraq as neighbours ?

Dick said it does not matter how many seats that we have in Westminster or Brussels - it matters that we exist and are fighting for Britain'sfuture. We must never lose sight of our goal.

Jeffrey Titford then introduced Roger Knapman, who was unable to speak because of the tumultuous standing ovation which went on for several minutes. He eventually had to ask for quiet so that he could speak.

He had some wry comment about the Conservative Party leadership challengers, who will give their views on the EU. Cameron didn't mention British independence once in his conference speech, Davis is concealing his past role as a whip who helped force through the Maastricht Treaty.

"We are British we are proud to be British and we are going to remain British"

"'We will face setbacks but we will continue to put pressure on the other parties"

Roger received an extended standing ovation - and thanked everybody for attending.

Conference Closed

Cyburn · 09-10-2005, 02:18 PM

UKIP needs more media coverage and needs to talk about issues other than the EU

mkpdavies · 09-10-2005, 08:18 PM

Good points.

Matthew Faithful was brilliant. The guy should be made a spokesman of something important and used at every opportunity.

Delroy (sorry forgotten his second name), was also bloody good and can say things from the heart, that the rest of us would be accused of being racists for.

Katie Davies is a good speaker too and the fact she is taking on the Youthkip idea INTO phpbb_the existing plans it good.

Roger Knapman made a good speech.

The hall was packed full (I was most heartened by that!)

The one heckler wasn't thrown out and accused of being a terrorist.

The Tories provided an amusing leaflet for us to read on the way in.

The Bruge group had some nice neutral leaflets for on the way out.

Bad Points

Average age of the delegate.

The speech by Dick Morris seemed off track to me.

Not enough time!

eublues · 09-10-2005, 09:46 PM

What was impressive was the gusto in the proceedings given the drama and chaos behind the scences.

How Nattrass had the brass-neck to chair some of Friday's event I don't know.

mkpdavies · 09-10-2005, 09:50 PM

It's because UKIP's leaders are now seasoned pro's at all this. It wouldn't be UKIP if there wasn't some drama.

rogerthomas · 09-10-2005, 11:51 PM

I thought that overall the conference was a success. As previously noted, the hall was full which shows that the core of dedicated activists is still there and always will be, whatever the party's faults.

I have thought for some time that more time should be given to motions from branches at the conference. Maybe this would mean a two day conference and I'm not sure about the cost of this, but it would mean that more party policy can be formed.

Unfortunately, the conference has to be in London if we are to maximise the national media coverage. Yes, there was plenty of media in Bristol last year, but they were there for only one reason. The man with the tan.

Slightly off topic, but still relevant I think. The best thing that all members and activists can do is not to get downhearted and leave (to where I don't know) but to stick around. If you think that the party is not doing what you want it to, don't just moan and throw in the towel. Get out there and put right what you think is wrong. I have another post (somewhere on this forum) which elaborates on this.

All in all a good conference.

Cyburn · 10-10-2005, 03:31 PM

UKIP should try and get more support in London, especially in the local elections next year.

10-10-2005, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkpdavies

Roger Knapman made a good speech.

His speech is on the BBC website.

Christina

Biscuitman · 10-10-2005, 11:28 PM

I came away feeling more enthused and positive than I had expected to.

Nigel Garage · 11-10-2005, 12:54 PM

Is it true that the person who spoke about 'Youthkip' wore a back-to-front baseball cap? :shock:

View Poll Results: Was the UKIP 2005 Conference a success?
Yes, it was a success	12	37.50%
No, it was a failure	10	31.25%
No view/undecided	10	31.25%
Voters: 32. You may not vote on this poll

