March Madness? Not from where I'm standing.

As we approach the 'fools' day, merely I report upon current events locally. The current upsurge in support was recognised recently in the 'Gooshays' by election with UKIP taking 39% of the vote. On the back of this Lawrence Webb was subsequently elected. Thurrock and Havering worked together albeit disjointed to grab the 1st London seat, no mean feat.

The usual trivia ensued "its a flash in the pan" or "its a protest vote". One thing is for sure a sea tide of change in politics in our country is happening right before our eyes and like it or not WE are part of it. The burden upon ones shoulders is a heavy task to bear but that we must.

Today a painter and decorator stood shoulders with a truck driver and along with 10 or so other members helped to bring the total to 5000 leaflets distributed in Laindon and neighboring areas. No mean feat for a bunch of unelected, unpaid volunteers. The tired parties that spin their usual rubbish missed a trick some years back. Boots on the ground and talking with people trumps 'top down dictats' left,right and centre from the establishment.

The 'toots' from the horn of 'white van man' and being approached from passing motorists having spotted a UKIP rosette to stop and chat suggests WE must work harder to get our message out

It is my view the NEC and those of position within UKIP heed and consider the following. That is to say that 'grass roots' is the fuel and moreover provides the oxygen for the party to grow. It goes against current dogma that Globalisation (global) is the answer where 'local' holds the keys to future success imho, agree?

Local man Gregg Morrish fed up to the back teeth of the current administration at Westminster has thrown his support to the Thurrock campaign and accordingly we back him. Gregg @moggdm is now spearheading the campaign as lead organiser for Chafford and North Stifford ward. It's one of those areas that have been off the radar previously but now one which will be developed. All thanks to Gregg.

Canvassing today brought an interesting situation. We (UKIP) standing at a juncture noticed a Labour 'leafler', we were 5 and he was .....well 1, the look on his face.  I smiled, said hello and was genuinely friendly remarking upon leafleting in the snow. Carrying on he went about his work and so did we. Being friendly toward those of different political persuasion is no bad thing me thinks.

Membership UP
Volunteers UP
Fed Up UP
People that want change UP big time.

Wherever you are ,you are not alone for in Thurrock and Basildon and *if* it represents the groundswell of opinion ~  2013 is likely to become the 'tipping point ' for UKIP.

Peter Smith
Branch Treasurer
UKIP Thurrock and Basildon branch.

 UKIP

         

Deputy Leader of Horsham District Council defects to UKIP

The Deputy Leader of Horsham District Council, Cllr Roger Arthur, has defected from the Tories to UKIP.

A lot of traditional supporters have been disappointed at the continuing lack of strong direction. Many of those were footsoldiers, who have been departing in their droves, such that quite a few local associations are no longer viable as fighting machines.

Cllr Arthur said that the Conservative Party has lost touch with its core values and he had become disillusioned with the Tory leadership.

Cllr Arthur will remain as Deputy Leader of Horsham District Council and is the fifth councillor to defect to UKIP this week and the 19th defection this year.

Another UKIP by-election win

UKIP Telford & Wrekin Chairman, Denis Allen, has won tonight's by-election for the Dothill ward of Wellington Town Council.

Denis secured a whopping 46.25% of the vote, not just beating the Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem candidates but taking more than double the votes of the second placed Labour candidate.

The results were:

Name	Party	Votes	%
Denis Allen	UKIP	303	46.25%
Margaret Malcolm	Labour	151	23%
Ed Bird	Conservative	108	16.5%
David Holloway	Lib Dem	90	13.75%

Three councillors defect to UKIP

Three councillors have defected to UKIP today in North Yorkshire.

Cllr Stephanie Todd announced her defection from the Tories at a press conference in Scarborough today and was joined by two independent councillors - Cllr Sam Cross and Cllr John Jay-Hanmer - who are also switching their allegiance to UKIP.

Cllr Todd sits on Richmondshire District Council and Cllr Cross and Cllr Jay-Hanmer sit on Scarborough Borough Council.

This brings the total number of councillors who have defected to UKIP this year to 18 - 13 Tories (an average of one a week), 1 Lib Dem, 3 independents and one local party.

EU says no to restricting benefits for immigrants

Has anyone got a plan "B"?

The EU has blown a hole in Cast Iron Dave's plans to stop immigrants from getting access to benefits unless they've lived in the country for 5 years.

EU Commission spokesman, Jonathon Todd, has told Dave that they'll be scrutinising his plans to make sure they don't discriminate against EU citizens.  The EU's definition of discrimination against EU citizens is not having the same rights as the "natives".

Once again, UKIP is confirmed as the only party willing to do what needs to be done to crack down on economic immigration.

New Forest District Councillor defects to UKIP

Conservative New Forest District Councillor, Chris Lagdon, has defected to UKIP over a decision to start charging disabled drivers for parking.

UKIP's policies on disability and incapacity have been brought right up to date by the fantastic Star Etheridge who is a wheelchair user herself.  One thing UKIP is getting really good at is getting industry experts to advise on policy.  UKIP's defence policy has been revised by a former RAF officers and the health policy was rewritten by a former matron.

Cllr Lagdon said that he couldn't be part of an administration that tries to make money out of vulnerable people and described some of the arguments in favour of charging disabled people to park as "infantile thinking".

I cannot be associated with a party which treats the disabled of our community with such contempt

Cllr Lagdon is UKIP's first district councillor on New Forest District Council and will hopefully be joined by many more in May.

Cyprus punished heavily in EU bailout deal

We knew the terms of the EU bailout deal for Cyprus would be punishing because they went to the Russians first but what has been agreed overnight is worse than anyone would have imagined.

Accounts held with the Popular Bank of Cyprus (Laiki) with deposits over €100k will be confiscated and used to pay the bank's debts and what is left will be moved to the Bank of Cyprus.  Laiki will then be closed down and its toxic assets will be transferred to a "bad bank".  Savings over €100k in Bank of Cyprus will also be plundered by an unspecified amount.  Bond holders in Laiki will be "wiped out" according to the Dutch Finance Minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

As well as the legalised theft of peoples' savings Cyprus will be subjected to a destructive and degrading EU austerity programme.  The Cypriot economy hasn't just been wounded, it's been comprehensively destroyed and all because they went to Russia for money rather than subject themselves to EU austerity.

Nigel Farage has already warned people to take their money out of Spanish banks because he predicts the collapse of the Spanish banking system and now the EU has shown that it is prepared to sanction the theft of ordinary peoples' savings you would be foolish not to follow his advice.  The whole banking system is based on trust and that trust has been fatally undermined not just in Cyprus but the whole €urozone.  The "save the €uro at all costs" mantra really does mean at all costs, even if it means stealing citizens' savings.

Cypriot government agrees 20% savings tax

Not happy

The Cypriot government have agreed a punishing EU savings tax that will see as much as 20% of savings stolen to contribute towards a bailout.

Anyone with a bank account at the Bank of Cyprus with over €100k will have 20% of their savings confiscated with 4% being confiscated from accounts held at other banks.  The Bank of Cyprus is the largest bank on the island.

Cyprus' Finance Minister, Michael Sarris, tried in vain to get Russia to bail them out instead of the EU but the Russians weren't interested in the Cypriot gas investments they were offered in exchange.  That was the third time the Cypriots have tried to avoid the EU's destructive bailouts so they will be severely punished when the terms are agreed.

Guardian still whining about Murdoch's dinner with Farage

The Guardian isn't exactly known for its objectivity or the quality of its editorials but their latest UKIP editorial is particularly dire.

