Conservative councillor who resigned over "personal problems" is under investigation for child sex offences

A Conservative councillor who resigned suddenly in May has been under investigation for child sex offences.

Matthew Lock resigned as leader of the Conservative group on Hastings Borough Council in December and then as a councillor last month citing personal problems and ill health. However, it transpires that he was arrested on suspicion of inciting a 15 year old boy to commit sexual activity last year and is on police bail until August.

He has been suspended by the Scout Association with whom he was a volunteer.

Conservative ex-councillor ordered to pay back just £290 to pensioners she conned out of over £26k

A Conservative ex-councillor on Wycombe District Council has been ordered to pay back just £290 of the £26,350 she stole from two vulnerable elderly people.

Jeanette Mann befriended the elderly residents so she could steal from them, emptying the bank accounts of one woman and pilfering from the account of another.

Mann lost all but £290 of the money she stole which the courts have confiscated to give back to her victims.

Internet troll Bonehill-Paine charged with inciting racial hatred

Convicted internet troll and former Conservative candidate, Joshua Bonehill-Paine, has been charged with inciting racial hatred.

Bonehead was arrested in a joint operation by the Met Police and Avon & Somerset Police over anti-Semitic posts on his racist hate blog, the Daily Bale.

Finally learning from past mistakes, the courts have denied bail and Bonehead will spend a couple of weeks at Her Majesty's pleasure where hopefully his fellow guests will knock some sense into his stupid head.

M5S present 200k signature to Italian Senate calling for €uro referendum

UKIP's partners in the EFDD group in the EU Parliament, the Five Star Movement, have presented a 200k signature to the Italian Senate calling for a referendum on membership of the €uro.

The petition calls for a referendum by January next year.

Less than 24 hours for Greece to take the first step down the road to freedom

Greece has one more day left to pay the IMF £1.6bn of instalments for a loan that a Greek Debt Committee commissioned by the Greek government have declared "illegal, illegitimate, odious and unsustainable".

The IMF's creditors don't go into default if they don't pay up on time, they go into arrears. Greece won't be in default unless it fails to pay out on the €3.49bn of bonds and €2bn of Treasury bills that mature in July. Most of the T-Bills are owned by banks and will be rolled over but the bonds will need to be paid in just a few weeks if Greece is to avoid a sovereign default.

Greek banks are closed today and capital controls put in place to limit withdrawals and transactions to try and prevent capital flight. The Greeks have lost faith in the €uro and it's looking increasingly likely that they'll vote no to the bailout terms the EU and IMF are trying to force onto them in a referendum due to be held on Sunday.

Alexis Tsipras calls bailout referendum

The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has called a referendum on what describes the "unbearable" bailout plan the EU and IMF are offering.

Greece is due to make a consolidated payment to the IMF at the end of this month but doesn't have the money to so. Even if the Greeks vote to accept the bailout terms on July 5th, there's no guarantee they'll get the money as they'll have already gone into arrears with the IMF.

There is no hope of the Greeks ever paying their debts and recovering from their current financial crisis whilst they remain members of the EU and the €urozone. The best thing the Greek people can do is vote no to the bailout and leave both the single currency and the EU and pursue an Icelandic-style recovery.

Almost 650k people moved to the UK last year

The UK population officially increased by 491,100 people last year with immigration accounting for the bulk of it. That's the population of Southampton and Derby combined moving to the UK, placing extra demand on housing, hospitals, schools, public services and jobs.

Official net immigration was responsible for 259,700 people whilst population growth was responsible for 226,200. A quarter of the babies born in the UK last year were to immigrant parents. This obviously doesn't include illegal immigration which is conservatively estimated at 18k per year.

But the net immigration figure isn't the most important one, it's the gross immigration figure that gives an idea of the true scale of immigration - a whopping 624,000 were tracked moving to the UK last year. That's the population of Warrington, Swindon, Reading and Blackburn combined moving here in 12 months, most of them being entirely unfamiliar with our way of life, our language, etc. and requiring public services to teach them how life works in the UK.

Controlling immigration was one of David Cameron's "demands" for his failed renegotiation of our relationship with the EU and in 2010 he promised to reduce net immigration to 100k a year, a target that is being missed by an increasingly wide margin year on year.

Cameron wants us to vote for another Cast Iron Guarantee™

David Cameron has accepted that he's not going to get the treaty changes he says that he needs for the "reforms" to the EU that he's asked for and will instead rely on a Cast Iron Guarantee™ that EU treaties will be changed to meet his demands at some time in the future if we vote to stay in.

The plan now is to get the leaders of the other EU member states to promise to agree to treaty change in a few years' time if:

1. They're still in charge;
2. Their electorate vote to treaty changes in referenda and;
3. They want to

People voted for the Conservatives earlier this year on the same premise with Cameron's "renegotiation" so it's easy to see why he would think the electorate are stupid enough to fall for worthless promises made by people who don't have the power or inclination to deliver them.

