Nigel Farage's PM Petition: 7th. Was it worth it?

Tony Bennett · 05-07-2008, 11:04 PM

So, with just five days to go, Nigel Farage's petition - on the Prime Minister's website - calling for referendums on new E.U. Treaties, like the Lisbon Treaty, has got 10,647 votes.

It was in 6th position two days ago. Now it has slipped to 7th, overtaken by those who want 'a lasting legacy for shooting sports'.

There was much criticism of Nigel at the time, because he chose to launch it as a rival petition to one by R.J. Mansfield, which already had thousands of votes and ended up gathering over 26,000.

So was it worth it, Nigel?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the record, here are the current top 7 petitions on the Prime Minister's website, showing who sponsored them, the closing date, and the number of votes to date.

1. Allow the Red Arrows to Fly at the 2012 Olympics
(with government response)
Mark Standley
17 September 2008
425,650

2. Give all Ex Gurkha soldiers and their families who have served our country British citizenship on leaving the service
Ross Pritchard
26 November 2008
25,449

3. Instruct water companies to return to charging churches as charities rather than as business premises
David Boddy
6 December 2008
25,426

4. Remove the unfair and unjust retrospective Vehicle Execise Duty levy (back to 2001 year vehicles) as announced in the Budget on 12/3/08
Jon Roberts
12 March 2009
15,279

5. Stop ISP's from breaching customers privacy via advertising technologies
Mark Antony Thompson
4 March 2009
15,223

6. Ensure there is a Lasting Legacy for Shooting Sports in the UK by moving the venue away from the Woolwich Barracks
Mrs Nicola Heron
18 December 2008
10,761

7. Let the people decide on the future relationship between Britain and the European Union and not pass through new treaties without consulting the voters
Nigel Farage MEP
11 July 2008
10,647

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richard Allen · 05-07-2008, 11:11 PM

Some people will go to such lengths to have a go a at Farage that pathetic and contemptible are the only words that come to mind.

Tony Bennett · 05-07-2008, 11:22 PM

Um, Richard Allen, you may well be right, though you may well have missed my post in the European Union section recently, in which I took the trouble to praise Nigel for having supported the recent Sunday Express poll which asked people how they would vote in a straight 'In/Out' referendum on our membership of the E.U. Credit where and when it is due.

You might also have missed this message from staunch eurosceptic campaigner Dr Denis Cooper of Maidenhead (once a UKIP member, but no longer), who wrote this [see thread on the R.J. Mansfield petition on this forum] last July:

QUOTE:

"Nice website, but this non-UKIP petition: Petition to: guarantee that the British people will be permitted a binding referendum on any and all attempts to resurrect the EU "constitution" (and any or all of its content) regardless of nomenclature. has already gone over 12,000, although it's now petering out rather than spreading out into the general public.

So while I can see the point of Nigel promoting such a petition, I don't quite see the point of starting a completely new one at this juncture!

If only he'd started it a month or two ago...but even then, there are eurosceptic Tories who would never sign any petition started by a UKIP MEP, and I've heard that in Reading they've started their own (hardcopy) 'Conservative' petition for a referendum - more fragmentation..."

UNQUOTE, SNIPPED

The charge against Nigel Farage is that for selfish reasons and narrow party political advantage, he deliberately blunted the prospects of the R.J. Mansfield petition when he launched his own rival petition last July. I stick with that charge

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bob FM · 06-07-2008, 10:46 AM

The Express poll got off to a flying start and has now stuck at 26000 or so. That is what happens with polls or petitions, it's not unusual. People do tend to put there names to ones that get the maximum media attention, like the fuel one by the guy from Top Gear. That got millions but changed nothing.

05-07-2008, 11:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
Tony Bennett Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 902	Nigel Farage's PM Petition: 7th. Was it worth it? So, with just five days to go, Nigel Farage's petition - on the Prime Minister's website - calling for referendums on new E.U. Treaties, like the Lisbon Treaty, has got 10,647 votes. It was in 6th position two days ago. Now it has slipped to 7th, overtaken by those who want 'a lasting legacy for shooting sports'. There was much criticism of Nigel at the time, because he chose to launch it as a rival petition to one by R.J. Mansfield, which already had thousands of votes and ended up gathering over 26,000. So was it worth it, Nigel? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For the record, here are the current top 7 petitions on the Prime Minister's website, showing who sponsored them, the closing date, and the number of votes to date. 1. Allow the Red Arrows to Fly at the 2012 Olympics (with government response) Mark Standley 17 September 2008 425,650 2. Give all Ex Gurkha soldiers and their families who have served our country British citizenship on leaving the service Ross Pritchard 26 November 2008 25,449 3. Instruct water companies to return to charging churches as charities rather than as business premises David Boddy 6 December 2008 25,426 4. Remove the unfair and unjust retrospective Vehicle Execise Duty levy (back to 2001 year vehicles) as announced in the Budget on 12/3/08 Jon Roberts 12 March 2009 15,279 5. Stop ISP's from breaching customers privacy via advertising technologies Mark Antony Thompson 4 March 2009 15,223 6. Ensure there is a Lasting Legacy for Shooting Sports in the UK by moving the venue away from the Woolwich Barracks Mrs Nicola Heron 18 December 2008 10,761 7. Let the people decide on the future relationship between Britain and the European Union and not pass through new treaties without consulting the voters Nigel Farage MEP 11 July 2008 10,647 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-07-2008, 11:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Tony Bennett Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 902	Richard Allen missed a couple of posts Um, Richard Allen, you may well be right, though you may well have missed my post in the European Union section recently, in which I took the trouble to praise Nigel for having supported the recent Sunday Express poll which asked people how they would vote in a straight 'In/Out' referendum on our membership of the E.U. Credit where and when it is due. You might also have missed this message from staunch eurosceptic campaigner Dr Denis Cooper of Maidenhead (once a UKIP member, but no longer), who wrote this [see thread on the R.J. Mansfield petition on this forum] last July: QUOTE: "Nice website, but this non-UKIP petition: Petition to: guarantee that the British people will be permitted a binding referendum on any and all attempts to resurrect the EU "constitution" (and any or all of its content) regardless of nomenclature. has already gone over 12,000, although it's now petering out rather than spreading out into the general public. So while I can see the point of Nigel promoting such a petition, I don't quite see the point of starting a completely new one at this juncture! If only he'd started it a month or two ago...but even then, there are eurosceptic Tories who would never sign any petition started by a UKIP MEP, and I've heard that in Reading they've started their own (hardcopy) 'Conservative' petition for a referendum - more fragmentation..." UNQUOTE, SNIPPED The charge against Nigel Farage is that for selfish reasons and narrow party political advantage, he deliberately blunted the prospects of the R.J. Mansfield petition when he launched his own rival petition last July. I stick with that charge --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last edited by Tony Bennett; 05-07-2008 at 11:25 PM.

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05-07-2008, 11:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
Richard Allen Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 569	Some people will go to such lengths to have a go a at Farage that pathetic and contemptible are the only words that come to mind.

06-07-2008, 10:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
Bob FM Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Marston Swindon Posts: 1,125	The Express poll got off to a flying start and has now stuck at 26000 or so. That is what happens with polls or petitions, it's not unusual. People do tend to put there names to ones that get the maximum media attention, like the fuel one by the guy from Top Gear. That got millions but changed nothing.