The Guardian have a bee in their bonnet about Rupert Murdoch having dinner with Nigel Farage last month. You see, while it is perfectly acceptable for the Guardian's editor to meet politicians or have secret meetings with the Met Police Commissioner, it is entirely unacceptable for Murdoch to meet anyone the Guardian disapproves of.  Or to consume oxygen.

The hacks at the Guardian disapprove of the Sun's recognition of UKIP as a serious political force and part of mainstream politics.  It doesn't matter that UKIP is consistently polling as much as double the Lib Dems, consistently beating one or two of the LibLabCon parties in every Westminster by-election and winning council by-elections; as far as the Guardian is concerned UKIP are a fringe party that should be mocked for thinking it's one of the big boys.

The effect of these headlines and stories is to bring Ukip from the fringe into the mainstream, to legitimise it as a serious political contender. The Sun is urging its readers not to see it as a marginal party that the prime minister, David Cameron, once ridiculed as full of "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists".

UKIP has brought itself from the fringe in the mainstream and legitimised itself as a serious political contender by performing so well in elections and showing that a UKIP vote can be a winning vote.  The Guardian clearly thinks that the dead tree press is more important that it is.  Getting the Sun's backing would of course be very welcome but it would happen because UKIP was already credible and electable.

On the timing of the Murdoch-Farage dinner just after UKIP beat the Tories and Labour to finish a close second behind the Lib Dems, they say:

Murdoch clearly agreed, giving a giant clue to his sympathies on Twitter with a tweet saying "Farage reflecting opinion". In other words, reflecting Murdoch's, and the Sun's, opinion.

UKIP didn't come second in Eastleigh because the party reflects Rupert Murdoch or the Sun's opinion, UKIP came second because it reflects the opinions of a huge proportion of the population.

They go on to repeat the same tired and discredited "single issue" myth about UKIP:

Ukip exists for one reason: to remove Britain from the European Union. And that has long been Murdoch's desire too.

UKIP has the largest and most comprehensive manifesto of any mainstream party.  The party was founded as an anti-EU campaign but has evolved over the years into a credible party with a mature and comprehensive set of policies.  It hasn't been just about the EU for years, it's time the Guardian caught up with reality.

The Guardian's parting shot is an ignorant fantasy:

That apart, Farage must also realise that there is another maverick contender for Murdoch's hand: Boris Johnson. If Johnson were leader, the Sun's master would surely get right behind him. Then again, perhaps Farage would do the same.

Like all formerly-eurosceptic senior Tories, Boris realised that he wasn't going to get anywhere in his party unless he abandoned his principals and started promoting our EU membership to the plebs.  So he abandoned his principals.

Is it any wonder the hypocritical, lazy, tax dodging Guardian is losing money?

Coal Fired Power Stations - what can I say?

Here we go, a major power station (perfectly good working order) shut down today based on government policy driven by EU carbon directive. (All mentioned in the article). Others to close soon.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10306526.Power_turned_off_as_Didcot_A_station_is_finally_closed_down/

This just after the regulator warned of the energy shortages (and so price rises) the policy will cause.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/9879442/Britain-on-the-brink-of-energy-crisis-warns-regulator.html

And all this while global warming is shown to be a hysterical panic by the soft-headed in our society.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294560/The-great-green-1-The-hard-proof-finally-shows-global-warming-forecasts-costing-billions-WRONG-along.html

What can I say?

The EU Loving LibLabCon are screwing us.

We had a budget yesterday with pennies added here and there, wailing about poverty and austerity - and all the while every household in the UK is paying hundreds of pounds more than needed for no reason at all.

Vote UKIP.

UKIP 39% win in by-election.

UKIP has won the by-election in Harold Hill tonight in Gooshays ward:

Party	Votes	%
BNP	202	9%
Residents Assoc.	24	1%
CON	280	13%
LAB	569	27%
UKIP	831	39%
Residents Assoc.	227	11%

Congratulations to Lawrence Webb with a whopping (wait for it) 39% share of the vote. 

Cyprus Plan "B" and MOD flies out €1m cash for soldiers

The Cypriot government is working on an alternative plan to raise the €10bn or so that they need to part finance an EU bailout.

Banks have now been instructed remain closed until Tuesday - a full week longer after they were supposed to reopen after Monday's bank holiday, as we predicted last week.  The stock exchange is also being forced to remain closed.

There are no details of the new plan yet but it is thought to involve nationalising pension funds, getting more money from the Russians in return for a share of Cypriot oil and gas, stealing money out of bank accounts with €100k in them and creating a "bad bank".  The Cypriot Orthodox Church has also offered to mortgage church-owned property to contribute to the bailout fund making it possibly the first state church to remember that Christianity is supposed to be about philanthropy and charity, not shiny things and big palaces.

What I find most interesting about this, though, is that the MOD send a military aircraft out to Cyprus with €1m in cash for military personnel based there to use while their bank accounts are frozen.  Why would the MOD or any other government department hold €1m in cash that they could lay their hands on within hours and already have a plan formulated for its transport and distribution?  The British government has been spinning that the €uro is safe yet clearly someone thought it was risky enough to have millions of €uro in cash lying around for just such an occasion.  How much more does the British government have and how exposed are we, as a country, to cash €uro "assets" help by government departments.  What contingency plans do the British government have for a €urozone member crashing out of the single currency or the collapse of the €uro in its entirety?

Let's find out shall we?

FOI request: €uro holdings and contingency plans
I would like the following information in an electronic format:

• How much €uro cash do British government departments hold?

• What contingency plans do the British government have for a €urozone member crashing out of the single currency or the collapse of the €uro in its entirety?

Waverley Councillor defects to UKIP

Waverley borough councillor, Elliot Nichols, has defected from the Tories to UKIP.

Cllr Nichols said that while he is eurosceptic, that isn't the reason he joined UKIP - he has joined UKIP because "it is the only party that takes aspiration seriously" and because the Tories no longer reflects the concerns of its grass roots members.

UKIP's candidate in the Eastleigh by-election, Cllr Diane James, also sits on Waverley Borough Council changing the balance of the council to 53 Conservative, 2 UKIP and 1 Independent.  Once again UKIP is the real opposition.

English Democrats Eastleigh Chairman defects to UKIP

The Chairman of the Eastleigh branch of the English Democrats, John Edwards, has defected to UKIP today  citing the English Democrats' embarrassing performance in the Eastleigh by-election, the collapse of the local membership and constant accusations of racism and extremism as a result of the BNP takeover of the party.

The induction of former BNP members has tarnished the image of the party plus there has been some poor decisions made which led to an email being sent to Sinn Fein just over a year ago, which upset a lot of members here in Hampshire. Some resigned. People ask me ‘are you an extremist or a racist ?’ and family and friends have been forced to defend me. I didn’t get into politics for that. I’m not like that.

Edwards is a former Labour councillor and UKIP Eastleigh welcomed two Lib Dem councillors last month who decided to defect to UKIP during the by-election campaign.  The perception of UKIP as a right wing Tory protest vote is a myth as Eastleigh demonstrates.

Hope not Hate won't target UKIP, Labour are instead

Anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate were asking last week if they should target UKIP - not because they think the party is fascist but because they don't agree with UKIP's politics.

Although their mainly Labour-supporting followers managed to push the result to about a two thirds majority in favour of targeting UKIP, the people who run the group decided that the written responses that went with the votes didn't establish a clear mandate to do so so they would continue to challenge UKIP on a case by case basis.  That's their prerogative and a much more sensible approach than attacking the party just because  they believe in unlimited immigration and militant multiculturalism.