Cameron has already been told that there will be no treaty changes, no limits on immigration and that the free movement of people is not open to negotiation yet still he persists in promising changes that he knows he can't deliver. He is utterly impotent in the EU, having already told them that he will campaign to keep us in no matter what they say to his shopping list of superficial tweaks to the way the EU works.

The EU is unreformable and it will never be run with the interests of nation states at heart. That is why we must vote NO to the EU.

Standards Commission receives complaints about 20 Aberdeen councillors

Twenty councillors in Aberdeen have been referred to the Scottish standards board over their handling of planning applications.

The complaint centres around councillors not responding to queries regarding the planning application for a hotel, offices and shops and in one case, a councillor "inadvertently" emailing a copy of the council's legal advice to a campaigner.

Wirral Labour councillor suspended for using special needs kids to deliver election leaflets

A Labour councillor in the Wirral has been suspended by the Labour Party after complaints were made about him using special needs children in his care to deliver party political leaflets during the election campaign.

Cllr Jim Crabtree is a tutor at Meadowside special school in Woodchurch. While he was supposed to be taking a group of children to some allotments he instead set them to work delivering leaflets for his colleague, Brian Kenny, who was standing for election for the Labour Party.

Labour candidate fined and sentenced to community service for fraud

Labour election candidate for Wellingborough & Rushden, Richard Garvie, has been fined and sentenced to community service for committing fraud.

Garvie fraudulently used a closed bank account to buy train tickets knowing that the account was closed and that he was spending the bank's money. He was ordered to pay £894 to the bank, £400 court costs, a £60 victim surcharge and sentenced to 60 hours of community service.

The outcome of the police investigation into inappropriate messages he sent to a school girl after a hustings is unknown.

Tory councillor who assaulted 72 year old UKIP candidate being sued for cost of replacing dentures

A Conservative councillor who assaulted a 72 year old UKIP candidate in 2012 has avoided paying for replacement dentures for the ones she broke when she hit him in the face for the last three years, forcing her victim to take legal action.

Cllr Penny Jackman, a Conservative councillor on New Forest District Council and Lymington & Pennington Town Council, got into an argument with Mike Beggs after taking exception to him handing out leaflets quoting her saying "let's shut the buggers down" in reference to a local cricket club the council were trying to evict from their home of 175 years and struck him in the face, breaking his dentures.

The real reason purdah has uniquely been abandoned for the EU Referendum.

The 'for Britain' grouping are reformers. They don't want 'out' they want 'associate membership' that hasn't yet been publicly defined and can't be implemented in the time available before a referendum.

Matthew Elliott, leader of the 'for Britain' groupings, saw the 'Yes2AV' campaign fail because it was led by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) who were *against* AV, they wanted (and still want - the now obsolete) STV.

Matthew Elliott now wants to recreate this in the EUout campaign - by leading it to fail, by leading it as badly and half heartedly as ERS led Yes2AV.

Just before the referendum, if  the in campaign have not already clearly won, then the EU will offer 'associate membership' they will promise it as a 'vow' (as per the Scots independence 'vow' - the promise of Devo Max if scots voted 'in') and the reformers led by Elliott and 'for Britain' will switch from EUout to EUin - this is what they wanted all along (see http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/isabel-oakeshott-eurosceptics-need-to-wake-up-if-they-want-us-to-leave-the-eu-10289339.html)

The reason purdah has uniquely been abandoned for this referendum is precisely so this last minute Damascene moment can be stage managed - in the last week or so this offer will be made and hugely publicised - and the UK public will be expected to vote 'in' in a promise (cast-iron no doubt). With (but this time) only UKIP still speaking up for out!

(first published at http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-real-reason-purdah-has-uniquely.html)

Bury Labour Councillor charged with making child porn

A Labour councillor in Bury has appeared in court to face 16 charges of making indecent images of children.

Cllr Simon Carter has been charged with making child porn from 2011 to this year. He has been released on bail pending a future court appearance.

He has been suspended from the Labour Party pending the outcome of the investigation.

Lady Victoria Borwick MP takes over £95k a year off the taxpayer for three jobs

Troughing Tory MP, Lady Victoria Borwick, is claiming three salaries from the public purse after being elected as an MP this year on top of being a member of the London Assembly and a councillor in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

Lady Victoria Borwick MP is married to Baron Borwick of Hawkshead in the County of Lancaster and lives in a £6.6m town house in Chelsea. Her husband has extensive business interests which now seem to be focussed on taxpayer subsidised "green" technology.

On top of her £67k MP's salary, Lady Borwick also takes a salary of £18,387 from the Greater London Assembly and £10,810 from the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea all paid for out of our taxes. This brings her taxpayer-funded salary to over £95k a year.

Pay your taxes, peasants!

