Tory rebel Bob Spink becomes Ukip's first MP !!!!

eublues · 23-04-2008, 11:28 PM

It was in the Times yesterday.

Britannist · 23-04-2008, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eublues

It was in the Times yesterday.

Thank you EU Blues for your prompt response to my question.

I cannot find anything about Mr. Bob Spink MP joining UKIP on the Times website - they may not have reproduced their report on this on their website.

So it seems that - of the non-tabloid newspapers - that just leaves the pro-EU Financial Times which may not have let its readers know that UKIP has become the newest party to enter the House of Commons. It was the Financial Times which was very anti-UKIP during the last EU Election campaign.

Anthony Butcher · 24-04-2008, 12:11 AM

Let The Voters Decide Bob (from Echo)

Quote:

BOB Spink MP does not intend to resign and put his case to Castle Point voters in a by-election, although he is clearly a very different politician from the man they elected in 2005.
Since then, he has frequently defied and ultimately resigned his party whip.
Now in a final split from the Tories, he has defected to the UK Independence Party to become its first ever MP.

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Mr Spink sees this as a principled move, consistent with his political convictions. But high principles cut both ways.
He has moved so far away from the manifesto on which he was put into Parliament that any last vestigial excuse for not putting himself up for re-election has been stripped away.
UKIP represents a slender constituency. Its single issue obsession is out of touch with mainstream concerns.
The electorate places crime, health, and the economy far higher than Europe as significant issues. The number of Castle Point voters who voted UKIP in 2005 was small.
Certainly Mr Spink enjoys popularity in Castle Point, but it is asking too much of voters to presume their support for the full extent of his volatile activities or his move away from the centre ground.
Besides, if he really believes his every move has the full support of voters, then he should have the guts to put this belief to the test in a by-election.
As it is, he looks less like a lone hero of politics than a rootless maverick at the mercy of a political tempest of his own making.

Anthony Butcher · 24-04-2008, 12:20 AM

Michael White: Another maverick defects. So what? | Comment is free | The Guardian

Quote:

Maverick MPs who defect from one party to another tend to be just that: mavericks. Bob Spink, whose long-running battle with Essex Tories yesterday prompted him - contrary to assurances just a month ago - to become Ukip's first Westminster MP, is no exception.
Spink is against abortion and drugs, homosexuality, sex education and Europe. He favours capital punishment and once said of immigration policy: "What bit of 'send them back' don't you understand Mr Blair?" But he was also the only Tory MP last year to vote with Labour's Frank Field to retain the 10p rate of income tax for the kind of lower-paid workers he represents on Canvey Island and Benfleet. A self-made working class Tory with a PhD, he came up the hard way.
But fellow MPs are tough on defectors. Labour and Lib Dems shudder at a right-wing Essex populist who lost his seat in 1997, but won it back against the tide in 2001, boosting his majority to 8,201 (18%) in 2005. Tory colleagues say he used to be quietly sensible and ignored, but changed as he and party activist chums in Essex savagely fell out.
"They're all mad," says a senior MP. Spink was set to be deselected, lost the whip (he claims he resigned it) and was welcomed yesterday as "hard working and deeply principled" by Ukip leader Nigel Farage. Not even the excitable Tory bloggers could get very excited. They had seen it coming. "Never fall out with your local party," is an iron rule of politics.
But does it matter that Ukip now has a voice in the Commons? Probably not. Ukip's "quit Europe" position is strong enough in the Conservative ranks to have forced David Cameron and William Hague to back referendum calls on the Lisbon Treaty, a campaign which Tory donor Stuart Wheeler took to court yesterday. Unlike Ukip the Tories do not promise to reopen the issue if they win in 2009-10.
In any case, local Tories campaigning for the May 1 council elections hope to profit from the perception that Ukip is on the slide, sullied by scandal and divided. In 2004 it won 16% and 12 seats in the Euro-elections. In 2005 it averaged 2.8% in seats it fought, up on the 2.1% it won in 2001, but Jimmy Goldsmith averaged 3.1% in 1997. The stardust briefly provided by Robert Kilroy-Silk's membership ended in the usual micro-party personality split, a breakthrough opportunity lost.
The unkind truth is that whatever the motive - lofty or low - MPs who lose the party whip and defectors (six since 2005) rarely matter except in terms of parliamentary maths and public perceptions of disunity. Right-wing Empire Loyalists or left-wing Bevanites of the 50s usually rejoined the party or faded away. Even the 28 Labour-turned-SDP MPs who thought they were "breaking the mould" of two-party politics in 1981-82 lost their seats, mostly in 1983.
Only John Horan remains an MP: today a Tory one. At least he became a minister, a better reward than the peerage more often dangled before defectors. The odds are poor: Reg Prentice and Alan Howarth became ministers, then peers. Most don't, though Shaun Woodward, Tony Blair's most important pawn capture (1999), ended up in cabinet, a lucky fluke.
All that is above Bob Spink's pay grade. He broke the iron rule. "Bob says he's not changed, it's the party that's changed. We're happy with that message," beams a Cameron loyalist.