Meanwhile, this post on Labour List probably goes some way to explaining why Labour supporters but so much effort into trying to get Hope Not Hate to attack UKIP.  The Labour Party is conducting a review of UKIP with the aim of coming up with a nationwide strategy to deal with the threat we pose to them.  The article says that we're not a real threat of course but then goes on to say that UKIP is probably going to win the EU elections and that we keep on embarrassing them in elections, pushing them into fourth place.  There is no mention of Lord Ashcroft's post-Eastleigh polling that showed Labour voters in large numbers turning to UKIP but that's hardly surprising because that doesn't fit in with the "far right" label they keep trying (unsuccessfully) to apply to UKIP.

Just like the Tories have discovered, there is nothing that can be done to neutralise the threat from UKIP.  We offer sensible policies that the general public believe in - not just on the EU but in all walks of life.  People want to see their tax bill lowered, mass immigration stopped, the economy revived, matrons put back in charge of hospital wards, adequate funding for the military, an end to paying farmers not to farm, no more money being shovelled into the global warming propaganda machine, an end to the persecution of the motorist and of course withdrawing from the wasteful and corrupt EU.  This is what voters want and this is why traditional Tories, Lib Dems and Labour supporters are voting for change.

Cyprus says no to EU savings tax

The Cypriot government has voted overwhelmingly to reject the legalisation of the theft of savers' money this evening.

Bank accounts have been frozen since the weekend when the Cypriot government did a secret deal with the EU to steal money out of the bank accounts of ordinary savers as part payment of an EU bailout.  A compromise was offered that would see money stolen only from bank accounts with €20k in them but it wasn't enough to convince MPs to support it: out of 56 MPS, 36 voted against, 19 abstained and one didn't turn up for the vote.

The EU generously says that Cyprus can still have a bailout but they'll have to find the €10bn shortfall some other way if they don't steal it out of peoples' bank accounts.  Whether the Cypriot government has done enough to restore confidence in the banking system remains to be seen but it's likely that at least a couple of banks are going to experience a fatal run when they are allowed to reopen on Thursday and the Russians will almost certainly pull out of Cyprus.

It's The Beginning Of The End For Agent Cameron

Leveson, traumatic and terrifying in equal measure, ending as it did 318 years of a free press, will go down as another, albeit much less significant, milestone.

It is the day the countdown to David Cameron's resignation as Prime Minister really began.

It is surely impossible now to see David Cameron as anything other than a hapless fool: his political handling of the whole Leveson affair has been truly horrendous from start to finish. To call the original enquiry was a dreadful error, but having originally stood up for safeguarding the freedom of the press, to then climbdown the way he has is nothing short of a total disaster. Had he stuck to his guns against statutory legislation, then at least he would have gone down fighting on an issue of high principle. Whether you agreed with him or not, he would have gained some level of grudging respect for his moral courage. Moreover, he would have surely have assured more favourable coverage in the press leading up to the next election, with his party relatively united behind him.

Instead, he showed himself to be a man of straw: weak, myopic, biddable and, as always, with a political tin ear towards everyone and everything outside his own Metropolitan bubble world.

Most seriously of all, it has reinforced the impression that he is, at the end of the day, really rather easily out-manoeuvred and is something of a loser. Behind the Eton gloss and style lurks John Major. David Cameron is an empty suit.

What remains of his dwindling band of  supporters must surely now see through him. This is especially true in the right-wing press, who must feel sorely betrayed. The great danger for Cameron is that they will now desert him, and, perhaps, the Conservative Party. Andrew Neil (@afneil) tweeted last night about the "huge anger" there was amongst major newspaper groups with him. Iain Martin, who became somewhat disillusioned with him some time ago, wrote in the Telegraph that Clegg and Milliband had Cameron by the short and curlies.  Either Cameron - not for the first time - just didn't think things through properly, or calculated in his arrogant, complacent way that everyone would,  come election time, grudgingly all fall into line.

Well, he may have sorely miscalculated on that score. Many newspapers must have looked at the rise in UKIP's support - and the lead taken by the Daily Express in particular - and must be wondering if some kind of flirtation with the party may be in order.

All this will not be lost on Conservative MPs and their remaining activists, of course. They have long suspected that Cameron wasn't really a Conservative, but now it must be obvious that he is becoming an electoral liability as well. After what is very likely to be yet another lacklustre budget from his chum Osbourne tomorrow, the serious plotting will begin.

Perhaps sooner than we think we will see the back him, with I imagine, mixed feelings from us 'Kippers. Yes, he has been a disaster as a Prime Minister, but with his carefully crafted insults and idiotic mistakes, he gravely weakened the Conservative Party and was the best recruiting sergeant we could have wished for.

Mission accomplished, Agent Cameron, return to base.

After Leveson, UKIP Should Think Very Carefully About Accepting Defecting MPs

The horrible debacle concerning press regulation by statute has had one good side effect: it has brought into sharp relief the kind of people our Parliamentarians are, and how we should separate the wheat from the chaff.

As UKIP's popularity grows, the greater the tendency there is for people to defect to our ranks for reasons of cynical opportunism. How MPs voted on Leveson is a very good litmus test of their character.

If an MP voted for the statute then they are either:

a) highly authoritarian
b) extremely stupid
c) a gutless careerist
d) spiteful and vindictive
e) all or some of the above.

Anyone of those traits should be enough to get an MP - or anyone else for that matter - barred from UKIP membership.

We really cannot afford to have our party polluted by such people.

Cypriot banks ordered to stay closed

The Cypriot government is yet to meet to legalise the theft of peoples' savings but as predicted, banks have been told to remain closed at least until Thursday.

The Russians are less than pleased about the confiscation which is quite openly intended to hit Russian investors more than Cypriots.  The Cypriots are even more unhappy and have taken to the streets to protest, directing their anger at both the Cypriot government and the Germans.

Meanwhile, the British government has confirmed that it is going to compensate military personnel and civil servants working in Cyprus who are affected by the (currently illegal) savings tax.  As if the EU doesn't cost us enough already.

Leveson: Yet Again the Pathetic, Myopic Tories are Outfoxed, Outflanked, Outfought.

The latest suggestions this morning is that our 300 year old Freedom of the Press is to end today, with David Cameron backtracking on his opposition to statuary underpinning to press regulation. For those who love this country and freedom in particular, this is a truly heart-breaking moment, as big a betrayal as entering the European Union was in 1973. We all know that this is just the beginning: that press control will be  slowly and remorselessly extended. Amongst those celebrating in triumph today will of course be the European Union itself, who want to control the press for their own ends. Even without further regulation, the implied threat of it will lead inevitably to newspapers self-censoring their reporting.

Once again, the Left has won, and this time won very big indeed.

And once again, Tory myopia and cynicism is the fundamental cause: in typically Tory fashion, Cameron just didn't think through the consequences of the Leveson enquiry when he announced it as a way of getting him off the hook about his relationships with key figures within News International. He should have first asked himself as to how it could be exploited by his enemies. But, to understand the vision and likely actions of others you first have to have imaginative vision yourself, and no one could accuse Cameron or the Tory party in general of possessing that quality.

The inability to think strategically is the reason why, no matter how many short term battles the Tory Party wins, in the end it loses wars. You could apply this moral to issue after issue throughout Cameron's woeful premiership, where he has  laid the groundwork for long term total defeat on issue after issue.

