Labour leader of Stoke-on-Trent survives second vote of no confidence from his own party

The leader of Stoke-on-Trent's Labour-run council has survived his second vote of no confidence in two years from his own party.

Two Labour councillors called the vote of no confidence in Cllr Mohammed Pervez but were unable to secure enough support to oust him. He was previously challenged in 2012 by Cllr Sarah Hill who was removed from her cabinet post as punishment and subsequently resigned from the council.

Cllrs Ruth Rosenau and Janine Bridges are now expected to lose their cabinet posts. Stoke-on-Trent's dysfunctional Labour group will face a big challenge from UKIP in next year's local elections.

Farage won't contest Tory cash for questions MP Patrick Mercer's seat

Corrupt Conservative MP Patrick Mercer has resigned after the Parliamentary Standards Committee recommended his suspension for 6 months for accepting cash for questions.

Mercer was caught in a sting in May last year by BBC Panorama whose undercover reporter paid him £4,000 for asking questions, only half of which he declared s income from lobbyists.

Nigel Farage was widely tipped to contest the election for UKIP but has declined to do so, saying that he would only be seen as an interloper and opportunist because it isn't the right seat for him.

Lib Dem councillor in Exmouth found guilty of breach code of conduct

A Lib Dem town, district and county councillor in Exmouth has been found guilty of "discourteous and disrespectful" behaviour towards a Conservative councillor by East Devon District Council's monitoring officer.

Cllr Eileen Wragg made rude and derogatory comments to the Mayor of Exmouth, Cllr John Humphreys at Exmouth Town Council's annual meeting. This was ruled to be in breach of the council's code of conduct.

Last year, Cllr Wragg was censured by East Devon District Council's standards committee for questioning the competency of the Deputy Chief Executive in a letter to a local newspaper.

UKIP's lead widens in two polls

Two new opinion polls have shown a massive jump in support for UKIP despite a massive media campaign against the party.

A TNS-BMRB poll has UKIP 9 points clear of Labour and a ComRes poll has UKIP 11 points in front.

TNS-BMRB
Party	%
UKIP	36%
Labour	27%
Conservative	18%
Lib Dem	10%

ComRes
Party	%
UKIP	38%
Labour	27%
Conservative	18%
Lib Dem	8%

Shamed Lib Dem porn councillor told to resign

Leader of Wigan Council, Lord Peter Smith, has criticised Wigan councillors for their behaviour and told a former Lib Dem councillor that he should have resigned after being caught using his council laptop to watch porn.

One councillor was removed from the meeting last week for using Twitter during the meeting when instructed not to do so and several others left in protest leading the council to introduce mandatory training for new councillors and instructing officers to find a way to deduct money from the allowances of those councillors who were expelled or left the meeting.

Lord Smith told councillor Robert Bleakley, who resigned from the Lib Dems in shame after being caught with porn on his council laptop - something that would have resulted in the instant dismissal of a council employee. In February, Bleakley was found guilty of doctoring an email in an attempt to get two senior employees of the council into enough trouble to lose their jobs. He has been investigated several times by the council's Standards Committee, suspended by the now-defunct Standards Board for England three times and investigated by the police for misuse of public office yet the Lib Dems still didn't expel him and in the end he resigned over the new year.

Lord Smith said that in his long career, the meeting was "the most atrocious meeting I have seen.”

Disgraced ex-Lib Dem Hancock standing for re-election in Portsmouth

Disgraced ex-Lib Dem MP Mike Hancock is standing for re-election to Portsmouth City Council for the first time since his former Parliamentary assistant and mistress was arrested for suspected espionage and he was taken to court for sexual harassment.

Although Hancock has had the Lib Dem whip removed, the Lib Dems have decided not to put up a candidate against him.

Hancock will face a challenge from UKIP for the first time this year.

White South African says black Englishman should move to a "black county"

A UKIP candidate for Enfield Council has said that Lenny Henry should go and live in a black country if he wants to be around more black people and likened Islam to the Third Reich.

William Henwood was responding to Lenny Henry's call for more black people on TV when he said:

I think if black people come to this country and don’t like mixing with white people why are they here? If he wants a lot of blacks around go and live in a black country.

Whilst he makes a very valid general point that if someone doesn't like mixing with white people they shouldn't come to this country, Lenny Henry was born and bred in Dudley. He didn't "come here", he was born here - he's a black Englishman. Unlike William Henwood who is a white man born in apartheid-era South Africa! As one friend put it last night "The headline should read 'White South African tells black Englishman to emigrate to a black country'."