Anthony Butcher · 24-04-2008, 12:29 AM

People: David Davis; Chris de Burgh; Bob Spink; Ewan McGregor - Times Online

Quote:

— A month ago (March 20): Bob Spink, the whipless former Tory, e-mails Nadine Dorries, his fellow MP, to say: “What is this nonsense about me joining UKIP? How do they make it up?”

Yesterday (April 22): Bob Spink joins UKIP.

Assuming that he wasn't lying and that this article is true, this does indeed demonstrate that Spink had no intention originally of joining UKIP, adding some credence to the 'incentive' argument.

EDIT: the email was real:
Guy Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy: Spink : I'm Not Joining UKIP

Anthony Butcher · 24-04-2008, 12:36 AM

Bob Spink and the future of UKIP (Dave's Part)

Quote:

David Cameron – in language that would get him immediately banned from some leftwing blogs – famously derided the UK Independence Party as ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists’.
Well, the stridently anti-Brussels neo-Poujadists in question have just secured a base in the House of Commons. Rightwinger Bob Spink, who recently lost the Conservative whip at Westminster, joins two Lords, ten euro-MPs, 55 or so councillors and a claimed 16,700 members in what is clearly Britain’s largest minor party.
This is the man who three years ago published a newspaper advert on immigration, under the headline: ‘What bit of “send them back” don't you understand Mr Blair?’ True, he didn’t preface the slogan with ‘If they’re black’. But for anyone who remembers the seventies, he didn’t have to.
Anti-immigration hard right outfits have had MPs before, of course. In 1976, disgraced Labour MP John Stonehouse – on remand in Brixton after bizarrely faking his own death – became the English National Party’s sole parliamentarian.
Mr Spink, although by all accounts quite a colourful politician, is a more serious proposition. UKIP are reportedly confident that they can retain his Essex seat at the next general election. If Respect, the Blaenau Gwent People’s Voice Group and the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern can pull off victories against the mainstream party machines, that cannot be impossible. We shall see.
For some reason, UKIP is an outfit that the left - which habitually pays obsessive attention to developments in dozen-member microsects, the finer points of the Respect Renewal/Left List split and the chance of the British National Party securing representation in the Greater London Assembly – usually prefers to ignore.
That is odd, and possibly complacent. UKIP’s populist right platform has undeniable appeal to swathes of the electorate. The 2.7m votes it picked up in the 2004 euro contest illustrates that. As Cameron waters down or jettisons many Tory traditionalist shibboleths, that tally may yet grow.
In many ways, UKIP has the potential to act as a focus for the nationalist reaction in ways that the BNP cannot, because it is not tainted by fascist association. Precisely because it is constitutionally opposed to racial discrimination, and because it has fielded black and Asian electoral candidates, its opposition to immigration can be passed off as respectable.
It is not enough simply to write these guys off as the provisional wing of the Daily Mail any more. For more than a decade now, the hard left has talked (and talked and talked and talked and talked) about regroupment; the hard right has been getting on with the job, and is now a consolidated force in organised political life.