For example, right from the beginning of the coalition Cameron and Osbourne seemed to join in with the prevalent mood of banker-bashing, plainly scared of being associated with rich City financiers that had done the country so much harm. Well, some the banks certainly deserved all of that, but what Cameron and Osbourne completely failed to do was mount any kind of spirited defence of free enterprise and capitalism in general, pointing out that whatever it's faults, it is by far the best way we have of generating wealth and happiness. The result? We now have gone back to the culture of hatred and envy of wealth creation that blighted this country's prospects so badly in the 1970s. When Labour get back into power, it will very easy for them to exploit this new found animosity against "the 1%" and  extend state control still further over our lives.

Or take the issue of Gay Marriage. Plainly, there are now very strong risks that Cameron's "reform" of the Institution will be exploited by a combination of militant atheists, gay rights activists and hard-line islamists to weaken it's Christian foundation still further, as well as attacking the role of the established Church in our society.

Just as significant as what Cameron has done is what he has failed to do given a golden opportunity. A glaring example of this was his reaction - or lack of it - to the 2011 riots.  As the country recoiled in horror and shock at the widespread carnage and social disorder, he had a once in a generation opportunity to make the case for rolling back the liberal, permissive agenda which had been steam-rollering all before it since the 1960s. The Left saw the threat to it's project instantly, which is why there was such a desperate, almost manic rush to analysis in the Left-wing press. They found that the coalitions  "cuts" were to blame, naturally.

And what was Cameron's response? Nothing, zip, zero. His lazy, dilettante mind quickly lost interest in the subject once the initial panic was over. Thus, the Left wing narrative became accepted as gospel.

Similarly, in 2011 Cameron could have stood firm following his rejection of the Fiscal Union treaty. For a moment, the momentum was with Britain, rather than with the European Union. Legally, he could have stopped the Fiscal Union countries using EU institutions and begun the process of  our disengagement. Instead, he folded and lost the initiative. Now, the EU has grasped ever greater control of the City of London and threatens its very survival.

The lessons of for any prospective Tory voter reading this is that the party has proved itself a truly hopeless guardian of the national interest in the long term. Although the party has had - and has - it's share of visionary thinkers: Churchill, Thatcher, Powell, Joseph and these days people such as Douglas Carswell, for the most part they are sidelined and ignored. The true history of Tory leadership is in the main one of cowardice and short-sightedness. Unfortunately, elements on the authoritarian, utopianist Left - and, of course, the European Union - do not possess such deficiencies. Possessing a definite long term vision as to the kind of society they want to see and the tenacity to pursue it, they have managed to change the country out of all recognition, irrespective of who was in power.

UKIP was, of course, born out of frustration with Tory myopia over the issue of the European Union. Now we are a broader based party, let us take on board the salutary lesson of the Tory party and the pathetic spectacle it has become.  Let us remember that it is not enough to be anti something: that without a definite positive vision for the kind of Britain we want to see and the courage to see it through over the long term, we, too, are doomed to lose.

Pornography and the Brutalisation of Young Men

OK, admit it, who amongst you clicked on this because it had the word "Pornography" in the title?

Come on, hands up, you know who you are.

It will certainly be interesting to compare the stats for this entry to other articles on less salacious subject matters.

Somethings never change: sex sells for one (which is why you are reading this); the moral panic of the older generation about the younger is another. Perhaps this is why lately we have had a slew of articles about the malign effects pornography is having on young people's relationships. The "pornolisation" of culture is blamed on brutalising a generation of young men in their attitudes towards women. This week, Allison Pearson wrote luridly in the Telegraph about a 14 year old girl at private school being pressured into giving multiple boys oral sex. Similarly, there were distasteful reports in the Daily Mail - without which no moral panic would be complete - about students at Cambridge discussing a female student's "rape potential'".

Both stories are guaranteed to turn the hair of parents with teenage daughters white. A cynic would argue that of course this is precisely their intention. They would no doubt add that young men as a breed have always been feral, but that the vast majority contain their impulses to relatively civilised standards and mellow with age.

Maybe, but we shouldn't be blind to the potential for tragedy either. In her article, Pearson also recounts a truly heart-rending story about a teenage girl, Chevonea Kendall-Bryan, who was so mortified by the threat from her boyfriend to publish video footage of her in flagrante that she committed suicide. Moreover, many studies have shown that increased viewing of pornography does brutalise the viewer and their attitudes to sex. Ironically, exposure also lowers sex drive over the long term. Like any addiction, it tends to dull the senses it was meant to arouse, meaning that an ever more extreme "fix" is needed in order to get the required high. It is not hard to see how this could have baleful consequences for the sex lives of those  who consume porn and their partners.

It goes without saying that we must always fight to stop young people who are at an inappropriately young age from viewing sexual material, and some sexual material is rightly viewed as beyond the pale for any age. More generally, if it can be shown that viewing pornography has a detrimental effects on the lives of those viewing or the lives of others, then there is a strong case for banning or controlling it, inasmuch as anyone can do so in the Internet era.

However, we must be very careful here to distinguish porn from erotica. Serious studies have shown that the graphic nature of sexual content viewed is in itself not the issue - it is the way sex itself is portrayed that is decisive. If it is seen to be  undertaken as an act of tenderness and love between consenting adults then no harm is done at all. It is when it is portrayed as an act of pure animal lust or, even worse, outright exploitation that significant negative consequences can occur. Given the insatiable appetite of young men for sexual material and the fact that policing content on the internet is likely to prove impossible, perhaps promoting interest in emotionally sensitive erotica over brutalising porn is the best we can do. Approaches that promote the good - or at least more neutral - rather than admonish the bad are also more likely to be effective with the naturally rebellious young.

But all that said, in one crucial respect the current argument over the damage done by pornography fundamentally misses the point. Whether or not exposure to pornography is brutalising young men, it is not as important as the fact that the routes to maturity once available to young males are now largely closed to them: namely, the dignity of work; the ability to protect and provide for the female, strong role models and so on. This is partly due to economic circumstances, the feminisation of society in general and the stupidities and bigotry of the feminist movement in rejecting classical masculinity in particular. Thus, even without the effects of porn, many young men, particularly those from working class backgrounds,  are trapped in a state of permanent "adultlescence", doomed to stay as the slaves to a pathetic "lad" culture well into middle-age. Combine that with porn's brutalising effects and it is not hard to see how an extremely nasty misogynistic culture could take root in our society, perhaps not unlike that which already exists in large parts of black urban America.

In short, it is plainly to the advantages of both men and women that the widespread alienation of young men in our culture should be looked at seriously. The LibLabCon parties, ruled as they are by Liberal Metropolitan pieties, will never do so. As with so many other issues, it is left to UKIP to summon the courage to confront the situation.

Because as the American sociologist Charles Murray previously argued in "The Coming White Underclass", sometimes the sky really is falling.

Keep calm and defect to UKIP

Fourteen defections in 11 weeks

We're going to need a bigger conference hall

We've been asked a few times how many defections UKIP has had this year and how many are from parties other than the Tories so I've gone back through the last 11 weeks of posts to pull out some statistics.

As far as we are aware there have been 14 defections this year of which 11 were from the Conservatives, 1 from the Lib Dems, 1 independent and one from a non-LibLabCon party.  That's an average of 1.27 defections per week so far in 2013.

YI Communication Officer candidate withdraws from election

Sam Launder – Young Independence National Elections 2013 – Official Statement.

Last week, I was asked to stand for the role of Communications Officer on the Young Independence Council. I was informed that it was likely the position would be uncontested, and was asked by current members of the Council to stand for the position. It later transpired that Carl Whitwell had already put his name forward for the position, but due to a mix-up with email addresses the Party had not received his nomination.