A Picture of Life outside The EU - 2020

You will hear a lot of scare stories about how our country will struggle if we leave the EU from those in the ‘Yes’ campaign.
Here is what it could really be like……..
The year is 2020 and Britain is adjusting to life and thriving outside of the declining European Union.
Free from the need to negotiate trade deals via unelected EU commissioners, a series of agreements with the emerging nations of the world have boosted exports and revitalised our industries. Unwilling to lose their largest European market, the remaining EU states have swiftly confirmed free trade agreements with the UK and the job losses predicted by the ‘Yes’ campaign fail to materialise.
Re-engaging with our traditional world partners, most notably the Commonwealth, has invigorated our shipping industries and cities such as Liverpool and Glasgow once again hum to the sound of machinery as exports grow and vessels come and go, offloading such produce as New Zealand lamb and transporting out machinery exports, pharmaceuticals and high tech equipment.
With much of the EU red tape removed from our small and medium industries they once again start to drive economic growth. Repeal of EU diktat on renewable energy and the large combustion plant directive means that energy once again becomes cheaper, driving down costs for businesses and making them more competitive on the world stage.

Overseas investors and companies look to re-locate to England as they realise that it is a far better place to do business than the over-regulated market on the mainland. With the Government free to set their own business rates, inward capital flourishes whilst tax avoidance drops as the loopholes inherent in the EU system are no longer available. The likes of Google, Vodafone and Starbucks are creating jobs whilst paying their fair share to the Treasury.
Freed from the Common Fisheries policy, our fish stocks start to recover and with it the ports in Cornwall, the Humber and Kent as our once proud fishing fleets start to get back on their feet and employ our youngsters in the traditional jobs that their grandparents knew so well.
Financial services, for so long our number one source of income, have been unshackled from the EU’s financial transaction tax and a myriad of unnecessary regulations to once again become a world leader. The brightest talents from the continent are flocking to London as growth outstrips the other major financial centres of Frankfurt, Paris and Milan. Banks and trading houses that were looking to move to Singapore and Hong Kong reconsider their decisions as conditions are now more suited to their business models, with employment in service industries in the City also growing to support the boom.
With the UK once again able to control its own borders, a fairer immigration system along the lines of an Australian style points model is introduced. Our own government with the needs of the country in mind now decide who and how many are allowed to settle here, with all judged on ability rather than their country of origin.
EU nationals already in the UK from our previous membership see their living standards rise as they no longer have to compete with uncontrolled numbers of unskilled workers arriving on our shores, whilst youth unemployment falls.
With wages rising, the bill for in work benefits starts to decrease and that money is re-invested in to training and infrastructure upgrades, bringing further opportunities.
The housing crisis finally starts to ease as new builds can keep up with population increases.
The NHS sees the benefits as it can once again recruit from around the world to fill short term gaps in skills, whilst investment in both training and equipment can now be afforded out of the money saved from not having to pay for our EU membership. Health tourism can now be tackled without interference from Brussels
Britain’s Universities are much in demand, with the brightest and best from around the globe now able to once again attend our seats of learning. With EU grants now no longer a part of the equation, the Universities set their own tuition fees for overseas students and then plough the profits back in to research, further enhancing the UK’s reputation at the forefront of cutting edge technology.
The UK regains its place as the No 3 in the world for medicinal research as the constraints put in place by the EU on clinical trials are repealed, leading to advances in the fight against cancer and other serious diseases.

Our streets become a safer place, too. With interference from The European Court of Human Rights removed, our Police can properly enforce the laws that are already on our statute book and start to crack down on terrorists and criminal gangs. Further legislation that was proposed during our membership, such as ‘The Snoopers Charter’, quickly becomes unnecessary and our basic rights as law abiding citizens under English Common Law are re-established. International crime gangs are tackled via a revitalised Interpol and people traffickers find it increasingly difficult to ply their evil trade.
The pessimists who pushed for us to stay in the EU are proven wrong as we maintain our place as the fifth largest economy on the planet, a member of the G7 and a permanent seat holder on the UN Security Council. Our continued membership of NATO is assured, with our Armed Forces able to be equipped and trained to defend UK interests rather than stretched to prop up a planned EU Army.
Britain is once again a free and sovereign country, with a bright future to look forward to.
Cliff Dixon
With thanks to Dan Hannan MEP for the original idea

You can't trust reformers to run the #EUout campaign - they may switch sides!

The EUout, Brexit, Brindependence whatever campaign to promote the Exit arguments in the EU Referendum has to be run by people who wanted out last year, want it this year, will want it next year and want it forever.

For instance the EU (rightly for its interests), if it had to choose, would rather have 110 new jobs in Germany than only 100 in the UK. But - I (in the UK's interests) would rather have the 100 in the UK - Germany can look out for itself. This kind of choice happens all the time and (obviously on a far greater scale, millions of jobs, millions of choices) each time the EU's interests is not the same as the UK interest unless by sheer chance.

