Star

Can any members out there help me out? David Campbell Bannerman is planning to seek selection as a UKIP MEP. I understand that he was after a seat in the East but have been told that he is now interested in the SW. Is this true?


I know that in the East he is not that popular with many members. Many regard him as a carpetbagger and a 'wet'. He was a member of the Bow Group, a Tory organisation on the left of that party. He is also a less than inspiring speaker.

He also needs to deal with these rumours concerning his private life. I know that many will say "so what" but if true they could damage the party. A simple statement from him would end these rumours.

Anthony Butcher

I haven't heard any rumours about his private life. If you are questioning whether he is gay or not, who cares? I know that homophobia is a big problem in UKIP (one only has to look at some threads on this site!), but its not a big issue in politics in general.

As much as I clashed continually with DCB while on the NEC, and found him somewhat lacking in integrity and backbone (i.e. he is a politician first and foremost) , he is hard working and competent. Neither of those virtues should be underestimated. What's more, he is normal looking, doesn't appear to hold any whacky views or conspiracy theories, isn't over retirement age and can manage himself in front of a camera.

Given some of the very limited alternatives open to UKIP, I would have thought that he would be a reasonable choice as an MEP.

__________________
If you care about what's in your food and where it comes from, then get it labelled!
Label My Food - http://www.labelmyfood.org.uk

douglas denny

Absolutely right. Who cares? What he does in his bedroom is his affair.

Disagree about the integrity/backbone bit. He has the highest integrity; and is stubborn to the point of awkwardness if he puts his mind to it when he has a point to make. That's backbone enough in politics.

He would be an excellent choice anywhere and make a very good MEP.
Quiet. Intelligent. A likeable fellow (unlike me!). Calm in all circumstances (unlike me!); an excellent committee man who can defuse the most difficult hiatus (I have seen him do it); good in front of the camera; what he has to say is measured and always to the point and penetrating in analysis.

A clever chap! We are lucky to have him in UKIP.

DED.
-

charlie endell

I disagree.... I can think of a number of openly gay members who have done fine in the party. The founder, Sked, is gay of course.

If it is a problem "in UKIP" then that is probably just a reflection of general attitudes in society. Maybe people who are politically active are by nature more likely than most to say what they really think.

But I don't accept that UKIP is particularly homophobic.

Bentley Turbo

My grandfather was a close friend of David's illustrious ancester the Prime Minister.

A later member of this great family spoke out bravely when the sinister Hartley Shawcross proclaimed "We are the masters now"

Shawcross was referring to the Germans and was fully aware of Attlee's treason, and he was wrong. Attlee was thrown out in 1951 and the DVD had to murder poor old Hugh Gaitskell before regaining control of the Labour Party, which they've just lost again, after a desperate battle to block Brown.

They tired to murder Brown twice, the first attempt, in Jan 2005, involved the 'Real' IRA and a Barrett Light 50 sniper rifle at very long range, so long it forced a rethink of the security perimeter both in Whitehall and DC, some of that work leaked out to Hollywood and was reflected in a movie, The Shooter I think it was called. Prior to that episode a range of half a mile was considered a realistic maximum for an assassination attempt, as there were thought to be too many variables for the high probability of success operational planners look for.

The second was on a visit to Iraq, when GO2 arranged for his itinerary to reach al Qaeda. The itinerary was changed at the last moment and the changes were kept back from MI6, which was leaking like a sieve (and still is, place is as leaky as a collander).

GO2 incidentally was the inspiration for Fleming's fictional OO section (02 = double 0).

douglas denny

Very interesting. I am not aware there has been an attempt at assasination by sniper of Brown - I assume you mean Gordon Brown ?

The Barret light 50 (0.5inch calibre) is a very potent weapon capable of going through body armour. Sniper rifles of that nature and range are not new by any means.

I have a Whitworth hexagonal-rifled barrel rifle which was designed in 1855; uses black powder, and is capable of accurate shooting of a 530 Grain lead bullet; or steel armour-piercing bullet to 1500 yards or more.
A few were sold to the Confederates in the American Civil War, and there is a famous case of a Union general urging his troops into forward attack standing in view of the enemy saying "Come-on they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist....."
He didn't finish the sentence.

Whitworth was one of the great Victorian inventors of whom we should be very proud. He standardised screw threads. Curiously though, he also promoted the metric system for engineering. Standardised screw threads caught-on but metrication did not.

Link:-
J.Whitworth - Guns And Steel

DED.
-

Anthony Butcher

Well I think that we have different experiences. It may be just a reflection of wider society as you say, but I was quite shocked at how often I have come across anti-gay sentiment in UKIP. Some UKIP conversations were like stepping back in time sometimes and I found them quite offensive. It is a real shame, because this is the only blot that I ever saw in the general membership.

Encouragingly, I don't recall encountering any genuine racism beyond the normal social banter... and that was normally deservedly directed at the French

__________________
If you care about what's in your food and where it comes from, then get it labelled!
Label My Food - http://www.labelmyfood.org.uk

Star

It is all about honesty. If he is homosexual he should admit it. He should also come clean about his MEP ambitions. He tells some members he is not thinking of standing and yet tells other members he is. I do not respect someone who cannot be open and honest about his sexuality or political ambitions.

Alex McKee

If he said he was a homosexual, he'd be criticised by half the party for parading his sexuality.

Think about what you are asking. It's silly.

__________________

Anything I post on this website is my personal opinion and not necessarily my professional opinion (unless stated as such) nor is an opinion necessarily shared by any committee or group I am affiliated with.

Users on Ignore list: None.

Star

You may be right. But I know that many members are unhappy about him avoiding the issue. They would like to know. It could cost him votes if he keeps quiet.