I have had significant personal matters to attend to since the close of nominations, and have had just 4 hours sleep in the last two days. Personal issues are likely to affect me for the rest of this week, and my ability to campaign is severely limited. My main reason for standing in the first place was to serve the Party and Young Independence and to help out in a role where we had no-one else. As there is another able volunteer for the role, it seems both logical and sensible for me to step aside to allow Carl to do the job. I am confident that he will make an excellent Communications Officer. I therefore write to formally withdraw from the election for the post of Communications Officer.

Finally, I would like to make it clear that I remain fully committed to Rob Comley's campaign for the vital role of YI Chairman. I urge all YI members to cast their minds back just a few short weeks. When Rob Comley took over, it's fair to say that YI was in turmoil. Rob showed am immense amount of courage to take on what was arguably 'the hardest job in youth politics'.

But within weeks, Rob had Young Independence working together. He ensured that YI regional branches were officially approved, acted as a calming influence on YI and developed the YI database. His keen personal interest in helping YI Yorkshire to get back on track was refreshing, and he has almost unanimous support amongst YI members here.

If Rob can do all of this in just a few weeks, I would love to see what he can achieve in a year! If I have any time at all this week to campaign, I would like to spend it ensuring that Rob Comley is elected Chairman of Young Independence. That is far more important to me than my own chances of election as Communications Officer.

None of this is intended as any slight whatsoever against Sean Howlett, and I look forward to seeing Sean at Spring Conference. It's just that Rob has done an amazing job so far as interim Chairman, and he deserves the chance to develop his ideas properly.

STATEMENT ENDS.

UKIP on 17% in Comres poll

The monthly Comres/Mirror voting intentions survey has revealed a big surge in support for UKIP with the party polling almost double the support of the Lib Dems.

The poll shows Labour out in front on 37% with the Conservatives down 3 points to 28%.  UKIP is up 3 points in third place with 17% and the Lib Dems are trailing on just 9%.

UKIP's support is coming from all social grades and from all parts of the country.  Even in Scotland, UKIP can expect 8% of the vote if this poll is correct which is a big increase on past performances.

Councillor announces defection to UKIP at Conservatives' Spring Conference

East Lindsey District Councillor, Victoria Ayling, has defected with style from the Tories to UKIP.

Cllr Ayling attended the Conservative Party's spring conference so she could personally tell David Cameron that she was defecting!

Cllr Ayling was close to winning the Great Grimsby seat in the last general election and currently holds the Corporate Affairs portfolio on the district council.

Lindsey is the site of the Total oil refinery that saw protests in 2009 over the decision by Total to award a contract for new equipment to an Italian company that imported 300 Italian workers to do the work rather than employing locals.

Update:
Cllr Ayling reports that David Cameron "lost his temper" when she told him she was defecting and twisted her hand.  More on the leader of the nasty party and his temper tantrum at the Daily Mail.

Cyprus does deal with EU to steal savings

Cyprus has agreed a bailout deal with the EU and IMF that involves the legalised theft of up to 9.9% of savings held in Cypriot banks.

The deal has been agreed today and the Cypriot government is expected to pass an emergency law tomorrow to make it legal.  Monday is a public holiday so depositors won't be able to go into branches until Tuesday to get their money out.  Accounts are already being emptied via cash machines.

The new tax on bank savings is 9.9% on savings of €100k or more and 6.75% on anything below €100k.  Banks have already been instructed to take the money out of accounts.

It is highly likely that we will see runs on all Cypriot banks on Tuesday and I would expect most of them to close before lunchtime and for the Cypriot government to order them to remain closed for a few days.  The Bank of Italy permitted Italian bank BNI to freeze all accounts for a month last year and Cyprus is in a far worse financial position than Italy.

Cyprus was forced to go cap in hand to the EU after Russia refused a second big loan because Cyprus was unable to give it preferential creditor status because of EU rules.  We said in October last year that the terms of any bailout for Cyprus would be "punishing to send a message to any other €urozone country that is thinking of suckling at another teat" and we weren't wrong.  Thousands of military personnel based in Akrotiri and Dhekelia have had their money stolen as well as the many thousands of ex-pats living in Cyprus and Cypriot ex-pats living overseas.

Wiltshire Councillor defects to UKIP

Wiltshire Councillor and former mayor of Melksham, Cllr Rod Eaton, has defected from the Tories to UKIP.

Cllr Eaton had lost interest in the Conservatives and was considering stepping down as a councillor altogether but then realised that UKIP policies were "much closer to what the people want".

I have had it in my mind for a year or two, but have been thinking whether to stand down altogether or stand for a party I believe in.

Cllr Eaton opted for the latter (although he has resigned from Malksham Town Council) and will stand for re-election as a UKIP councillor in May.

Minimum Pricing - First they came for the untouchables.

Minimum unit pricing for alcohol is being promoted by many groups - particularly those of a nannying, lefty bent. However, even some of a more conservative nature seem to be supporting this bandwagon.

To me as a believer in equality and freedom, this is an attack on the humanity of a group of our own citizens.

I know of no one who is asking/demanding that they pay more for alcoholic drinks themselves.

The entire minimum pricing programme is being promoted by one group, to be inflicted on another group - the smug, comfortable, faux-compassionate, do-gooders inflicting and imposing their will, against the will if their less comfortable, poorer, vulnerable victims.

The promoters of minimum pricing have done well to bring about this divisive alignment - to put
themselves in a group, with no accountability to anyone else, with apparent power over another group unable to defend themselves. Creating a society where men are no longer equal - instead we have the coercers and the coerced, with no election or battle, a simple coup d'etat.

Poor peoples access to alcohol is to be restricted - no such restriction will be placed on any other part of society. Would a wealthier part of society accept a restriction placed only on themselves? Ban the middle class from driving? Ban the mega rich from skiing? Or even banning either of these groups from consuming alcohol? If not then why is it that the current target group are seen as acceptable victims of this coercion? Simply because they are poor and without political influence or power?

To treat the poor in our society with such high handed prejudice disgusts me to the core. Supporters of this shameful proposal disgust me equally. If this goes through, then I can only hope that one day they too will find themselves in a similar position of those they seek to oppress today, and get to feel their own boot stamping on their faces...

First published at http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/minimum-pricing-first-they-came-for.html

Building tangible foundations for Young Independence

I joined Ukip deciphering that it’s more than just a political movement, it’s a social movement. The evidence is clear when you walk into a pub and notice the pub landlord has tossed a cascade of Ukip’s ‘Save the Pub’ beer mats around the pub; do you see the same for Labour, Tory – or Lib-Dem – supporters? No, now those activists only exist in a realm isolated from of the average man or woman, although they may pop by at election period. Ukip is different. And I believe this movement has to reach the youth if we really want to establish ourselves in the social fabric, and I think it is vitally important, as we've seen in currently in Young Independence, young supporters make their own interpretations of Ukip policy or values; enhancing the sense of the yellow, purple and striped tied Youth Kipper which I believe is a crucial beneficiary to the concept of the ‘broad church’ of Ukip, which is a good thing.

Many young people feel naturally attached to what the Party stands for, however I worry that they are rummaging for a local Ukip presence, and Young Independence (if they've ever heard of it), when frankly it should be vice versa. I want to build tangible foundations for YI branches to seep new members - and activists, and of course establish more branches, particularly in constituencies where we do possess YI members willing to do their bit for the party. I am a strong believer in YI branch chairmen getting down and dirty for youth support; where do the youth go in your areas; youth clubs; social events; sixth form, college and university debates etc? My personal interaction with these branches would be key, moreover establishing a network between branches is essential; learning from the tactics of one another is what we really need to get YI together – and to be helping one another in terms of campaigning, transport and events. A relationship should also be established with your local Ukip branch in boosting these factors. I shall email, use social networking or meet branch representatives at party events, so we can share information and ideas.