The EU is a bad idea for the UK, no amount of reform will change the fact that its interests and our interests will often be different, and by being a member we will have to agree to go against out own best interest. This is the national and political equivalent of self-harm.
So clearly, no amount of 'renegotiation' can 'fix' the EU. Anyone who is waiting to see what Cameron gets offered is not really committed to ending this self harm and leaving, they want to know what sweeties they may be offered to keep harming the UK.

If these 'reformers' are allowed influence in the EUout campaign, at any time before the actual referendum they could be offered the right sweeties and switch sides to support staying in.

We can see two things from the Scottish Independence referendum - firstly that it is stupid to make such fundamental decisions based on short term issues, as can and do change, secondly that if you do so a 'Vow' of extra sweeties just before polling can swing the result. For both these reasons anyone who is or has waited to see what Cameron gets offered has ruled themselves out as credible leaders, organisers or activists of the EUout campaign.

The only credible politicians so far that could be part of EUout are #UKIPpers (present, and many former), Kate Hoey and Daniel Hannan.

(first published at http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/you-can-trust-reformers-to-run-euout.html)

EU Central Bank will bail out Greek banks directly

The EU Central Bank intends to bail out Greek banks directly, bypassing the Greek government.

Greece has pretty much reached the end of the road as far as bailouts are concerned and will almost certainly drop out of the €uro. As the threats and scaremongering escalate, Greeks are withdrawing more money out of their banks and causing even more damage to the decimated Greek economy.

Directly bailing out Greek banks allows the ECB to give Greece the money it needs to prevent their banks from losing a terminal amount of capital without being seen to be caving in in the face of the Greek government's obstinance.

If the Greek government can't convince enough people that their money is safe in Greek banks then they'll have to impose capital controls to prevent the transfer of cash from banks to individuals. This is what happened in Cyprus after the Cypriot government was forced to go cap in hand to the EU when they were unable to secure Russian finance because the EU wouldn't allow Cyprus to give Russia priority creditor status.

Euroführer Schulz says "the UK belongs to the EU"

The President of the EU Parliament, Martin Schulz, has told ITV News that "the UK belongs to the EU".

The Euroführer generously conceded that "important member states like the EU have the right to discuss their role within the EU" but we can't change any treaties because then other member states will want to.

A lesson in sovereignty and democracy from Herr Schulz, the man who became EU Parliament president without a single one of the 742.5m people who live in the EU voting for him.

Another German imperialist once said "The Führer takes back what belongs to Germany". It seems that that mentality hasn't strayed far from the political class.

Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Schulz

Tory MEP Sajjad Karim doesn't know who sits on his own committee

Former Tory and UKIP MEP, Janice Atkinson, joins forces with French National Front in the EU Parliament

Former Tory, former UKIP, now independent MEP Janice Atkinson has signed up as co-president of a new grouping in the EU Parliament led by the French National Front's Marine Le Pen.

Atkinson defected from the Conservatives to UKIP in 2011 and was elected as a UKIP MEP last year. She was expelled from UKIP earlier this year after her assistant was caught asking a restaurant owner to falsify receipts for expenses.

Her joining forces with the Front National means that Le Pen has been able to form the Europe of Nations and Freedom group and access millions of pounds of funding.

Plymouth Labour due in High Court to explain 50% election overspend

The Plymouth Labour Party is to be taken to the High Court over their election expenses.

Bungling staffers at Labour's head office sent out so many leaflets to addresses in the Sutton & Devonport constituency that the Labour candidate's campaign spent £6,000 more than they were allowed to.

The overspend isn't inconsiderable either - the spending limit was £12,500 which means they spent almost 150% of the legal limit.

Labour's lawyers are arguing that it's a genuine mistake and expect the judge to let them off. Two other constituencies were also affected by the same cock-up.

If the Labour Party can't run an election campaign without overspending then what hope is there for the economy if they ever got back into power?

Alexis Tsipras is an unlikely hero for eurosceptics

The German Vice-Chancellor has warned that "not only is time running out, but so too is patience across Europe" as the Germans have failed once more to force the Greek government to break their election promises in exchange for more debt.

Left wing Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has become an unlikely hero for eurosceptics across the continent. It's certainly not his commitment to increased public spending and Greek membership of the EU that's earned the admiration of people from across the political spectrum but his refusal to roll over and be bullied by the Germans. The latest red line - no cuts to unaffordably generous state pensions - is irresponsible but it is a decision made by the democratically elected government of Greece and to any right-thinking democrat that trumps the demands of the unelected EU, ECB and IMF.