09-10-2005, 06:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
Britannist Uber Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: London Posts: 22,896	UKIP Conference 2005 - Success or failure? Did you attend the UKIP party conference on 9.10.2005 in London? If you did, do you regard the Conference as a success or failure? Please vote in the poll at the top of this page. Thank you. Was the Conference as successful as last year's at Bristol? Was holding it in London a good idea? What were the views of other delegates that you spoke to on the progress (or lack of it) of UKIP? Do you think the party will have a new leader when the next conference is held? The party membership is thought to be down to 20, 000 from a peak of 28, 000 at the time of last year's EU Election. How many members do you think UKIP will have in 12 months time? It would be interesting to read your views and opinions. REPORT ON UKIP 2005 ANNUAL PARTY CONFERENCE (from the UKIP website): - The Party Conference was opened by Jeffrey Titford MEP, who Introduced Party Leader Roger Knapman MEP. Roger rallied a packed hall to take UKIP forward as the only real opposition. Jeffrey then introduced Geoffrey Kingscott - UKIP General Secretary, who in turn introduced Dick Horsnell - Fund Raising; Steve Allison - By Election Co-Ordinator; Jonathan Arnott - local government Co-ordinator; Steven Sobey - Press Officer; and Tony Butcher - Research Co-ordinator; Alan Bown then came to the stage, to a huge standing ovation. He gave details of a public speaking competition to be announced in November's newsletter to find the future stars of UKIP. Local Authority Election Strategy. David Samuel-Camps explained that UKIP Local is being created to standardise all literature, give UKIP a National identity, and show the public that we are concerned with local issues Mark Croucher gave details of how the UKIP press office will offer help and advice to local branches to assist branches in getting press coverage in the media. Jonathan Arnott gave details of the new Local campaign leaflets that would be created for branches to assist in winning council seats. Clive Page - press officer, gave a personal and at times humorous account of the work of the London press office. Clive explained that the BBC have retrained their staff in Brussels and that there is no conspiracy and that we do get a lot of support from the BBC in areas of the country that we have proven support, he asked that members make every effort to get elected to any local committee or council seat to raise the profile of UKIP. Peter Baker gave an update on Party reform and said that we need to move up a gear - we need to improve the internal structure of the party, and show that we are much more than a party wanting out of the EU. Motion 1 (see conference 2005 page for details) Vote Result : For - 180; Against 260 The Younger Approach Matthew Faithful spoke of building a bridge between the experience of age and the energy of youth. He went on to explain that today's children are being mislead in their education because they are not taught anything about their heritage. As a result, they do not now know who they are or where they come from. The young are our future - we need to ensure that they are supported. Katie Davies - UKIP Youth is about getting younger people involved in the future of their country. Delroy Young gave great support for a youth movement within UKIP and spoke out against multi-culturalism. John West gave a very well received speech on getting young people to fight for this counry's independence. The Constitution by the Back Door Nigel Farage thanked Jeffrey Titford for taking over the Party Chairmanship at short notice this week. He also thanked Roger Knapman for leading the party so strongly. We need to keep the pressure up. Although much of the media thinks that the issue of Europe is over - we must keep the message in the media and bu ld on local issues. Nigel - Ken Clarke would be the best person to lead the Conservative Party, as this would show the country the Conservative Party's true colours - the pretence would be over. Afternoon Programme Roger Wilson spoke on his personal view of defence. He highlighted that the UK would not currently be able to defend its borders. Roger spoke of the destruction of our Army and Navy and the use of MOD land for housing and business development - and gave facts and figures on the amount of private enterprise that is involved in this breakup. He claimed that the destruction of our armed forces is part of the process of trapping Britain in a single European state. Gerard Batten spoke about the urgent need for the UK to regain control of its own borders. He called for people refused entry to be deported, for foreign speaking immigrants to be given help in teaching English to help integrate them in to a free and independent Britain which has hope for the future. Motion (see conference 2005 page for details) Vote Result : Overwhelming vote AGAINST Will the euro bring down the EU? John Whittaker spoke on the state of the economies in EU member countries with the euro as their currency. He graphically demonstrated how damaging it has been to the eurozone economies. Only Luxembourg is doing well. The rest are doing poorly or are in dire straits. Motion 3 (see conference 2005 page for details) Vote Result : Overwhelming vote FOR Dick Morris - congratulated UKIP on changing the course of history by gaining 17% of the vote in the EU elections in 2004 and by doing this pressuring Tony Blair to offer a referendum on the EU Constitution. He credited UKIP with stopping the Constitution in its tracks but claimed that the EU will now try to introduce it by stealth. He claimed that Turkey is UKIP's next challenge - do we want Iran and Iraq as neighbours ? Dick said it does not matter how many seats that we have in Westminster or Brussels - it matters that we exist and are fighting for Britain'sfuture. We must never lose sight of our goal. Jeffrey Titford then introduced Roger Knapman, who was unable to speak because of the tumultuous standing ovation which went on for several minutes. He eventually had to ask for quiet so that he could speak. He had some wry comment about the Conservative Party leadership challengers, who will give their views on the EU. Cameron didn't mention British independence once in his conference speech, Davis is concealing his past role as a whip who helped force through the Maastricht Treaty. "We are British we are proud to be British and we are going to remain British" "'We will face setbacks but we will continue to put pressure on the other parties" Roger received an extended standing ovation - and thanked everybody for attending. Conference Closed