I am a strong believer in transparency; and I will update YI and the rest of Ukip, with what I do as Grassroots Officer in my blogs or emails, as well as taking into light your personal queries or interests. I will contact EVERYONE on the incoming database; no one will be left out.

                

I have begun drafting plans with former YI Interim Chairman Rob Comley, embracing social networking in the process, to gather a bunch of Ukip supporting sixth formers, college students and university students to discuss why they want to leave the European Union, and why they believe in Ukip – before a camera; fruitful content which can be widely distributed. These - and many more - approaches should be taken to reach the social media capacity of other political youth organisations, such as Young Labour and Conservative Future, which are blatantly losing the argument but currently only have meek opposition.

 We must look beyond university as the majority are elsewhere, and that role of 'beyond' should be naturally carried out by the Grassroots Officer. Ukip’s Libertarian image - with a spice of Lady Britannia's common sense - can’t be amplified by merely the Party Leadership, but youth themselves. Similarly, we need more YI members out on the doorstep rather than older activists who struggle to walk up myriads of stairs; I have witnessed this struggle firsthand leafleting around London. Young Independence needs to be a tangible fighting force, not bluntly just on the internet. That includes activists from all over Great Britain gathering for the greater good.

We must imprint ourselves in the social fabric; YI must defeat concrete jungles and tribal voting through youth networks, and therefore Ukip will surely have a beaming, long term future.

Votes much appreciated!

My manifesto - Alexander Balkan – Candidate for Grassroots Officer of Young Independence.

Proposer: Rob Comley. Seconder: Henry Reilly. Assentors: Jack Duffin, Kelly Gravett, Richard Harrington, Laura Howard, James Lynch, Gareth Shanks, Peter Thurston and Ben Walker.
 

UKIP wins in Runnymede

UKIP has gained its first borough council seat in Surrey after Chris Browne won a by-election in Runnymede yesterday.

Cllr Browne overcame a 24% deficit to beat the Tory candidate by just 18 votes.  Runnymede Borough Council has 35 Tories, 5 Runnymede Independent Residents councillors and now 1 UKIP councillor.

Chairman of Chertsey Town Conservative Association, Cllr Paul Tuley, said they were disappointed and dismissed the result as a one off.

Runnymede is where Magna Carta was signed and winning a seat on Runnymede Borough Council is pretty symbolic.

Hope Not Hate ask if they should target UKIP

Hope Not Hate, the ostensibly anti-fascist campaign group, is wringing its hands over the rise of UKIP and is asking visitors to its website whether they should oppose UKIP even though in their own words "they are not a fascist or far right group".

What Hope Not Hate are effectively asking is should they abandon their their raison d'etre (look guys, a foreign word) and focus on opposing anyone who isn't on the far left - basically turn themselves into another clone of the ironically named far left fascist group, Unite Against Fascism.

There is a feedback form on their website for people to give their views.  If you do so, remember that Hope Not Hate do not target UKIP at the moment and don't believe the party is "far right" or fascist so don't go there ranting and giving them the false impression that we are a party of angry right wing nutters.  They are asking for opinions, not declaring war.

Here is my submission:

UKIP's opposition to mass immigration is based on maths, not racism or xenophobia. There aren't enough jobs and houses for the people who already live here so it is ridiculous to allow more people to move here until homelessness and joblessness is got under control.

UKIP's opposition to multiculturalism isn't down to racism or xenophobia, it's what is right for both the people already living here and people who move here from overseas. The causal racism of the 60s and 70s was clearly wrong but the expectation that immigrants would learn to speak English and attempt to integrate with society wasn't. Older generations of immigrants generally speak English, mix well with people outside of their own "community" and think of themselves as English rather than their "native" identity. Not speaking English or understanding and embracing our existing culture and values leads to voluntary segregation and prevents immigrants from becoming productive members of society.

Neither opposition to immigration or multiculturalism is about hate and division, it's about being fair to the people who already live in this country (regardless of whether they can trace their ancestry back to Alfred the Great or whether they arrived in the country last month) and building an inclusive society rather than one that is increasingly segregated along racial and religious lines.

Roger Helmer MEP on the EU budget

The Tories and Labour are claiming that UKIP MEPs have voted for an increase in the EU budget.  Roger Helmer MEP explains why UKIP voted against the "cut" EU budget ...

Why your EU Parliamentary vote should NOT automatically reflect your UK Parliamentary Vote.

Remember David Cameron saying he wanted to FREEZE the EU budget?

Remember the UK Parliament voted to ask him to get a CUT in the EU budget?

Remember David Cameron claiming he had won his EU budget negotiations and got the first ever CUT in the EU budget? (Lets forget for now that this 'cut' actually meant the UK paying MORE).

Well that was then ...

Now the EU parliament have voted on the proposed cut - and rejected it.

Why am I blogging on this little bit of news?

Because Labour MP's voted for the cut at Westminster before Cameron went to the negotiations - but Labour MEPs have just voted AGAINST THE CUT in Brussels...

So called 'Labour' MEPs have not loyal to the UK Labour party - they are not under the control of the UK Labour party and do not work in the UK's interests.

Even those who vote Labour in UK elections should think VERY CAREFULLY before voting Labour in the EU elections... Labour MEP's have 'gone native' and are dedicated to the EU's interests, not the UK's.

Former Nazi elected as Labour councillor

A former Nazi and Hitler fan has been elected as a Labour councillor in Milton Keynes.

Margaret Burke and her ex-husband ran a militant Nazi group in Milton Keynes in the 80s.  When her marriage broke up she left the Nazi group and decided to become an animal rights terrorist for the Animal Liberation Front which ended up landing her in prison.

Burke says she has repented and was brainwashed all those years ago.  That may well be the case but next time UKIP is wrongly accused of being full of racists or xenophobic you can bet Ms Burke will be thrown right back at them.

In UKIP we ban Nazis from joining the party, in Labour they get them elected.

Eastleigh - what's next?

Thurrock reports ~

An interesting week it was, on the one hand and little reported fact is London mayoral candidate for 2012 Lawrence Webb is fighting the Gooshays by-election (21st March) in Havering, Essex -  our friends and neighbors.

We - Ukip Thurrock turned out, provided support by way of leafleting and from the responses received today at the doorstep it's looking good ;) but and its a big 'BUT'. Must we be complacent? and NO is the answer I suggest for whilst the current UKIP surge is gaining momentum we surely must prepare for the dips? 

No, I am not going negative, merely I suggest it  is something to be considered by each and every reader, for whilst the surge toward interest in UKIP is attracting much support we cannot succumb to any and such denial that 'there may be trouble ahead". The road is long and maybe difficult.

A pragmatic position.

On the other had this week we received a touching 'post it' note attached to the back of a (chq) donation. "To UKIP, thanks for booklet and letter. This £5 is a one off payment , I cannot do more or help with things as I'm in my 80's and not very mobile. good luck".


Anyone with a heart can but not align with and be heartened upon receiving such a message, it strikes at the very discord within our so called elected representatives and how they are disconnected from the electorate. Is it any wonder voters are disenfranchised with the political system within our country, a nation in crisis and a sea shift change in our midst.

Unsurprisingly as you read this my support goes to those that feel they have no voice, an unheard community that desire real change and are sick to the back teeth of the current regime.

Vote UKIP.

