Ukipmember1

New UKIP member, John Tennant standing in the North East Region has launched an election website, I like it. what do ukipper's make of the site and the candidate?

HM

The site: http://www.johnukip.co.uk/

My response:

Is the experience there? If he'd been a councillor for a year, for example, he could prove that he knows politics, rather than just campaigning on "I'm interested". I like his stuff on devolving to local communities. Don't like the "I'm young so I must appeal" rubbish. What Aardvark says would be a lot of people's initial reaction, I'm sure, so just campaigning on his youth could backfire or just fail. Transparency should already be in place. Labour have been doing it for 6 years now and the Tories started doing it today. The fact that UKIP claim not to be on the gravy train but don't oblige MEPs to show their expenses is frightening. I like the idea of constituency meetings.

UKIP aren't especially likely to gain an MEP in the North East anyway, are they? Incidentally is he even from the North East? Nothing from the website suggests he is.

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Tom Wilde

Website's not bad - he obviously grasps the basics of internet campaigning, which is something. He needs to ditch the glasses, though. Does he have a sister who could dress him up in some decent gear, take him to the barbers, and then re-take the photo?

Ukipmember1

Politics is not really about what poeple look like, although he does look a little young! What do you make of his policies, I like his idea about transparency, now theres an issue!!!

Internationalist

It is very thin on policies at the moment. It will be good to see him flesh out his ideas a bit.

HM

The thing is a huge part of politics is what people look like. Take Blair and Cameron. They're lively chaps. Take Brown and Major. Boring, brooding old men. Which two are/were popular? Why do people vote for Cameron more than they did for Howard, even though their policies aren't so far away from each other's?

As I said, there should already be institutionalised transparency in UKIP as there is in the Labour and Tory parties (as of today in the latter's case). Therefore it should not have been an issue in the first place and he should have marketed it as an attempt to get all of UKIP to be transparent, not just himself, lest the party should look like it has become passenger on a rather notorious European train.

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Ukipmember1

hm interesting comments. Still, can't make our minds up until we see all the candidates in the flesh.

Grim up north

Good on John for stepping forward. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you wait until you've got loads of experience before you start then how do you get the experience in the first place?

I understand he is a member of the Gateshead Branch and recently returned there after completing his degree.

I am saddened by UKIP members apparent fixation with where candidates live! I do understand parochialism is almost a pre-requisite for membership of UKIP but it closes a lot of doors to a lot of talent just because of where they were born.

Aardvark

So why have you got a parochial name? It's grim in Birmingham as well.

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When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

Westcountryman

"Devolving power to local communities?"

How local are we talking here? I'm not sure I want my Parish council to have any kind of serious responsibility for example.

Also, how much of this is achievable as an MEP? I'd offer that it's somewhere near zero - you shouldn't make promises you know you can't keep.

Finally, I'm not entirely convinced that more power at the local level is what people want - look at the current situation with primary care trusts. You get people bitching and moaning that there are drugs available in other areas and not in theirs, and then place the blame at No.10 Downing Street without even looking locally.

The only way to stop the "postcode lottery" is to go back to a unified system under the control of Westminster.

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