Independent UKIP

This is indeed excellent news and as some have suggested the decision would not have been taken lightly. I pray that the UKIP leadership don't muck this up as to do so and lose these 2 members would be an utter disaster from which UKIP would struggle to recover.

What the leadership has to do is demonstrate that Lord Pearson of Rannoch & Lord Willoughby de Broke have made the right decision in defecting to UKIP and that the others who are currently wary of defecting will have any doubts dissipated and thus join us soon.

Britannist

Perhaps the two noble Peers will be given important positions within UKIP. As of today UKIP has representation in Parliament. The party should be able to get some good publicity when the two noble Peers speak.

I hope that when they speak in the Upper House (or outside it) the media make clear which party they are from.

BBC Parliament must ensure that if they are shown speaking on the BBC Parliament channel (or other BBC programmes) they are captioned (listed on screen) as being in UKIP.

Presumably one of the two Peers will become leader of UKIP in the House of Lords.

With the arrival of the noble peers in UKIP today has been a good day for UKIP.

tito

BBC usually caption lords as they stand.

This is the step into being a serious party. Two lords is alot of power, lets hope it isn't screwed up.

Independent UKIP

I completely agree. The media have often quoted both Peers on various very serious issues & they have both initiated debates in Parliament on highly newsworthy issues.

The downside for them is that everything they say (and indeed do not say) in Parliament will be more scrutinised than it ever was when they were Tories or after the tory whip was withdrawn.

My very late new years resolution is that I will not criticise our new members for not doing things they weren't already doing. I will not criticise them for not voting on things they typically did not vote on before they joined UKIP. I will similarly not criticise them for not speaking in debates that they typically did not attend/speak in before they joined UKIP. They are patently both very hard working members of the Lords and I hope every UKIP supporter here and elsewhere will support them and not start moaning about them unless there is an extremely good reason to do so.

tito

So do they start debate for the UKIP immediately?

Tomorrow? Is gay rights still the agenda for tomorrow?

Westcountryman

Exactly. This is UKIPs first representation at Westminster, not to be sniffed at!!

__________________
Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."

Independent UKIP

Quote:

Future Business Wednesday 10 January at 3.00pm *Lord Harrison to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether in the light of their work-life balance policies they will support the British Cleaning Council’s campaign to promote a return to daytime office cleaning. *Lord Barnett to ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the impact of current green taxes on climate change. *Lord De Mauley to ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the recommendations of the Law Commission regarding post legislative scrutiny. †*Lord Tyler to ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Minister for Europe, Mr Geoff Hoon (formerly Secretary of State for Defence), refused the request of the coroner to give evidence to the inquest into the death of Sergeant Steven Roberts. †Mental Health Bill [HL] Committee (day 2) [Lord Hunt of Kings Heath] 2nd Report from the Delegated Powers Committee Baroness Stern to ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take in response to the report by the Youth Justice Board, published on 2 November, on research into Anti-social Behaviour Orders given to young people between January 2004 and January 2005. (Dinner break business, 1 hour) It is expected that the Grand Committee on the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill will continue at 3.45pm in the Moses Room and that it will conclude.

On the first tito question Yes. On the second tito question I have no info about gay rights being on the agenda (see above). But you make my earlier point for me I think. They are only 2 human beings. They cannot and will not be everything for every UKIP member/supporter.
There is a debate on Thursday one or other might contribute to if they so choose:

Britannist

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) only recently got representation in the Lords when Mrs. Eileen Paisley (wife of the party leader, Ian) was awarded a place. It has taken nearly three decades for the DUP to get that place.

It will be a historic day for UKIP when a noble Lord for the party rises in the Upper House to speak as either Lord Pearson or Lord Willoughby will, no doubt, shortly - but it is still the case that no one already in UKIP has been given a place in the Lords. The party (UKIP) has had to secure defections of two people already in the Lords (from the crossbenchers but two individuals originally elevated to the Lords as Conservatives) to gain its rightful representation in the Upper House.

I wonder what the procedure is for UKIP - a party which has at least one elected member of the EU 'Parliament' representing every part of England (except for the north-east) - having someone recommended for the Peerage.

One day- should a system of proportional representation voting be introduced for elections to the Lords which does discriminate in its workings against UKIP - I forecast that UKIP could become a larger presence in the Lords than the europhile Liberal Dims. And it is Lord Pearson and Lord Willoughly who will have been there first for UKIP.

ryansoton

I disagree. From what i know of the Plymouth situation is the left as the were disillousioned with Nigels direction. In other words they wwanted to remain a single issue group.

Alex McKee

Yes, the Plymouth chaps were very keen on David Noakes.