Whether there are a proportionate number of black people on TV based on the percentage of the population I don't know and frankly don't care. UKIP is a meritocracy - if you're good at something then it doesn't matter what colour you are. We don't believe in race/religion/sex quotas and in all fairness that it probably what Henwood was trying to say in 140 characters on Twitter but failed because of his own ignorance.

As for his suggestion that Islam is like the Third Reich, that's clearly just batshit crazy. Yes, there are a lot of people around the world doing a lot of bad and dangerous things in the name of Islam but there are a lot of people doing a lot of bad and dangerous things in the name of Christianity and Judaism too. Islam itself isn't dangerous, some of its adherents are. Ok, it seems like a lot of them are but to put it in perspective, there are 1.6bn Muslims in the world and it's the world's fastest growing religion. Hitler's Third Reich carried out the state-sponsored slaughter and persecution of million of people and plunged humanity into a second world war. He didn't do it because his sky fairy told him to or because he'd been brainwashed by ideologues, he did it because he hated people who weren't white and Christian, who were gay, disabled, wore glasses, etc. Muslim terrorists do what they do because they've been brainwashed into believing this is what their god wants based on some passages from their bible that they believe says they have to kill non-Muslims. Similarly-worded teachings in the Old Testament - also one of the Islamic holy books - tell Jews and Christians to kill non-believers and prescribe the death penalty for any number of sins.

Henwood clearly thinks he knows more than he actually does and it would be sensible to remove him from the public eye not only to save him from his own stupidity but to protect the 99.9% of normal UKIP candidates who don't want to be associated with his ridiculous comments.

Labour councillor's own goal trying to score points off Tory opponent

A Labour councillor and parliamentary candidate has made a bizarre call for the Conservative Mayor of Elstree & Borehamwood to apologise for telling a ranty resident that if he doesn't want to take part in the democratic process he should move to a country that isn't a democracy.

Everyone expects opposition politicians to try and make capital out of the mistakes of their opponents but Cllr Richard Butler's demand that Mayor Clive Butchins apologise for his remarks is just ridiculous.

Here's what Butchins said when a resident complained that he'd had a Conservative Party leaflet through his door when everyone knows he doesn't vote Conservative:

No-one is forcing you to read the leaflets but you might learn something if you do. I believe it is a most important part of democracy .

If you don’t want to participate in the democratic process, you should go and live in a country where there isn't a democratic government.

Since making the comment he's been accused of undermining free speech, being patronising and even "bordering on racist". There are no racial overtones whatsoever, nor is it patronising or undermining free speech. This is dirty party politics as its worst and exactly the sort of cheap whimpering behaviour we've all come to expect from a Labour Party that has literally nothing positive to campaign on.

Warrant issued for Conservative ex-councillor

Bournemouth Magistrates Court have issued a warrant for the arrest of a former Conservative councillor who is being pursued by the DWP for alleged benefit fraud.

As a councillor she was earning £9,290 in basic allowances and an extra £1,764 in special responsibility allowances for being on the licensing committee but the DWP say she was claiming benefits that she wasn't entitled to at the same time.

Anniina Davie resigned her seat last February and is believed to have returned to her native Finland. Theresa May is no doubt drafting an EU Arrest Warrant right now to bring this fugitive Tory to justice.

Labour peer warns that working class are abandoning Labour

One of Ed Miliband's former advisers has warned the Labour Party that working class people are defecting to UKIP because Labour has become too middle class.

Lord Glasman told the Times that traditional Labour supporters are worried about immigration and welfare and that Labour need to address those issues if the working class aren't to abandon Labour permanently. He went on to say that the working class Labour vote collapsed in the last general election and that it was middle class voters - those who Tony Blair courted for so many years at the expense of the traditional working class vote - who saved them from bigger embarrassment at the polls.

The Labour middle class vote held up (in 2010). It was the working class vote that died. These are often people who are earning, who have jobs, but they don't see Labour as representing their interests.

UKIP is predicted to come first in next month's EU elections by all the main polling companies.

Lib Dem told to expect loss of all their MEPs

The Lib Dems have been warned by their advisers that they are at risk of losing all 11 of their MEPs in next month's EU elections.

Leaked briefing documents say that coming out of the elections with no MEPs is a realistic option.

One Lib Dem told the Telegraph the idea of them losing all their MEPs was "nonsense" but another said "it is looking like an absolute bloodbath". Lib Dem President, Tim Farron, seems to be resigned to the fact that the party is going to be wiped out in the EU elections.

