What changes would you make as leader? - new thread

komerad · 28-05-2006, 10:00 AM

[quote="Britannist"]
The leader of UKIP should channel all the efforts on the party to start getting councillors elected in the key target parliamentary constituencies and to building up support. Tens of thousands of homes in those constituenies need to be mailed, canvassed and telephoned.
Leaflets, party logo, website and other party literature needs to be updated and 'modernised'. Party policy needs to be widened - with EU withdrawal remaining the central core. quote]

Britannist - I completely agree with your comments, but,as I have pointed out many times, what do we use for money :?:

Andrew Constantine · 28-05-2006, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by komerad

Britannist - I completely agree with your comments, but,as I have pointed out many times, what do we use for money :?:

UKIP has some 20,000 members. Ask them as a one-off to pay £10 each to set up a fighting fund for elections?

And if we only stood as sleeping candidates in other places, we could allocate the cash and activist resource that would have otherwise have been used (possibly to little effect), and send it to the selected constituencies.

Focus of scarce resources under the first past the post system of local and general elections has to be the way forward for UKIP. I accept that elections where there is a PR element probably requires a different approach.

John Page · 28-05-2006, 10:59 AM

We have to start promoting "the product" between elections.

What's "the product"? Is it an anti-EU pressure group which snipes intermittently at obvious government blunders?

Or is it a radical UK party which has EU withdrawal as one of its central policies?

My view is, if we're the first, we won't get elected and don't deserve to, because we're not telling people enough about what we want to do about issues that most concern them - like crime, immigration, schools, health.

Could you sum up in a couple of sentences UKIP's policies on these? If you can't, you can be sure the electorate don't know what we stand for.

You can target as few or as many seats as you like - and I agree there is a debate to be had here - but the policy output and the constant drip, drip, drip of announcements must be there all the time, so that when you start a campaign in a seat, people already have a pretty good idea what we think about the issues that concern them.

They don't now, and that is squarely the fault of the leadership.

Britannist · 29-05-2006, 02:09 AM

[quote="komerad"]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britannist

The leader of UKIP should channel all the efforts on the party to start getting councillors elected in the key target parliamentary constituencies and to building up support. Tens of thousands of homes in those constituenies need to be mailed, canvassed and telephoned.
Leaflets, party logo, website and other party literature needs to be updated and 'modernised'. Party policy needs to be widened - with EU withdrawal remaining the central core. quote]

Britannist - I completely agree with your comments, but,as I have pointed out many times, what do we use for money :?:

£10, 000 a year from each of the 10 UKIP MEP's might help - starting NOW. Didn't they originally promise not to draw a salary/expenses if they got elected to Brussels? I'm sure it was agreed before 2004 (when UKIP won 12 seats in the 'EU 'Parliament' on 10.6.2004) that all UKIP MEP's would give a cut of their annual take home pay to UKIP central funds.
Roger Knapman HAS made some financial contributions - but I haven't read/heard what the other 9 remaining UKIP MEP's have done (or not done).

Intbel · 29-05-2006, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britannist

... but I haven't read/heard what the other 9 remaining UKIP MEP's have done (or not done).

Just because you haven't heard they have doesn't mean they haven't.

I mean, you haven't heard I am standing for election - does that mean I'm not :?:

Britannist · 29-05-2006, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intbel

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britannist

... but I haven't read/heard what the other 9 remaining UKIP MEP's have done (or not done).

Just because you haven't heard they have doesn't mean they haven't.

I mean, you haven't heard I am standing for election - does that mean I'm not :?:

I'm sure that if all 10 UKIP MEP's had given £10, 000 each from their take-home pay to UKIP party funds each and ever year since 2004 (and since 1999 for the first three UKIP MEP's to be elected) I believe their generosity would have been reported by now through the official party journal and on the website.

Paul Sykes gave UKIP about £1 million I believe in help for the 2004 UKIP EU Election campaign. If Mr. Sykes isn't so generous next time - then the money to run an equally successful (indeed, somewhat brilliant) campaign is going to have to come from somewhere (for the UKIP campaign for the EU Election of 2009).