Britannist · 24-04-2008, 12:44 AM

I think the following brief extract from the article (from a political blog) which Anthony has just posted to this thread (posting number 166) is very relevant:

"Mr. Spink......is.....more....serious. UKIP are reportedly confident that they can retain his Essex seat at the next general election. If Respect, the Blaenau Gwent People’s Voice Group and the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern can pull off victories against the mainstream party machines, that cannot be impossible. We shall see."

Anthony Butcher · 24-04-2008, 12:45 AM

rhetorically speaking..: bob spink: this charming man

Quote:

As Bob Spink jumps ship from the Conservatives to UKIP, it's helpful to remember that he didn't have any future as a Tory anyway.

You may remember him as the man who stood up in Parliament to declare he had resigned the whip.. to be informed that he couldn't actually do that, as the whip had already been withdrawn.

Mr Spink raised a point of order during a debate on the Budget, saying he had "resigned the Conservative Party whip because the Conservative Party has failed to deal with serious criminal and other irregularities in my constituency".

But the party says it withdrew the whip - excluding him from the Tory group at Westminster - when he emailed the chief whip threatening to resign, accusing the party of "not doing enough to protect him during efforts by his association to deselect him".

An investigation, incidentally, had produced no evidence of criminal irregularities. The fall-out between Spink and his local party was allegedly far more personal: he'd been having an affair with a former Conservative councillor, Gail Boland – the long-term partner of the local association’s deputy chairman, Bill Sharp.

Personal animosity aside, it's also possibly not the image of moral values that would appeal to socially conservative Conservatives who had previously supported Spink as a homo-hating, hang 'em and flog 'em candidate.

In a letter the Conservative Chief Whip, Patrick McLoughlin, replied: "As a matter of good party discipline I cannot have MPs making threats to resign the whip at a time of their own choosing, if the demands of the party are not met.

"I must therefore treat your resignation as taking immediate effect".

When Spink became whipless in March, he was facing a third attempt to deselect him. As The Times helpfully pointed out:

As he no longer holds the Tory whip, that meeting becomes irrelevant: a sitting MP not in receipt of the whip could not be selected as a candidate for the next election.

In other words, he jumped to UKIP before he could be pushed. Again. He wasn't ever going to stand as a Tory candidate again.

On a related note, during the last round of expenses sleaze, The Telegraph helpfully reported that:

Mr Spink pays his former wife, Janet, £28,000 a year to work as his constituency secretary even though she lives more than 100 miles away in Dorset. [...] On Sunday, it also emerged that the Tory MP has employed Ashleigh Sharp as a parliamentary assistant since 2006. Ms Sharp, who was a 17-year-old A-level student when first employed, is the daughter of Mr Spink's former partner Gail Boland.

Ms Boland, a Conservative councillor, was Mr Spink's lover when her daughter was first employed by the MP. She is paid more than £5,000 a year despite now studying at Buckingham University.

Finally, you may also recall that he was one of the co-authors of Nadine Dorries' minority report on abortion - which, presumably having not read the report, he described as "more scientifically sound." Science says, "no."

Anthony Butcher · 24-04-2008, 12:49 AM

Ukip gains first MP as Bob Spink finds new Commons role - London News

Quote:

The UK Independence party (Ukip) has gained a foothold in the Commons as former Conservative backbencher Bob Spink becomes the party's first MP.

It comes after the MP for Castle Point in Essex lost the Tory whip after remarks about failing to root out corruption in the local party.

Mr Spink, one of the Commons' most vocal opponents of abortion, said he had become "increasingly disappointed" with the Conservatives' drift to the centre-right.

