Jim Smith

That is the question asked on another (locked) thread.

So in the case of one by election we get 8 votes and in another 40 votes.

Which UKIP MEPs turned out for the by elections to help?

Surely council by elections are more important to UKIP than attendance in Europe?

Richard Allen

While I agree we need to get our MEP's involved in local by elections it is more important that we have a grass roots campaign. Unless we have a good local campaign the presence of an MEP or 2 is not going to make much of a difference.

Jim Smith

But the presence of MEPs and their staff would energise local activists.

I asked the question which ones turned up for a day?

Britannist

I've been calling on this forum for UKIP MEPs to help out in local By-Elections for some time :shock: .

Voters would be pleased to meet an MEP on their doorsteps. In many areas they've never even met a councillor, let alone an MP or MEP.

And apart from anything else, at the Croydon local By-Election last week (in which UKIP got 40 votes) other parties were helped by their MPs and MEPs.

Everyone knows the UKIP MEPS have work to do in Brussels, but it should be possible over the normal campaign length of about three weeks for an MEP to visit a ward within his own 'region' where a council By-Election is taking place.

mkpdavies

UKIP aren't anywhere near organised enough still. It was a huge issue for some of us before the leadership election.

Nigel has excelled in getting media coverage and converts, but still the skeleton of organisation is not there. This is why smaller parties are out punching UKIP, in one off elections and in their target wards.

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Jim Smith

I thought the point of getting MEPs was not so they could work in Europe but so they could work on getting us out of Europe?

Westyorksherman

Excellent point Jim Smith!

On that matter, what exactly do they do on a day-to-day basis?

Bluemerle

Didn't do much good in Bromley. :shock:

Britannist

If UKIP had done as well in last week's local By-Election at Croydon as it did last Summer in the parliamentary By-Election in the neighbouring borough of Bromley - UKIP would have got about 8% of the vote at Croydon instead of the much lower share it actually polled.

I understand that MPs and MEPs helped Labour and the Liberal Dim parties at last week's Croydon poll. That may have helped those parties get much more votes than UKIP did.

One other factor is that Labour, the Conservatives and the Fiberal Dims probably have proper ward organisations throughout Croydon whose volunteers work not only in those wards - but in other wards when By-Elections take place.

Britannist

I think you mean getting us out of the EU.

If party volunteers work so hard getting the MEPs elected - surely it's a good idea for those MEPs to lead by example and turn up for some canvassing when they are in this country.

That's what MEPs in other parties do.

Apart from anything else, canvassing and getting their pictures in local or 'regional' newspapers while campaigning in UK local and national By-Elections helps publicise the MEPs and can do their re-election chances no harm.

In other words - it helps the MEP as well as the local UKIP candidate if a UKIP MEP helps a UKIP council candidate in a local By-Election or at the May local elections.