UKIP party members - some of them pensioners with little money - may be asked (by UKIP party bosses) to make a special 2009 Election fund contribution. Not unreasonably, some members of UKIP may ask that if they are expected to cough up extra cash (on top of their annual UKIP membership fees) shouldn't the well-paid UKIP MEP's make an even bigger sacrifice (at least those that may have given nothing so far to UKIP funds)? Especially as Alan Bown (the Kent businessman) has been and is being so generous to the party (UKIP).

Labour has received £2.9 million in donations in the first quarter of this year and the Conservatives £9 million (three times more than the first three months of last year and three times more than is normal for the first quarter in a year following a General Election). In view of this, UKIP needs money just to stay in the race (as do other smaller or small parties such as the Greens and the vile Liberal Dims).

Bluemerle · 29-05-2006, 09:26 AM

I agree Britannist. I believe one MEP has been quite generous, and it wasn't Knapman, but the rest, as far as I know have not given anything, and as you rightly point out, this was promised when we went into the EU election.

They appear to have gone native enjoying the excesses of life in Brussels and Strasbourg. :evil:

kernow · 29-05-2006, 05:21 PM

Did I read it, or did I dream it, that MEPs we're not allowed to fund any political parties?

Mikeuk · 29-05-2006, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluemerle

I agree Britannist. I believe one MEP has been quite generous, and it wasn't Knapman, but the rest, as far as I know have not given anything, and as you rightly point out, this was promised when we went into the EU election.

They appear to have gone native enjoying the excesses of life in Brussels and Strasbourg. :evil:

Did all candidates specifically make this promise?

If so, why have they apparently not kept to it?

Bluemerle · 29-05-2006, 08:02 PM

I understood that they had promised to support the party out of their expenses.

I know the EU objected to this, but I believe they found a way around it.

28-05-2006, 10:00 AM	#21 (permalink)
komerad Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cardiff. S.Wales Posts: 611	Re: UKIP leader's priorities [quote="Britannist"] The leader of UKIP should channel all the efforts on the party to start getting councillors elected in the key target parliamentary constituencies and to building up support. Tens of thousands of homes in those constituenies need to be mailed, canvassed and telephoned. Leaflets, party logo, website and other party literature needs to be updated and 'modernised'. Party policy needs to be widened - with EU withdrawal remaining the central core. quote] Britannist - I completely agree with your comments, but,as I have pointed out many times, what do we use for money :?:

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28-05-2006, 10:59 AM	#23 (permalink)
John Page Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Welwyn Hatfield (Herts.) Posts: 1,878	We have to start promoting "the product" between elections. What's "the product"? Is it an anti-EU pressure group which snipes intermittently at obvious government blunders? Or is it a radical UK party which has EU withdrawal as one of its central policies? My view is, if we're the first, we won't get elected and don't deserve to, because we're not telling people enough about what we want to do about issues that most concern them - like crime, immigration, schools, health. Could you sum up in a couple of sentences UKIP's policies on these? If you can't, you can be sure the electorate don't know what we stand for. You can target as few or as many seats as you like - and I agree there is a debate to be had here - but the policy output and the constant drip, drip, drip of announcements must be there all the time, so that when you start a campaign in a seat, people already have a pretty good idea what we think about the issues that concern them. They don't now, and that is squarely the fault of the leadership.

29-05-2006, 09:26 AM	#27 (permalink)
Bluemerle Uber Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Dorset. Posts: 3,252	I agree Britannist. I believe one MEP has been quite generous, and it wasn't Knapman, but the rest, as far as I know have not given anything, and as you rightly point out, this was promised when we went into the EU election. They appear to have gone native enjoying the excesses of life in Brussels and Strasbourg. :evil:

29-05-2006, 05:21 PM	#28 (permalink)
kernow Uber Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 5,184	Did I read it, or did I dream it, that MEPs we're not allowed to fund any political parties?

29-05-2006, 08:02 PM	#30 (permalink)
Bluemerle Uber Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Dorset. Posts: 3,252	I understood that they had promised to support the party out of their expenses. I know the EU objected to this, but I believe they found a way around it.