mrabody

I don't generaly agree with much that Anthony says, but I'm wiht him on this one. I think Anthony has been pretty fair on this thread. Personally if Nigel employes his wife as a secretary I could care less - as long as she is doing the work and it isn't a fiction. If he also employs his son whilst his son is at university then I'll be very upset, as this is clearly blatant nepotism.

Funding UKIP through MEPs expense accounts, if it is going on, is morally wrong. This is not EU money that we are talking about it is money that came from British (and European) taxpayers. And trust me the taxpayers will not be happy, they will see it as UKIP milking the system for UKIPs benefit.

If it is indeed the case that the party is being funded through MEPs expenses, this is damaging to the party in other ways. If we are hooked on the MEP expenses welfare system, this will cause our attention to be focused on getting more welfare payments from the EU by electing more MEPs, not by increasing the party membership and professionalizing the party so that we can raise money from our own members or members of the public. Electing 25or 40 or 78 MEPs won't get us out of Europe! It just threatens to suck many of our brightest and best activists (and many who aren't all that bright or great) down a blind alley to deadend jobs where they do nothing to advance the cause of getting our country back. Only by getting a substantial contingent of MPs elected to Westminster will we actually move closer to our real goal. You can't seriously think that Nigel Farage does more to advance our goals as an MEP than he would as a full time party leader here in the UK busy working hard to get himself and 10 other UKIP MPs into Westminster at the next general election!

Lastly, an interesting thought. What happens if we are found to be improperly funding the Party through MEPs expense allowances. Will our funding be cut off? Will we be forced to repay the misappropriated funds. You can bet your bottom dollar that if the EU has been slow to act so far on MEP corruption, they will suddently move very quickly if they think they can destroy UKIP.

Mark Croucher

Thanks for clarifying that. All we have to do now is figure out how.

M

John Cooper

Excellent news. I look forward to Nigel winning his libel suit.

Anthony Butcher

I just spoke to Piers Merchant who confirmed that John Bufton does indeed work in the South West now as a press officer for Roger Knapman, and is not employed as a full time Regional Organiser/Political Coordinator in Wales.

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Anthony Butcher

This is taken from Roger Knapman's website, posted a week ago

__________________
If you care about what's in your food and where it comes from, then get it labelled!
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ex-member

I have no idea if the Sunday Times has got its story correct but two points are worrying-
Why did not Nigel Farage categorically dismiss the story with a clear denial when contacted by the Sunday Times instead of talking about ridiculous questions.
Should he not be writing to and publishing a letter to the Editor putting the facts straight and demanding an apology.

B.A.Ware

Does this mean that our MEP's agreed not to employ there wives and if so how come Nigel employees his?

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We’re not just about Europe.

mrabody

We're on the right track in a couple of areas - we are developing domestic polices, and we are beginning to contest local elections regularly.

There are plenty of things we still need to do, but most crucially we need a full time leader in the UK, not one who is an MEP. I'm not suggesting we replace Nigel, I'm suggesting we bring him home from Brussels and make him a full time leader of the party. He's by far the best speaker and communicator that we have. Unfortunately the British Media doesn't care about what goes on in Brussels, it only cares about what happens in Westminster. Likewise the British public might agree partly or wholely with us about the EU but what they really care about is crime, education, the NHS and a bunch of other domestic issues. Imagine if Nigel was spending all his time in the UK, part of the time hanging out in Westminster looking for microphones and television cameras, and the rest of the time travelling around to meetings, town raids and doing local media appearances throughout the country. He'd get a great deal more media exposure which over time would lead to more members, more donations etc. It would also show the country that we are a serious party, not just a pressure group.

UKIP can certainly afford it. I'm a member of the Surrey Committee, and another member once commented to me that if you look around the table at a committee meeting, you are staring at a combined worth of the people sitting there of £20m+. I think that if asked there are plenty of UKIPers who are prepared to stump up £50 or £100+ every month to make sure that Nigel's salary and expenses are met. In any event the benefits of having a leader who could devote himself full time to overseeing the party instead of spending much of his time in Brussels would go a long way to strengthening the party on the ground and increasing party organization and professionalism at the centre.

Having Nigel's undivided time and attention in the UK would allow everything else to gradually fall into place. Recruitment of members, raising funds, media exposure, and yes, winning elections to Westminster.

Millennium3

We have gone through this before, if every member paid just £5 per month, this would provide plenty enough for a full time leader in the UK dealing with domestic politics. I have no great regard for the UKIP leadership, but I cannot believe that the issues you raise have not been thoroughly discussed by them. There must be a reason why they are not too troubled by UKIP - UK, even though Westminster is the only route to changing our relationship with the EU.

All of the reasons that have been suggested and any I can think only point to one conclusion - they don't want to change our relationship with the EU.

Mark Croucher

As always, its getting people to put their hands in their pockets. And I think you'd be surprised about the source of funds too. In my humble experience, the bulk of donations come from people who really can't afford it, while those with a considerable net worth tend to hang on to it at all costs. I was once told of a UKIP meeting where the cars parked outside alone were worth over £ 500k, and the attendees net worth was some £80m+, arguing that they couldn't afford a billboard campaign because they were £ 5,000 short. There are those who'll risk their own cash, but they are few and far between.

Rgds

M