The best thing that can happen to Greece now is a default on its austerity-era loans, an exit from the €uro and leaving the EU. Greece is unable to give preferential creditor status to secure cheaper loans from non-EU countries while it remains a member of the EU and whilst tied into the single currency it is unable to devalue to attract foreign investment and boost domestic markets. Greece doesn't need the EU and the EU doesn't need Greece.

Greece hasn't been German since the second world war. Jog on Merkel.

NFU board member is terrified that he won't be able to exploit cheap immigrant labour on his fruit farm

The Guardian have brought us the "terrifying" story of National Farmers Union board member, David Long, who is lying awake at night worrying about who is going to pick the fruit on his 1,500 acre farm if we leave the EU and he can't bring an army of eastern European immigrants over to do it.

Well David, there are nearly 2m people currently living in the UK who don't have a job, many of whom would be more than capable of picking your fruit which doesn't generally require the applicant to have impressive qualifications or a three digit IQ. They're unlikely to work for less than minimum wage because you're generously providing them with a caravan to sleep in though and I suspect that's what's causing the sleepless nights.

Why should we allow unlimited numbers of unskilled workers to come here to be exploited by rich landowners who then expect the taxpayer to foot the bill for topping up their wages through the benefits system? Mass immigration compresses wages, increases unemployment and puts an intolerable strain on schools, hospitals and services. It benefits nobody but the rich and powerful, much like the NFU which officially supports our continued membership of the EU.

Standard & Poor's scaremongering over EU referendum

International credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's, have downgraded their outlook for the UK economy from stable to negative because of the EU referendum.

The left wing media (including the BBC) are trying to spin it as the threat of leaving the EU scaring off business and investors but this isn't business, this is an organisation that makes money predicting what is going to happen to the economies of countries and what they need more than anything else is predictability. That (and the vast sums of money their parent company, McGraw Hill, make from selling textbooks on EU law) is why Standard & Poor's want to maintain the status quo and in this respect they're no different to YouGov and the other big polling companies who use their influence to manipulate opinion.

There is no doubt that leaving the EU will create uncertainty for some big businesses but for most companies and organisations they won't notice anything other than a big cut in the amount of red tape that stifles their business and the associated cost that goes with it. Big business is important to the economy but it is small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that contribute the most to the economy. We are, as Napoleon possibly never said, a nation of shopkeepers and it is these small businesses that are the cogs that drive the economic machine.

SNP warns of Scottish independence if Scotland is "dragged out" of the EU by the English

One of the newly elected SNP MPs, Stewart Malcolm McDonald, has warned that if Scotland is "dragged out of the European Union" on the back of English votes then that could break up the UK.

The SNP decided to lift their self-imposed ban on voting on laws that only affect England and have pledged to interfere comprehensively in English politics to spread their soviet politics south of the border. It's ironic that the SNP should now complain that the votes of 85% of the population in England might carry something that the 8% in Scotland don't want.

The Scots had their chance of independence and they voted against it. If they're not happy with the idea of the rest of the UK voting in a different way to them then that's just tough. They made their bed, now they have to lie in it.

If the idea of leaving the European Union that's run for the benefit of Germany and in which Scotland would have no influence whatsoever is so terrible that they would want to leave the British union that's run by and for the Scots then they should make a unilateral declaration of independence and stop trying to tie the other 59m people in the UK into the EU.

There is a way that Scotland can stay in the EU and a British union whilst the rest of the UK gets its independence but it needs 650 small minded politicians to think outside of the box.

Angela Merkel would rather see the UK leave the EU than control immigration

Angela Merkel has warned David Cameron that she would rather see the UK leave the EU than control immigration.

Coincidentally, most people in the UK would rather leave the EU than have uncontrolled immigration so ... no much of a warning really unless you're a europhile like David Cameron.

EU cider tax could put up to 80% of English cider producers out of business

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is warning that a ruling by EU bureaucrats could put hundreds of cider producers out of business.

A long-standing tax break for artisan cider producers who produce under 33 pints of cider per day has been ruled illegal and the British government ordered to impose a 27% tax on them. Around 80% of England's cider producers are currently eligible for the tax exemption and will be hit with a tax bill.

UKIP MEP, James Carver, is supporting CAMRA's campaign to fight the EU cider tax.

I believe that this unfair EU tax could drive many people in the cider industry out of business. Small-scale producers would be severely hit by this EU interference.

Our Government should stand up to the EU and defend the interests of our cider and perry industry.

What the EU's resolution against Russian was really about and why UKIP couldn't support it

The BBC is spinning UKIP voting against an EU resolution condemning "Russian human rights abuses" as UKIP joining forces with nationalist parties to try and defeat the motion.