On an entirely unrelated note, we've just discovered a Tumblr site devoted to pictures of Nick Clegg Looking Sad complete with humorous captions. Sadly it hasn't been updated for a year but perhaps the look on his face as their MEP gradually drops down to zero will inspire the author to revive it.

Tory wannabe councillors in Hillingdon admit discrimination against non-Tory areas

The following email has been distributed on behalf of three Conservative candidates for Hillingdon Council, explaining that wards that don't vote Conservative lose out in funding and improvements from the Conservative-controlled council.

Dear resident,

At the forthcoming Hillingdon Council election on 22nd May, residents have the chance to ensure that Northwood Hills is represented by three Conservative councillors able to influence the Council's Executive decision makers.

The evidence of the past few years clearly shows that in areas that don't elect councillors from the same team, are those who lose out on funding for environmental improvements, road resurfacing and grants to local voluntary groups.

We don't wish to see Northwood Hills placed in such a position and therefore ask you to pledge your support for the three of us, to ensure Northwood Hills speaks as one when key decisions are being taken in the Civic Centre.

Yours etc

Jonathan Bianco, Duncan Flynn John Morgan

Show your support for the Northwood Hills Conservatives by replying to this email saying 'We are definitely voting Bianco, Flynn & Morgan for Northwood Hills'.

Britain First allowed to use Lee Rigby's name on ballot papers

The Electoral Commission has apologised to the family of murdered soldier Lee Rigby after allowing the extremist Britain First Party to use the slogan "Remember Lee Rigby" on ballot papers in Wales.

The anti-Islam party, which has links to the BNP, EDL and English Democrats, is only contesting EU elections in Wales and Scotland and has a different slogan registered for Scotland so most people will be spared from their opportunist propaganda.

UKIP is the only party to ban past and present members of Britain First and other racist parties and organisation from joining.

UKIP first for EU elections in YouGov poll

YouGov have UKIP in the lead for the EU elections next month.

UKIP's vote share is always depressed in YouGov polls so coming first in one of them 4 weeks before an election is really encouraging, especially when the media are devoting so much time and effort to trying to undermine the party.

Party	%
UKIP	31%
Lab	28%
Con	19%

Tory councillor calls himself "Sir" for 19 years

A Conservative Councillor in Cornwall has been calling himself an MBE for 19 years despite never actually having a knighthood.

Cllr Terry Wilkins claims to have been hoaxed 19 years ago by a colleague in the police force who gave him a fake letter and medal telling him he had been given an MBE.

He has also been telling people that he has a 2:1 degree in Health & Wellness pending from the Open University who say they have no idea who he is.

Labour candidate in Harrow a convicted benefits cheat

One of Labour's candidates for this year's elections to Harrow Council has been exposed as a benefits fraudster.

Yogalingam Dayanamby admitted defrauding Harrow Council out of over £800 after failing to declare the fact that he owned a second home when claiming benefits in 2007. He was convicted of fraud, tagged and given a curfew.

The local Labour Party claim not to have known about Dayanamby's past but searching for his rather distinctive name in Google turns up details of his conviction right at the top of the page, beneath his LinkedIn profile. Surely the first thing any responsible political party does is research potential candidates before adopting them to make sure they aren't known convicted criminals?

The local Tories are making the most of it, pointing out that one Labour councillor in Harrow has been caught with indecent images of children and another attempting to fraudulently cash £10k worth of cheques from a Multiple Sclerosis sufferer. However, only last year the Tory MP for Harrow East, Bob Blackman, denounced the Conservative-run council as an "exploitative regime". Harrow residents who want a change from the corrupt Tory/Labour pantomime in Harrow will be able to vote UKIP in most wards in the local elections in a few weeks.

Lib Dem Councillor resigns over £1,200 charity theft

Lib Dem Cllr Peter Brock has announced his resignation from Yeovil Town Council after being convicted of stealing £1,200 from the local branch of the Royal British Legion.

Brock, who has been suspended by the local Lib Dem group, said his was ashamed and embarrassed by his actions.

There are no front page stories about this in the national press or 24 hour rolling coverage by the news channels like there is when a UKIP councillor is involved but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Anti-UKIP protesters protesting outside wrong building in Dudley

Spare a thought for these poor anti-UKIP protesters standing out in the rain in Dudley waiting to wave their placards at Nigel Farage, only to realise 15 minutes later that they were protesting outside the wrong building!