He explained his disagreements on issues like pensions, crime, immigration and defence had led to him voting against the Tory whip frequently in recent years.

On the EU, Ukip's most prominent issue, he added: "I am pro, not anti-European, but positive and sensible cooperation with the EU does not require us to sell the British people down the river or to give our independence away."

Ukip leader Nigel Farage described Mr Spink as "hard-working and deeply principled" and described his decision to join the party as a "logical step" to take given his beliefs.

Difficulties with Mr Spink's constituency party were key to his departure. Mr Spink had accused his local party of "serious criminal and other irregularities",

That led to chief whip Patrick McLoughlin withdrawing the whip prior to Mr Spink's resignation, a claim Mr Spink dismissed as "brass-knecked dishonesty".

It was reported locally that Mr Spink had fallen out with local councillor Bill Sharp after being romantically linked to his partner Gail Boland, a former councillor.

Anthony Butcher · 24-04-2008, 12:49 AM

Curious Snippets from a Cynical Optimist: Thoughts On Spink

Quote:

Reading the blogs I see there is very liberal dose of negative comments aimed at Dr Spink and UKIP. I can understand why, there are some good reasons.
1. Bob Spink is a social authoritarian with possibly some less than favourable views
I do not agree with a lot of what Bob Spink believes, but that does not mean UKIP should not have him as an MP. Indeed he was a Conservative MP, why did they not reject him? The point about politicians is that they are supposed to hold beliefs and principles and align themselves with parties which broadly reflect them. Dr Spink at least is honest about his beliefs and stays true to them, and while they may not align very well with UKIP the overriding area of agreement on the EU is more than enough.
2. Bob Spink was elected as a Tory and should step down and fight a bye-election
It is true that this would show principle, and indeed many in UKIP believe it should be law. Part of me would like him to do the same. However, UKIP would be mad not to use some time to prove its credentials before an election. For the main parties people largely know what they stand for and can make a decision, but how can people judge whether they like a UKIP MP or not when they have no way to compare?
If Spink serves until the next election he should hopefully have given UKIP a platform, which should hopefully overcome some of the media bias, and give the electorate a chance to see a record and make an informed decision on facts and not simply what they read in the media. E.g. if a Labour MP defected to the Lib-Dems, the electorate would have an idea of how the Lib-Dems stand on various issues and how they behave and can better judge how their MP might behave, but they have no such benchmark with UKIP.
So while in principle it would be nice for Spink to fight a bye-election, in practice it would be a self-defeating decision.
In general, for UKIP, having an MP is a major advance. Having an MP in the centre of Westminster means we will have a voice. Two Lords have helped a little, but they are Lords and somewhat detached from the media bubble. The Commons is a different story. If the electorate across the UK are given a chance to see how UKIP MPs might perform, as they can start to see voting records and also hear the message through the (hopefully) increased media coverage, it will allow them to make a better informed choice at the next election.
So ok, yes hypothetically he should fight a bye-election, and yes hypothetically his views are not very aligned with UKIP's, but on balance having him serve even just a short period as a UKIP MP far outweighs these issues. Show me a single MP who has the support of every member of their party and who doesn't hold views different to that of the party line. Well done UKIP!

24-04-2008, 12:44 AM	#167 (permalink)
Britannist Uber Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: London Posts: 22,896	Brief extract I think the following brief extract from the article (from a political blog) which Anthony has just posted to this thread (posting number 166) is very relevant: "Mr. Spink......is.....more....serious. UKIP are reportedly confident that they can retain his Essex seat at the next general election. If Respect, the Blaenau Gwent People’s Voice Group and the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern can pull off victories against the mainstream party machines, that cannot be impossible. We shall see." Last edited by Britannist; 24-04-2008 at 12:52 AM.

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23-04-2008, 11:28 PM	#161 (permalink)
eublues Uber Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,122	It was in the Times yesterday.