Here's why UKIP (and presumably other eurosceptic parties) couldn't support the resolution:

• The resolution criticises Russia for trying to compete with the EU in Europe
• Requires EU member states to agree to leave all negotiations with Russia to the EU
• Calls for "deepening of EU integration"
• Calls for more common policy areas
• Calls for more decision making powers for the EU
• Calls for the creation of an EU Energy Union
• Calls for more EU energy legislation to increase "solidarity"
• Calls for an expansion of renewable energy production
• Calls for an EU counter-propaganda programme
• Calls on member states to take action against political parties with links to Russia
• Calls for more funding for EU-approved Russian dissidents
• Calls for a ban on political parties in the EU securing funding from outside the EU

The BBC don't mention any of these things of course.

European Parliament Vice-President defies rules to frustrate legitimate democratic protest by UKIP MEPs over TTIP vote delay

UKIP press release, June 10, 2015. Immediate.

This evening in the European Parliament, Jonathan Arnott, UKIP MEP for the North East and EU budget spokesman, led a protest against the suppression of debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Arnott proposed a procedural motion to suspend the sitting "to allow Parliament the opportunity to reflect on the undemocratic actions by President Martin Schulz and other officials to suppress the vote and debate on this issue which is of concern to millions of people across the EU."

Arnott said: "I proposed suspending Parliamentary debate for the day to highlight this point.  The officials on the podium responded with what looked like panic, ringing the division bell and breaking their own rules.  The rules demand an immediate vote, but they delayed for over forty minutes to allow their supporters to flood the chamber."

Roger Helmer, UKIP MEP for East Midlands and energy spokesman, was in the chamber to support the protest. When it became clear the vice-president (Ildikó Gall-Pelcz) was acting in breach of the rules, Helmer broke procedure and went onto the podium to ask her if she realised she was in breach of the rules. "She replied yes. I then asked her if she was happy she was breaking the rules, and she said she was not. And yet she broke the rules anyway."

ENDS

Notes for editors:

1. Article 191 of the Rules of Procedure states: The sitting may be suspended or closed during a debate or vote if Parliament so decides on a proposal from the President or at the request of a political group or at least 40 Members.  Such proposal or request shall be put to the vote immediately.
2. The Rules were broken by:
• The vice-President (Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ) challenged the number of members present, even though it was requested on behalf of a political group
• The vice-President stalled proceedings by claiming incorrectly that "a sitting may not be suspended twice in one day"
• The vice-President permitted the issue to be debated at length, despite the rules requiring it to be "put to the vote immediately"
• The division bell was rung continuously to call MEPs to the chamber apparently to frustrate this protest

Conservative MP's - Stitched up (un)like Kippers.

Conservative Eurosceptic MP's (if any exists) are now cornered. Either they stay quiet and so passively support Cameron until his renegotiation is complete, or they back Conservatives for Britain and actively support Cameron until his renegotiation is complete.

See whats been done there?

There is no space for any genuine EUout'er to show their face within the Conservative party - at least not until Cameron completes his renegotiation. But what then?

Cameron has said he will be supporting an 'in' vote regardless - he actually said following successful renegotiation, but he'd never admit his renegotiation has been unsuccessful, so it will be declared successful regardless of what it contains and he will back an in vote based on it...

At this point Conservative MP's will have a choice:

Either to back Cameron, close their eyes, cross their fingers and follow where ever Cameron leads them which will be a Cameron led government in or out of the EU.

Or they may chose to oppose Cameron - effectively saying they believe their leader, their elected Conservative Prime Minister is working against the best interests of the country! Whatever happens in the referendum, they will have no career under Cameron - and none in the Conservative party unless the vote was 'out' and one of their number replaced Cameron and followed this with an extensive night of the long knives against all pro-EU conservatives and supporters of Cameron...

The second option is not the Conservative way - anyone capable of such oppositon to the elected leader would have been weeded out well before being selected to run in the last general election.

This is why I believe Mark Reckless and Douglas Carswell left the Conservative party - they saw these were the options and realised no Conservative MP would be going against Cameron.

As long as Cameron is the leader of the Conservative party, all Conservative MP's are #EUin.

(First published athttp://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/conservative-mps-stitched-up-unlike.html)

Prepare for the EU Referendum to be postponed! UKIP will need to win the 2020 General Election to leave.

Cameron and the conservatives are making great play about waiting to see what 'renegotiation' delivers.

I have no doubt that, should an 'in' vote not look certain, then Cameron and the EU will declare treaty changes are required and will be made to meet some objective or other (the actual detail doesn't matter).

At this point it will be declared that it is stupid to have a referendum until the treaty changes have been formerly completed as we will not know for sure what in or out means. And so the referendum will be postponed until the changes are complete.

The treaty changes will not be completed while an 'out' vote is likely - (how long did getting Lisbon ratified take?)

So there will be no referendum from the Conservatives until 'in' is certain.

Then the only way to get 'out' will be to give UKIP an absolute majority in the 2020 general election.

(This hostage to fortune was first published at http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/prepare-for-eu-referendum-to-be.html)

EU referendum "yes" campaign will be allowed to spend double the "no" campaign

The "yes" campaign to keep us in the EU which will be spearheaded by the Tories will be allowed to spend double what the "no" campaign is under Electoral Commission rules.