09-10-2005, 08:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 31,182 Party: Libertarian Party	Good points. Matthew Faithful was brilliant. The guy should be made a spokesman of something important and used at every opportunity. Delroy (sorry forgotten his second name), was also bloody good and can say things from the heart, that the rest of us would be accused of being racists for. Katie Davies is a good speaker too and the fact she is taking on the Youthkip idea INTO phpbb_the existing plans it good. Roger Knapman made a good speech. The hall was packed full (I was most heartened by that!) The one heckler wasn't thrown out and accused of being a terrorist. The Tories provided an amusing leaflet for us to read on the way in. The Bruge group had some nice neutral leaflets for on the way out. Bad Points Average age of the delegate. The speech by Dick Morris seemed off track to me. Not enough time! __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

09-10-2005, 09:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 31,182 Party: Libertarian Party	It's because UKIP's leaders are now seasoned pro's at all this. It wouldn't be UKIP if there wasn't some drama. __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

10-10-2005, 11:28 PM	#9 (permalink)
Biscuitman Uber Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 3,486	I came away feeling more enthused and positive than I had expected to. __________________ IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

09-10-2005, 02:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cyburn Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kilburn, London Posts: 523	UKIP needs more media coverage and needs to talk about issues other than the EU

09-10-2005, 09:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
eublues Uber Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,128	What was impressive was the gusto in the proceedings given the drama and chaos behind the scences. How Nattrass had the brass-neck to chair some of Friday's event I don't know.

09-10-2005, 11:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
rogerthomas Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Gwent Posts: 93	I thought that overall the conference was a success. As previously noted, the hall was full which shows that the core of dedicated activists is still there and always will be, whatever the party's faults. I have thought for some time that more time should be given to motions from branches at the conference. Maybe this would mean a two day conference and I'm not sure about the cost of this, but it would mean that more party policy can be formed. Unfortunately, the conference has to be in London if we are to maximise the national media coverage. Yes, there was plenty of media in Bristol last year, but they were there for only one reason. The man with the tan. Slightly off topic, but still relevant I think. The best thing that all members and activists can do is not to get downhearted and leave (to where I don't know) but to stick around. If you think that the party is not doing what you want it to, don't just moan and throw in the towel. Get out there and put right what you think is wrong. I have another post (somewhere on this forum) which elaborates on this. All in all a good conference.

10-10-2005, 03:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
Cyburn Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kilburn, London Posts: 523	UKIP should try and get more support in London, especially in the local elections next year.

11-10-2005, 12:54 PM	#10 (permalink)
Nigel Garage Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ashford Posts: 557	Is it true that the person who spoke about 'Youthkip' wore a back-to-front baseball cap? :shock:

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