YouGov predict five Welsh Assembly seats for UKIP

A YouGov poll has predicted five Welsh Assembly seats for UKIP in 2016 at the expense of the Lib Dems, Labour and the Tories.

The poll, which also predicts the loss of Plaid Cymru's only MEP, predicts Labour and the Tories losing one seat each to UKIP on the regional list and the Lib Dems losing three to become the fifth party in the Senedd after UKIP.

A lot can happen between now and the 2016 elections but this is encouraging. All that is needed to capitalise on this early poll result is a coherent policy on the Welsh government that the public can vote for and we could see UKIP representation at all levels of government by 2016 (except the Scottish Parliament of course).

Former UKIP MEP trying to trick voters into backing protest party

Former UKIP MEP Mike Nattrass, who left the party in a huff after being deselected last year, has registered his An Independence Party vanity project's slogan for ballot papers as "UK Independence Now".

The party name is very similar to UK Independence Party and clearly intended to trick voters into thinking they're voting for UKIP. Add in the "UK Independence Now" slogan and it's obvious that Nattrass intends to confuse voters.

An Independence Party has managed to stand a full slate of candidates in England which is quite an achievement for a single issue protest party although it's mostly been achieved with family members, disgruntled ex-UKIPpers and by parachuting candidates in from the West Midlands. Every AIP candidate for Yorkshire & Humber, for instance, lives in Coventry or Solihull. Interestingly, Chris Pain who only a few months ago was appealing against a decision to expel him from UKIP is lead candidate for the East of England with his wife - whose name inadvertently appeared as the author in the properties of a supposedly anonymous Word document distributed to  UKIP members inciting rebellion over the MEP selection process - is in second place. How many deposits Nattrass has had to pay to get a full slate of candidates who have no realistic hope of winning is something we'll have to wait to find out when their election expenses statements are filed.

UKIP has yet to make a formal complaint but the party chairman met with the Electoral Commission yesterday and a spokesman has said that the party will fight it all the way and seek judicial review if necessary.

Public back UKIP election posters

Hat-tip: Guido

Full Fact verify UKIP poster facts

The Full Fact website have fact checked UKIP's EU election posters and have confirmed that three of the four posters are correct but can't confirm the fourth.

Full Fact agreed that research shows that EU immigration affects jobs and wages, they couldn't find a definitive answer on the percentage of laws that originate from the EU and they agreed that we give the EU £55m per day.

The Tories have fared rather less well with their EU election broadcast with Full Fact picking holes in half of what they say.

UKIP 2014 EU Election Broadcast

Happy St George's Day!

We would like to wish all our readers a Happy (if slightly damp) St George's Day.

Those of you wanting to do a bit more than drink a pint or six of real ale to mark St George's Day can fill in the form below and help get a fair deal for England (this isn't a UKIP initiative).

Malicious Letter Sent To Some UKIP Members

A letter has been sent to some UKIP members from an anonymous person in Birmingham, making false statements about the party being in financial difficulty and claiming that members will be personally liable for any of the party's debts.

The party clearly isn't in financial difficulties (the party finances are published on the Electoral Commission website) and even if it were, it is a limited company so the members aren't liable for any of the party's debts. The billboards that are going up around the country for this election were paid for by a £1.5m donation from Paul Sykes, Alan Bown has given millions to the party, Stuart Wheeler has given a substantial amount personally and brought in many more donors. The party's financial future has never looked so good.

The author of the letter has committed fraud which is serious enough at any time but because the letter is trying to unduly influence voters not to vote UKIP with the threat that the party is on the verge of bankruptcy and they will be liable for the party's debts, it is a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act 1983. Where a corrupt practice has been carried out by an agent of a candidate but not the candidate themselves, the candidate can be found guilty by his agents. The author of the letter and the person they are acting on behalf of face an unlimited fine and up to 2 years in prison. This is a serious offence.

The party has issued the following statement to members:

Some members have received a letter in the last 24 hours, postmarked Birmingham, and purporting to be from "UKIP Loyalist". It's anonymous, of course, because these people are not very brave. It raises the fear that the sky is about to fall in on UKIP and that our members will all be personally liable for sizeable sums and should resign immediately – though it also says that ex-members are at risk, so that rather shoots a hole in their logic.

The important thing about this letter is that it is a cruel and malicious smear.

To prove it, the central pillar of their argument is wrong: we are not an "Unincorporated Association" whose members are liable for its debts. We are a company limited by guarantee, meaning if UKIP was ever bankrupted the 13 people who form the NEC would lose £1 each. Having started badly, the letter goes rapidly downhill, raising people's fears about non-existent crisis meetings and making allegations.