The pro-EU Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems and the official "yes" campaign will be allowed to spend £17m between them promoting the EU whilst UKIP and the official "no" campaign will be allowed to spend £8m.

Whilst the disparity in spending will fall short of the 1975 referendum where the "yes" campaign spent 11 times as much money as the "no" campaign, the "yes" campaign didn't have 24 hour media to campaign for them like they will this time round. After reports that Rupert Murdoch has decided to back David Cameron's scotch mist reform agenda after decades of pretending to be a eurosceptic, it looks like the Express will be the only newspaper that won't be promoting the "yes" campaign. The "yes" campaign will also have the machinery of the state campaigning for them this time round after David Cameron exempted the EU referendum from Purdah regulations that normally prevent government and local authorities from doing things that promote one side during referenda and elections.

Global warming fraudsters change history to fit computer models

Global warming fraudsters have found a way of explaining away the inconvenient truth that there has been no global warming since 1998.

Guido reports that the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration have solved the problem of not being able to explain what's causing the earth not to warm despite their computer models predicting death and destruction by now by "proving" that the earth is warming. They've done this by altering the temperature data from before 1998 to say that it was colder and the temperature data since 1998 to say that it's warmer even though we can see for ourselves that the temperature isn't rising!

And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth. "Who controls the past," ran the Party slogan, "controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. "Reality control," they called it: in Newspeak, "doublethink.

- George Orwell, 1984

Tory peer introduces legislation to allow EU citizens to become MPs

Conservative peer, Lord Richard Balfe, has introduced a Bill in the House of Lords that would allow any EU citizen living in the UK to vote in parliamentary elections and stand for election as MPs.

Cameron will sack ministers who campaign to leave the EU

David Cameron will sack any Conservative minister who campaigns to leave the EU.

Speaking at the G7 meeting in Germany today, Cameron said that ministers would be expected to vote in line with their manifesto commitment of keeping the UK in the EU.

David Campbell Bannerman, the Tory who defected to UKIP to get elected as an MEP and then defected back to the Conservatives said that some Tory MPs could resign if Cameron forces them to campaign to stay in the EU. He seems a little unhappy with the prospect of being whipped to support the "yes" campaign but he has only himself to blame after leaving UKIP for the pro-EU Tories.

According to the Mirror, there are just 50 Conservative MPs who would campaign to leave the EU when David Cameron's "reform" agenda is shown to be a complete failure.

You don't want to just pretend to be a eurosceptic? You're fired!

Tate & Lyle says we would be better off out of the EU without major changes

Tate & Lyle, the UK's last remaining sugar cane refiner, has said that unless David Cameron secures big changes to the way the EU works we would be better off out.

In 2017 the EU is removing restrictions on the amount of sugar beet that can be produced in the EU and will start subsidising EU sugar beet farmers when the price of sugar beet goes down due to the consequential over-supply. But the protectionist tariff on sugar cane - currently £246 per metric ton - will remain, costing consumers more and putting Tate & Lyle's future in the UK at risk.

Tate & Lyle had 6 refineries in the UK before we joined the EU and now has just one. They're quite clear who is to blame for the decline of their UK operations as well - EU regulations are "the single biggest impact on our business" according to the head of Tate & Lyle UK, Gerald Mason. He went on to say "If we carry on down this route it puts our business and the jobs here under real threat".

British government, EU and local authorities will be allowed to run EU referendum "yes" campaigns

David Cameron has scrapped Purdah regulations for the promised EU referendum^(£), paving the way for the British government, local councils, quangos and the EU to splurge millions on promoting the EU right up to referendum day.

In the run-up to elections and referenda, public bodies are usually banned from making statements or holding public events that could be seen as promoting one side or giving an unfair advantage to a candidate or campaign. It also prevents the government and local authorities from entering into contracts that contradict the stated intentions of either side.

By excluding an EU referendum from Purdah, the British government and local authorities will be able to time projects the EU has so generously funded out of our taxes to coincide with the referendum and will allow publicly-funded "yes" campaigns.

Why the EU is fundamentally bad for the UK, and no amount of 'renegotiation' will make it any better.

The EU are acting rationally and sensibly for its own interests - but these are fundamentally different to the interests of the UK. 

'Greater Good'.

This is the core failing of the EU for UK interests.

Greater Good refers to the sacrifice of the good of someone/thing because overall it will be better for the group.

In a family, members may happily make sacrifices for other members of the family or for the family as a whole - although if what is asked/expected is too much then a member may leave or cut themselves off from the family or certain members of it.

As an independent legal entity/personality the EU operates for its own good - but this will often be at the expense of one or more of its members. In fact the only time it matters that the EU is a legal entity with governmental force is when it needs to make a member make a sacrifice for the greater good... otherwise no force/coercion would be required.