Polling suggests UKIP will hold balance of power after election

UKIP is outpolling the Lib Dems by more than 2 to 1 and more importantly, would hold the balance of power if the polling turned into actual vote share in the next general election.

In Survation's latest poll for the Guardian, Labour are still out in front on a slightly diminished 39% with the Tories in second place on a record low of 27%.  UKIP are third with a projected 17% of the vote with the Lib Dems trailing in 4th place with just 8%.

It means that for the first time the only way the Tories could form a government would be with UKIP's help.  I'm not suggesting that UKIP should form an electoral pact with the Tories - I would never support such a move unless UKIP was the majority partner - but supporting a minority Tory government on a policy by policy basis would put UKIP in an extremely powerful position.

Joining UKIP feels like regaining control of your life

A testimonial from a UKIP member written a year after joining:

Joining UKIP feels like regaining control of your life, your country, your purpose and your destiny ....having previously lost all of those things to liberal wasters who were clueless, gormless and spineless.

So many other like minded souls are joining UKIP from everywhere you look. More by the minute. Before I joined, I wondered what on earth had happened to this country and I was seriously thinking of leaving. Not any more. I love it here and don't want to leave. New lease of life. Thank you Mr Farage.

Derbyshire Councillor defects to UKIP

Cllr Juliette Stevens, a county councillor in Derbyshire, has defected from the Tories to UKIP.

More details will be released by the branch soon.

UKIP wins Congleton by-election

UKIP's Louise van de Bours last night comfortably won a Congleton by-election.

The results of the election were:

Party	Vote
UKIP	769
Con	587
Ind	263
Ind	125

Cllr van de Bours contested a by-election in Congleton last year and came third, just 90 votes behind the winning Tory and 9 behind the second placed Labour candidate.  Perseverance and hard work has clearly paid off.

Guardian tries to smear UKIP

Tax dodging left wing rag, the Guardian, has made a pitifully lame attempt to smear UKIP.  True to its left wing roots the paper is haemorrhaging money and is only managing to keep its head above water through its capitalist off shore tax avoidance investment vehicles.

Every political party has its fringe, but not many have members whose policy priorities include death to all squirrels, the end of the NHS and a return to the gold standard.

The Labour Party candidate in Eastleigh wants Margaret Thatcher to be assassinated and wished we had lost the Falklands War.

The United Kingdom Independence party is a different case. As Nigel Farage, the party leader, enjoyed his popularity bounce following Ukip's second place at the Eastleigh byelection – flying to Canada to meet global rightwing heavyweights including the former Australian prime minister John Howard and the US Tea Party guru Ron Paul – officials were scrambling to contain the party's most extreme elements, including xenophobia and racism.

I've never met a UKIP member (or non-member for that matter) who has an irrational fear of foreigners.  I don't doubt there are racists in the party, just like there are in every other party.  The LibLabCon parties have presided over a system of institutional racism against the English for decades with medical apartheid, refusal to allow democratic representation, etc.

On one members' message board about migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, Ukip member Raymond Adams said this week: "Nothing less than ethnic cleansing is taking place. The Lib-Lab-Con EU puppets are dutifully diluting the English in particular to eradicate any nasty Nationalism. Then the next generation can be loyal and dutiful EU clones. EUtopia will have arrived!"

There seems to be a suggestion that this is incorrect but they don't explain why.

John Patrick added: "If there really are some 4 million Romanians and Bulgarians arriving within the year, I just hope our police are ready. We will have to build more prisons and increase the benefit payments."

Even if these desperately poor Romanians and Bulgarians were no less likely to commit crime than the people already living here (bear in mind that the Mafia and other serious organised crime syndicates are a real problem in both countries) then some of those 4m people will end up in prison.  As for benefits - most Romanians and Bulgarians that come here will be penniless by our standards and they will be entitled to benefits when they move here.

The remarks have been defended by the party chairman, Steve Crowther, but others have been removed. On threads where two members had reportedly linked homosexuality to paedophilia, Jonathan Arnott, the party's general secretary, complained: "I've locked a number of gay marriage/adoption/etc threads which seem to have turned to both sides using it as an excuse to have a go at each other. Some of the personal abuse – on both sides – is some of the worst we've had on this forum."

Criticism for removing unacceptable comments?

On Tuesday, Farage was the star turn at a "raucous" meeting of 100 party backers at the Ukip Patrons Club for donors giving more than £1,000. The gathering, the first since the byelection success, took place at the East India Club in St James's Square where party loyalists dined on "the roast beef of old England" washed down with claret. But beyond London clubland, senior officials have warned "wackier" elements to rein in their excesses or leave, and with party sources saying Farage has flown to Monaco, Zurich and the Channel Islands recently to meet potential backers, message control is firmly on the agenda.

"Message control" has been on the agenda for a long time.

"Its time to start falling in line," said one party official. "We have to be ready for more scrutiny and responsibility."

This is bad because?

Activist John Patrick said on a members' forum: "We must now ensure, even more, that we are squeaky clean, and remain that way, if we don't want the shell-shocked Tories to catch us out. No stings, and watch out for the secret recorders [and] cameras."

But we have nothing to fear as this hatchet job by the Guardian demonstrates ...

The party machine is to move into more professional accommodation from its cramped floor of the Conservative party's old HQ in Smith Square, Westminster, and will take space behind Claridges hotel in the same Mayfair building as Max Clifford's PR offices. Rents in the building are among the most expensive in London at more than £65 per square foot.

Still not as valuable as the Guardian's offices which of course are owned by a tax dodging offshore company based in a tax haven in the Cayman Islands.

The party declined to say who was paying for the space.

And they don't need to.

There are plenty of awkward associations in his party for Farage to negotiate from his new base. In January, the Dewsbury, West Yorkshire branch of the far-right English Defence League declared its support for Ukip and one member, John Emms, complained on Ukip's official web forum that the British National party was "subject to persecution by the Political Correction Liberal Left thugs".

A member of the EDL said he was supporting UKIP, not the other way round.  When the far left UAF and militant trade unionists declare their support for Labour the Guardian doesn't bat an eyelid.

Some of Ukip's leading lights are feted by the hard right abroad. In February, in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut in which 20 children and six adults were shot dead, Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, the party's former deputy leader, appeared on a rightwing US chatshow describing post-Dunblane gun control in Britain as "kneejerk".

The post-Dunblane gun control laws were a kneejerk reaction which is why they were so badly thought out and written.  The Olympic pistol shooting team has to go abroad to practice their sport whilst of course criminals continue to trade in and use illegal pistols just like they did before everyone who legally owned a pistol was required to give theirs up.

He also maintained that the European Union was a dictatorship and described Australia's prime minister, Julia Gillard, as a communist.

The EU is a dictatorship and Julia Gillard is a communist.

Speaking about environmentalism, Monckton decried ICLEI, the international network of local government bodies dedicated to sustainable development, as "the new dictators" and "straightforward, outright in-your-face communism dressed up to appear like it is to do with the environment".

And he's wrong because?

Four defections in three days

UKIP has been lucky enough to gain three councillors this week - three from defections and one an independent joining us.

Independent parish councillor for Ercall Magna in Telford & Wrekin, John Sadler, became a UKIP councillor on Monday.  Cllr Sadler has been a councillor for over 30 years and was the first independent mayor of Telford & Wrekin.

The Tories have also lost two councillors to UKIP in Leicestershire after Cllrs David Sprason and Rob Fraser both defected yesterday.  Both councillors have been victims of the dictatorial leadership of Leicester Council's Conservative group, Nick Rushton, who arrogantly said that "we'll select someone to stand against him and keep the seat in Conservative hands after the election".

