New Campaign Director for UKIP

gimlet · 15-09-2008, 08:04 PM

It is understood that a new campaign director for the 2009 European Parliament elections has been appointed by Nigel Farage. He is Kenneth Irvine, a former Conservative. He was introduced to an election campaign meeting of regional organisers and MEPs held in Bournemouth during the party conference. It is not clear where this leaves Stephen Allison, who has hitherto been in charge of election campaigns and indeed spoke at the conference in that capacity.

From the stopthetreaty.co.uk site

Aardvark · 15-09-2008, 08:09 PM

Will he have the freedom that Steve has apparently been deprived of? Presumably Steve will be campaigning in his own region.

gc · 15-09-2008, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aardvark

Will he have the freedom that Steve has apparently been deprived of? Presumably Steve will be campaigning in his own region.

And I suspect that Farage will be making other, independent, arrangements for his own South East campaign!!

Aardvark · 15-09-2008, 08:42 PM

Who can you be referring to gc?

Geoffrey Collier · 15-09-2008, 08:45 PM

Presumably, the new campaign director, if it is a salaried post, will have been introduced to the NEC at their last meeting. Again, where was the post advertised, who interviewd him, and what is his track record in political organisation?

chikrodah · 15-09-2008, 08:52 PM

Presumably it's the Kenneth Irvine who, drawing on his experience as an ex-BR manager, wrote a number of pamphlets on rail privatisation in the late 1980s. That, of course, would make him a contact, if not personal friend, of David Campbell-Bannerman.

DCB, is noted for (David Campbell Bannerman):

Quote:

... the Bow Group’s best selling paper, the huge tone [sic] ‘Levelling the Tracks: Using Rail Privatisation To Right An Historic Imbalance’ and advised transport ministers.

Kenneth was not universally applauded for his pamphlets either at the time or as late as 2001 (Lords Hansard text for 5 Apr 2001 (210405-09) ):

Quote:

Lord Bradshaw: My Lords, I must declare an interest as I am still a member of the Strategic Rail Authority. However, I speak tonight on my own behalf and I say categorically that I do not speak with the support of the Strategic Rail Authority.

As a professional railway manager, I believe that the idea that one can run a railway with someone running the trains and someone else managing the track is quite foreign to the proper operation of a railway. The origin of the idea was first formed in European Directive 91/440 which stated that railway undertakings should have a separate accounting mechanism for their infrastructure, not a separate management. But somehow in Britain that got translated into the idea that we should divide the two. Most of our European colleagues are incredulous at the system we try to operate in this country.

I am pleased to note that there are now two Peers on the Conservative Benches. I refer to the book, The Right Lines, by Kenneth Irvine, whom I can only describe as a failed railwayman. He proposes a separate infrastructure business. He has all kinds of strange ideas. He believes, for example, that there can be much competition on the railways and that one can turn up at Waterloo Station and there will be a red train, a blue train and a green train going to Woking and one can choose which train to catch according to which is most comfortable. That is quite foreign to the idea of organising a railway. One cannot run a railway on the basis of many different operators with equipment of different specifications operating a competitive service.

Despite that, Kenneth was number 4 on the Tories' Yorkshire MEP list for the last European Elections.

Plus, like Philip van der Elst (and presumably van der Elst's wife, Rachel Tingle) he was a member of the Selsdon Group. I presume he's resigned from that Group; IIRC, you need to be a card-carrying Tory to be a member. However, he's still listed as the Chairman on their website (The Selsdon Group)

From the Selsdon Group website:

Quote:

The group is managed by a committee that is elected each year at its Annual General Meeting. Ordinary members are encouraged to assist the committee with the running of the group.

The Group is financed through membership subscriptions, donations and sponsorship.

Membership is open to any fully paid up member of the Conservative Party who support the aims of the group, as stated in the Selsdon Declaration and is approved by the committee.

He also appears to have experienced a Damascene conversion, if his comment on the Better Off Out site is anything to go by (Supporters' Archive):

Quote:

"I am delighted to confirm my support for your campaign. In recent weeks and months, the media has reported the plans of the European Union's Commissioners and officials to introduce the Constitution by stealth. As with the Maastricht and Nice treaties, the No votes in national referenda are to be ignored. For the European Union, democracy is an inconvenience that must not inhibit the progress of the federalist "Project". The economic case for membership has been demolished by economists such as Patrick Minford. Countries outside the EU, such as Norway and Switzerland, are prospering, whilst major EU members stagnate under the burden of regulation. I have been, as a loyal member of the Conservative Party, a supporter of Britain's membership of the European Union for nearly 30 years. Recent events, however, demonstrate that it is not possible to reform the EU from within. Britain is BETTER OFF OUT and must provide the necessary leadership to build an alternative to the EU that is based on free trade and open markets. Good luck with the campaign."

gc · 15-09-2008, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoffrey Collier

where was the post advertised,

By word of mouth in the East India or Carlton clubs, I suspect. Bar bill paid by Mr Bloom, no doubt, if it was the former.