So being a member of the EU - instead of a trading partner - means it can oblige the UK to act against the UK's own interests because it benefits some other part of the EU. In fact the ability to oblige the UK to do so is the sole reason for the EU to have any power over the UK at all. As anything that benefited the UK, the UK would freely do anyway, whether or not a member!

The 'flip side' of this is that other countries may be made to act against their best interests to benefit the UK in some way.

Well, I don't want to force countries to do this. I believe it is fundamentally wrong for a countries government to force its people to act against their own interests. And I certainly don't want to benefit from the fruits of such evil coercion!

But even if I didn't have a moral stance on this - the EU is spreading into more and more disadvantaged countries - who have nothing to give up for 'the greater good', so the traffic/sacrifice can only be one way - away from the UK to other parts of the EU.

The EU are acting rationally and sensibly for its own interests - but these are fundamentally different to the interests of the UK.

This is why the UK should leave the EU - so we can act as we see fit for ourselves - not be coerced/obliged to act against our own best interests and be forced to make sacrifices that would not otherwise choose to do.

(First published at http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/why-eu-is-fundamentally-bad-for-uk-and.html)

Mark Reckless appointed head of policy

Former UKIP MP, Mark Reckless, has been appointed head of policy by the party.

Mark Reckless' appointment won't come as a surprise to many as he's been tipped for the post since losing his seat last month but he'll have a tough act to follow after Suzanne produced the finest manifesto in the party's history and the only manifesto from any party ever to be independently verified by an economic think tank.

The position because vacant when Suzanne Evans' contract finished at the end of May.

Greek government establish Truth Committee to examine legality of EU-imposed austerity

The Greek government have established a "Truth Committee" tasked with examining whether the crippling loans they were forced to take out as part of the EU-imposed austerity programme were legal.

The committee will examine the legality of the memorandum that was signed by the previous Greek government which effectively turned the country into a vassal of the EU, the ECB and the IMF. The committee is potentially looking at bringing criminal charges against those responsible for signing the memorandum and may call former IMF, ECB and EU officials as witnesses.

Half the committee is made up of non-Greeks and the experts sitting on the committee are both politicians and members of civil society who are experts in their field. It will report fully in a year but will present a preliminary report on June 18th, just before the current austerity agreement ends.

The Ecuadorian government established a similar committee and used the findings as justification for cancelling debt repayments. Whether this is the intention of the Greek government or if it is a psychological move isn't clear but it will be causing a few sleepless nights in Berlin which has already been hit with a demand for war reparations from the Greek government.

Green Party activist trying to ban UKIP from London Pride

A petition has been started by feminist pan-sexual model, student union officer and Green Party activist, Sarah Gillborn, to ban the UKIP LGBT* group from taking part in the Pride march in London this weekend.

Psychology student Gillborn is a Green Party activist who regularly attacks UKIP on social media. Her anti-democratic, politically motivated petition - which claims that lots of gay people will feel unsafe marching with gay people from UKIP in case they've been turned into an army of gay hating gays from being in an "inherently homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, racist and misogynistic political party" - has been publicised by the Green Party (obviously) and Pink News and has got over 500 signatures.

If bigoted political activists are allowed to prevent members of the UK's third largest political party from taking their rightful place in the London Pride then it shouldn't be allowed to go ahead. Either every LGBT* group should be welcome or none at all.

Almost €1bn of EU budget lost to fraud and bad accounting last year

The EU lost almost €1bn to fraud and bad accounting in 2014 according to its internal anti-fraud office, OLAF.

The losses represent around 0.7% of the total budget of €142.7 for 2014.

The EU's own internal auditors have refused to sign the EU's accounts off for 19 years and if they've managed to lose this much money to fraud and bad accounting, it looks like it's shortly going to be 20 years.

Unelected president of the EU Commission says we won't leave the EU

Jean-Claude Juncker, the unelected president of the EU Commission, says that the UK won't vote to leave the EU and that David Cameron wants to tie us into the EU forever.

In an interview with German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, he said:

Brexit is not a question which arises, it’s not desired by the British. Cameron wants to dock his country permanently to Europe.

Juncker warned Hungary that they could be kicked out of the EU if they reintroduce the death penalty. There is no love lost between Juncker and the Hungarian prime minister with the unelected ruler of half a billion people greeting the elected prime minister of Hungary with the words "hello dictator".

The British people voted for David Cameron because he said he could reform the European Union? Oh, tres drôle!

Met Police publish pictures of Douglas Carswell's attackers

The Met Police have published pictures of three fascists they would like to talk to about the verbal and physical attacks on Douglas Carswell MP after the state opening of parliament.

If you know the identity of these violent far left fascists, you can contact the Met Police Public Order Investigation Team on 0208 246 0076 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.