If you receive this letter, please put it with its envelope in a plastic bag (so that it can be fingerprinted by the police) and send it to your regional organiser. If you don't know who your regional organiser is, contact your branch Chairman or Secretary who will have their details.

It is exactly because UKIP is at its highest ever level in politics that we see such underhand tactics, something we have grown to expect. However, each smear story actually increases our support and we are looking forward to a huge result in the forthcoming elections.

So thank you once again for supporting UKIP and as we bring about the change sought by so many across our nation.

The Spoof of #UKIP That Backfired. "Migrants create our jobs" (oops no, most don't).

I love it when people do try to present the case *for* the EU. They deliver all the data required to rip their case to shreds...

UKIP have a new poster campaign out - the usual anti-UKIP suspects have repeated their usual old, stale, incorrect, anti-UKIP creed.

However one thing did draw my attention...
UKIP Poster:

Spoof:

Apparently the figures for this came from here:-
http://www.creatingourjobs.org/

Strapline:

Ok.. tell me more.

The Facts:

Ok... so UK has around 7.5million migrants (http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/364176/7-5-million-migrants-live-in-Britain) and half a million have created a total of 1.16 million jobs... so that around 6 million who are taking (or trying to take) jobs that were already here...

Case Studies:

Ok... so three Indians and a Californian... hang on what has this to do with the EU? These people aren't European! Actually... there is an EU connection - because UK *cannot* control EU migration, UK is having to restrict migration from these countries! The ones where so many of the 'contributing' migrants have come from!

I love it when people do try to present the case *for* the EU. They deliver all the data required to rip their case to shreds...

I also note that (on average) this half a million migrants have only created an average of two jobs - enough for themselves and a partner but no one else. I wonder how many of these micro businesses are like this one:-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532002/Big-Issue-seller-called-benefits-teacher-urging-families-follow-Britain.html

Making £100 a week selling The Big Issue and claiming £28,000 from UK taxpayers in benefits - yes she is very industrious, and doing well for herself (and those other Eastern Europeans she is training to emulate her) - but at a huge *cost* to the rest of the UK...

But remember - UKIP don't want to close UK borders - that is a LibLabCon straw man! - UKIP just want to control it! Let in the beneficial migrants!! Keep out the bad ones.

First published at: http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-spoof-of-ukp-that-backfired.html

Labour official admits electoral fraud in leaked email

A Labour Party branch secretary has admitted to "helping" people fill out postal votes in Bethnal Green and encouraged others to do so in a leaked email.

Anisur Rahman, who is secretary of Bethnal Green South Labour Party, send the email to Labour PPC for Bethnal Green & Bow, Rushanara Ali and numerous activists and councillors telling them that he had helped voters fill out their ballot papers even though he knew it was wrong and encouraging them to follow his lead.

I helped and I also visited few house to do it. I know it is a secret matter but if someone request, as a comrade we need to help for the benefit of the party.

So I am requesting all ward coordinators, cllr's, branch secretaries to do such work in their own ward now.

The postal voting system is rife with fraud with ballot stuffing factories at home and abroad helping to rig elections almost exclusively for the Labour Party. There won't be many UKIP branches that don't have stories of electoral fraud ("helping" people in care homes fill out their ballot papers seems to be a favourite) but the sticking point is always the lack of hard evidence to force the police to investigate.

UKIP policy is to return to the old system where postal voting is reserved for those who are unable to get to the polling station because of problems with their health or because they are out of the area on election day. Postal voting should only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, it should not be an automatic right. Voter participation hasn't risen because of the liberalisation of postal voting but electoral fraud has increased significantly and we can hardly pontificate as a nation on rigged ballots and abuse of the democratic process abroad when it is so prevalent here.

EU election campaign billboards unveiled

UKIP's EU election campaign has stepped up a gear today with the unveiling of a nationwide billboard campaign.

One of the billboards (which have been paid for by self-made millionaire businessman Paul Sykes) has already sparked controversy amongst the loony left. No prizes for guessing which one ...

Barroso's bunny costume was fooling nobody ...

 HAPPY EASTER! 

Most Mirror readers want Nigel Farage as Prime Minister

The Mirror ran one of their usual articles slagging off Nigel Farage and UKIP following an appearance on Have I Got News For You but got more than they bargained for when they attached a poll to the article asking readers who they would rather have as the next Prime Minister.