A former Tory councillor in Cumbria has also defected from the Tories to UKIP.  Bob Hardon has been a Tory for over 50 years, was a councillor for over 20 years and lost his seat in 2011 by just 2 votes.

UAF say that "UKIP must not be allowed to influence politics and immigration"

The far left thugs at Unite Against Fascism have used a conference to tell people that "UKIP must not be allowed to influence politics and immigration".

Diane Abbott, the racist Labour MP, told the conference that we wouldn't have an NHS without immigrants and that "if communities live separately now, we have to look at that institutional racism".

The suggestion that we need immigrant workers to prevent the NHS from collapsing is frankly ridiculous.  There are many highly skilled foreign-born doctors that we undoubtedly benefit from an UKIP's immigration policy still allows for such skilled workers to come to the UK but there is no reason why we would need to import people to work as minimum wage ancillary staff when there are so many unemployed people already living here.

As for the suggestion that "institutional racism" causes communities to live separately - it is the multiculturalism that Abbott and her party have aggressively promoted that is to blame.  Telling immigrants that they don't have to bother learning to speak English, adopting any element of our culture or way of life or making any effort whatsoever to fit in is what causes immigrant communities to become isolated.  This is just one of the many ways that  multiculturalism fails immigrants.

Red Ken Livingtson was also there spouting his usual left wing bile and playing the "Jew" card but the prize for the most offensive and factually inaccurate anti-UKIP slur goes to the UAF's "Europe Officer", former Labour MEP Glyn Ford.

UKIP are not a fascist party, but they are xenophobic, ultra -nationalistic, many of their members are racists, and they act, in my view as a recruiting ground for people who may later on veer even further to the right

At least he got one thing right: UKIP is not a fascist party.  But neither is UKIP a xenophobic or ultra-nationalist party.  No doubt some UKIP members are racists but certainly no more so than the LibLabCon parties and of course UKIP is the only party that bans former BNP members from joining.

It's been pointed out before but it's worth pointing out again: Nigel Farage is married to a German.  The leader of a xenophobic party is unlikely to be married to a German.  But more importantly, it's worth remembering that xenophobia is an irrational fear of foreigners and I don't know anyone who has an irrational fear of foreigners, either in UKIP or not.

It was inevitable that the extremist UAF would turn their attentions to UKIP eventually.  UAF has infiltrated pretty much every public body and political party - even David Cameron is a member of UAF.  They of course see UKIP as a threat to their extreme left wing politics and a challenge to their authority.  The last thing they want is a party in power that they can't control and that don't follow their far left agenda.

Italy heading for another unelected government

Things are hotting up in Italy again after president Giorgio Napolitano suggested a second unelected government, just a week after getting rid of Mario Monti's "technocrat" government.  The governor of the Bank of Italy has been suggested to run the country while the elected politicians try and form a democratic government.

The most vocal political opponent to the idea seems to be Beppe Grillo, a comedian turned politician who has unexpectedly found himself heading up 163 elected representatives without a plan or any infrastructure behind his party.  He says they "will vote law by law" rather than support any government but he does say that if his party gets into power they will put the country into technical default and withdraw from the €urozone.

The Rise Of UKIP Isn’t Splitting “The Right”: It Is Emancipating It.

Our Dan loves a literary analogy or two. Or five. Or six. Having surely exhausted Shakespeare by now, he has plainly moved onto Homer: seeing himself as a latter-day Cassandra, prophesying certain doom if a UKIP-Tory pact is not brought about. Just like the despairing Trojan, he must know deep down that his warnings will go unheeded; that such a pact is impossible, at least with the current Tory leadership, but nonetheless he feels compelled to plead for one anyway. Post-Eastleigh, right on cue, up popped Dan yet again, urging the necessity of an idea resurrected more frequently than Christopher Lee’s Dracula used to be by Hammer films.

To be fair Dan is not alone. One of the predictable conclusions drawn from our stupendous performance in Eastleigh by commentators across the spectrum was that it showed that the political “Right” was now fatally split in a way similar to the Left was throughout the20th Century, after the eclipse of the Liberal Party by Labour in the years following the First World War.

Is it true? Well, to start with the terms “Left” and “Right” are fairly meaningless these days, having being distorted and misused out of all recognition from their original concepts of “change“ on the one hand and “order” on the other. This should come as no surprise in a post-modern world where language is used as a weapon of misinformation: where the Conservative Party is no longer conservative, the Labour Party no longer represents labour and the Liberal Democrats are not really liberal and very definitely not democratic (h/t Cranmer).

That said, let’s accept for the purposes of this discussion that the modern “Left” is broadly defined by the Metropolitan Liberal consensus, and the “Right” by the rest of us outside that privileged bubble. Even if we follow the very dubious reasoning that UKIP and – no laughing now - the Conservative Party are therefore on “The Right” and Labour and the LibDems on “The Left”, does the rise of UKIP really risk ushering in long-term Labour / Liberal hegemony?

For a start, well before David Cameron came along, the Conservative Party was in long-term serious decline. True to form in a party with a strong “Vicar of Bray” tradition, the Cameroons wrongly analysed this as being due to a lack of Metropolitan modernity in its social thinking. However, in practice the party had, and has, deep structural and ideological weaknesses. For a start, it is true that there is a rotten and cynical segment to the party that seeks only to conserve privilege and elite rule at almost any price. Clearly that particular stand of tradition is always going to alienate many voters, particularly from modest backgrounds. However, what has really done for the party is it’s relative myopia: good at the small picture but hopeless at the big one, over time the Conservative Party has found itself constantly outmanoeuvred, and it’s time in government largely spent reacting to the carnage wrought by successive Labour governments.

As a result, the party has got a partially undeserved but deeply rooted reputation for selfishness, harshness and cruelty. Far more than any other party, the Tories face a hard ceiling to their support, with a great many voters not prepared to vote Tory under any circumstances whatsoever, including very substantial numbers who would consider themselves conservative or at least anti-Metropolitan on many issues. (“Agent” Cameron’s special genius, of course, is to have extended that sense of revulsion to many of the party’s previously core supporters.) It is for this reason that a Tory-UKIP pact is of such limited value. Even if UKIP withdrew from the field entirely, the number of extra votes for the Tories would not get the party over the finishing line. Furthermore, if you want to see the likely effect that any kind of association with the Tories would have on UKIP, just look at the Liberal Democrats today.

In this context, we can see that what the rise of UKIP really represents is the emancipation of “right-wing” voters previously marooned by the old political order: so very many have felt compelled to cast their vote negatively for the party most likely to keep the hated Tories out, or increasingly have given up on voting at all.

The statistics from Eastleigh about the provenance of UKIP’s votes speak for themselves: a great many UKIP voters came from the Liberal Democrats or Labour, supporters, and perhaps most interesting of all, many came from people who hadn't voted in years.

Hence the great irony of Dan’s Cassandra-like wailing is that it comes at a time that UKIP’s disproportionate mining of disaffected Tory voters is demonstrably well on the wane. Instead it is perhaps now in the huge, disaffected mass of Labour supporters or amongst the politically completely alienated that the richest pickings are to be had.It follows that if UKIP eats into other parties support on an reasonably equal basis, it's rise will increase rather than decrease the chances of Eurosceptic policies being adopted.

In future, perhaps it is Labour that has most to fear from UKIP. Consequently, our rise is just as likely to destroy the prevailing Metropolitan consensus as it is to destroy the fortunes of the Conservative Party.

What a wonderful prospect.