Penguin · 16-09-2008, 09:38 AM

From Selsdon Group website:

"We see our primary role as to influence the Conservative Party, so that it embraces economic and social policies which extend the boundaries of personal choice"

Well I am not sure but this does seem a bit of a strange appointment! Are we a Conservative fringe pressure party or are we a stand alone party? I need to know because I am losing faith!

SomersetYokel · 16-09-2008, 09:49 AM

Is this the same Kenneth Irvine who stood on the Tory MEP slate for Yorkshire in 2004?

Regional hustings take place for MEP selections - News Story - Conservative Party

I think it is appalling that Mr Farage can find lucrative UKIP jobs for failed Tories like Irvine and Bannerman and EU rejects like Andreassen at UKIP's expense. Why is the NEC not questionnning the debts incurred. The NEC is legally liable for these debts.

We will soon be indistinguishable from the Tories in personnel and policies and financial problems.

Geoffrey Collier · 16-09-2008, 10:26 AM

Should it be the same Kenneth Irvine identified by Chikrodah, and it is unlikely not to be, he seems to accept that he has neither political political judgement or percpicacity. Having placed a former Conservative MP to oversee the MEP selection process, it could hardly have been worse, if he was a self-confessed saboteur. Now we have found someone who was actively involved in promoting the EU cause until a few weeks ago. UKIP feels that putting him in charge of our 2009 election is a safe bet. What evidence do we have that his Pauline conversion is genuine? We have enough people in our movement, who over the decades have laboured for the cause, yet they are (and have) being systematically removed from all positions of influence in the party.

Apart from being on the fringes of politics, what wa Irvine's employment background? What talent has he displayed over the decades which has borne fruit? I remember that we were told that we had secured the services of a top-flight journalist to be the editor of UKIP Independence. He was allowed to commence his duties, despite having been found guilty, by his own confession, of racially aggravated violence. I wonder how much this latest appointment is going to cost us in lost donations? People with political savvy are not impressed with this kind of decision, to many, it is very close to an intended insult.

15-09-2008, 08:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
gimlet Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Shropshire Posts: 839	New Campaign Director for UKIP It is understood that a new campaign director for the 2009 European Parliament elections has been appointed by Nigel Farage. He is Kenneth Irvine, a former Conservative. He was introduced to an election campaign meeting of regional organisers and MEPs held in Bournemouth during the party conference. It is not clear where this leaves Stephen Allison, who has hitherto been in charge of election campaigns and indeed spoke at the conference in that capacity. From the stopthetreaty.co.uk site

15-09-2008, 08:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
Aardvark Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Oxonia Posts: 4,253	Will he have the freedom that Steve has apparently been deprived of? Presumably Steve will be campaigning in his own region. __________________ 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

15-09-2008, 08:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
Aardvark Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Oxonia Posts: 4,253	Who can you be referring to gc? __________________ 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

16-09-2008, 09:38 AM	#8 (permalink)
Penguin Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK - South Posts: 20	Where is UKIP going? From Selsdon Group website: "We see our primary role as to influence the Conservative Party, so that it embraces economic and social policies which extend the boundaries of personal choice" Well I am not sure but this does seem a bit of a strange appointment! Are we a Conservative fringe pressure party or are we a stand alone party? I need to know because I am losing faith!

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15-09-2008, 08:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
Geoffrey Collier Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,323	Presumably, the new campaign director, if it is a salaried post, will have been introduced to the NEC at their last meeting. Again, where was the post advertised, who interviewd him, and what is his track record in political organisation?

16-09-2008, 09:49 AM	#9 (permalink)
SomersetYokel Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 201	Is this the same Kenneth Irvine who stood on the Tory MEP slate for Yorkshire in 2004? Regional hustings take place for MEP selections - News Story - Conservative Party I think it is appalling that Mr Farage can find lucrative UKIP jobs for failed Tories like Irvine and Bannerman and EU rejects like Andreassen at UKIP's expense. Why is the NEC not questionnning the debts incurred. The NEC is legally liable for these debts. We will soon be indistinguishable from the Tories in personnel and policies and financial problems.

16-09-2008, 10:26 AM	#10 (permalink)
Geoffrey Collier Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,323	Should it be the same Kenneth Irvine identified by Chikrodah, and it is unlikely not to be, he seems to accept that he has neither political political judgement or percpicacity. Having placed a former Conservative MP to oversee the MEP selection process, it could hardly have been worse, if he was a self-confessed saboteur. Now we have found someone who was actively involved in promoting the EU cause until a few weeks ago. UKIP feels that putting him in charge of our 2009 election is a safe bet. What evidence do we have that his Pauline conversion is genuine? We have enough people in our movement, who over the decades have laboured for the cause, yet they are (and have) being systematically removed from all positions of influence in the party. Apart from being on the fringes of politics, what wa Irvine's employment background? What talent has he displayed over the decades which has borne fruit? I remember that we were told that we had secured the services of a top-flight journalist to be the editor of UKIP Independence. He was allowed to commence his duties, despite having been found guilty, by his own confession, of racially aggravated violence. I wonder how much this latest appointment is going to cost us in lost donations? People with political savvy are not impressed with this kind of decision, to many, it is very close to an intended insult.