Even the readership of the Labour-supporting Mirror want Nigel Farage running the country, with only 15% wanting Ed Miliband, 6% wanting David Cameron and a measly 1% for Nick Clegg. As many people (21%) wanted someone else as Ed Miliband and David Cameron combined.

British government censors Brexit essay author

The prize-winning author of an essay on the UK's exit from the EU has been censored by the British government.

Iain Mansfield works as Director of Trade & Investment at the British embassy in Manilla wrote the essay - which says that the UK economy will be £1.3bn better off outside the EU - for an IEA competition that was looking for the best analysis of a post-EU UK to inform the debate on our membership. Mansfield won the €100k prize but was banned from conducting any interviews and ordered to take down his blog on economic affairs, even though he had obtained permission for both.

The LabLabCon rely on misinformation and scare tactics to convince people that we have to stay in the EU. They claim that 3m jobs will be lose if we leave the EU even though the research they quote said 3m jobs were linked to free trade with the EU, not membership of the EU. They claim that without unlimited EU immigration we would run out of doctors and nurses and people to do menial jobs even though we have over 3 and a half million unemployed people already living here. They claim that the EU is responsible for half a century of peace in Europe despite there being a constant stream of conflicts, civil wars, invasions and even genocide throughout the EU's entire existence.

Mansfield has been "locked down" because the europhile British establishment is scared of people getting the facts and undermining the cosy conspiracy of misinformation and complicity that prevails in the three old parties and throughout the civil service.

Tory councillor: When rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it

A Tory councillor on Cheltenham Borough Council has compared developers dictating how much affordable housing they're willing to build to being raped.

In a debate about plans to build 30k houses in Gloucestershire, 77 year old Cllr Barbara Driver said "There is a saying and I am going to say it: When rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it".

Three official complaints have been made about Cllr Driver and the council have launched an official investigation. Cllr Driver has apologised but refuses to resign.

NUS vote to run political campaign against UKIP

The National Union of Students has voted to openly oppose UKIP at its conference.

Jack Duffin, the Chairman of UKIP's youth wing, Young Independence, says he is disappointed because it will alienate the students who are involved with UKIP and call it "bizarre, pathetic posturing". He's not wrong but the NUS is worse than bizarre and pathetic, it is an out-of-touch breeding ground for left wing extremists and Labour politicians.

In February the Telegraph took the NUS to task, describing them as "loony anarchists". The president of the NUS hasn't even been to university and some of the officers aren't even students. The NUS is seen as a stepping stone to becoming a Labour MP and those who cheered the news of Margaret Thatcher's death at their last conference are the ones who will no doubt rise through the ranks quickest.

Like all socialist organisations the NUS doesn't represent its members, it is a platform for left wing extremists that allows Labour to conduct arms-length campaigns of intimidation, violence and vandalism masquerading as grassroots protests.

Three defections to UKIP in Havering

The Conservative Mayor of Havering has defected to UKIP, losing overall control of the council for the Conservative Party.

Cllr Eric Munday is joined by two other former Mayors, Cllrs Lynden Thorpe and Peter Gardner, who recently left Havering Conservatives for UKIP and have been sitting as independents. This makes UKIP the third largest group on the council with 7 members, ahead of Labour and behind the ruling Conservatives and Residents' Group.

Wolverhampton Lib Dem Councillor defects to UKIP

The former Lib Dem mayor of Wolverhampton defected to UKIP yesterday.

Picture: Express & Star

Cllr Malcolm Gwinnett was elected as leader of the three member Lib Dem group on Wolverhampton City Council in May last year but was deselected to fight for re-election after the local party decided to bring their selection process forward to coincide with his heart transplant operation.

Cllr Gwinnett said that the Lib Dems are out of touch with local people on subjects such as immigration and the HS2 white elephant. His defection leaves the Lib Dems with just two councillors on the city council with an expected wipe out in the elections next year when their seats are up for grabs.

Farage destroys Clegg in EU debte

Tonight's EU debate between Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage was even better than last weeks with a cool, calm and collected Farage wiping the floor with a discredited, desperate Clegg.

Clegg made very few attempts to defend our membership of the EU, spending most of the hour-long debate making bizarre personal attacks on Farage.

The post-debate polls say it all:

YouGov: 68% Farage, 27% Clegg

Guardian: 69% Farage, 31% Clegg

Sky News: 76% Farage, 24% Clegg

We'll leave you with Nigel Farage's final words from the debate: Come and join the people's army. Let's topple the establishment who got us into this mess.

It's almost time ...