Raheem Kassam and David Kurten pull out of leadership race

Raheem Kassam has pulled out of the leadership race today after failing to secure adequate funding from supporters to pay for anything other than an online campaign.

David Kurten also pulled out of the leadership race yesterday, saying that he would be happy to work with any of the candidates still in the running.

This leaves just four candidates: Suzanne Evans, Paul Nuttall MEP, John Rees-Evans and Peter Whittle AM.

What is interesting is how different these final four candidates are. Two of the four are full time politicians, one is a woman, one is Welsh, one is from a working class council estate and another is gay. Both BME candidates pulled out over the last 48 hours but the diversity of the 7 candidates who officially declared their intention to stand torpedoes the media lie that UKIP is a party of racist, sexist, homophobic old Tories in cheap blazers. There has been more diversity in UKIP's leadership contest than all the other mainstream parties combined.

Raheem Kassam's promise to change his ways isn't enough

Leadership candidate, Raheem Kassam, has apologised and promised to change his ways after being called out for verbally abusing leadership rival Suzanne Evans.

Kassam called Evans a "wrinkly old ginger bird" and has reportedly been "incredibly sexist" toward her. He says that he apologised to her at a patron's dinner this week but Evans says that he did no such thing.

Raheem Kassam fancies himself as the heir to Farage which is something of an insult to the man who turned UK politics upside down and secured our independence from the EU. Nigel Farage is straight talking and brutally honest, Kassam is just rude and offensive. When the Independent wants Kassam to win to destroy the party it's a pretty clear indication that there is something seriously wrong with him.

I normally try to avoid taking sides in internal elections but if this man somehow ends up winning the leadership election I will return my membership card and I know I'm not alone.

Polish government tell EU they will ignore ruling on constitutional court

The Polish government have told the EU Commission that they will ignore a ruling that allowing the government to appoint judges to its constitutional court is illegal.

In our dialogue with the European Commission, we have assumed that our cooperation will be based on such principles as objectivism, or respect for sovereignty, subsidiarity, and national identity. However, we have gradually come to realise that interferences into Poland’s internal affairs are not characterised by adherence to such principles. On top of that, such actions are largely based on incorrect assumptions which lead to unwarranted conclusions. So we regret to note that the Commission Recommendation is an expression of incomplete knowledge about how the legal system and the Constitutional Tribunal operate in Poland.

The idea of the government appointing the constitutional court judges who will decide if what the government does is constitutional is something that would seem quite alien in many countries but clearly not in Poland. This sort of fundamental difference of opinion on how a country and its legal system should be run is exactly why the EU is doomed to failure.

Via: Guido

Another Tower Hamlets First councillor jailed for fraud

Another Tower Hamlets First councillor has been jailed for fraud although the corrupt former Mayor of Tower Hamlets still manages to escape justice.

Shahed Ali was convicted of housing fraud this week and sentenced to 5 months in prison. He has been immediately banned from office and an election will be held to replace him. He had fraudulently applied for a council house despite owning a number of properties. There are 20,000 people on the housing waiting list in Tower Hamlets.

Had Ali pleaded guilty to the fraud instead of going to trial the council's legal bill would have been just £4k but because he waited until the last minute to change his plea the legal bills have risen to £70k.

The Tower Hamlets First Party was struck off the register and their Mayor, Lutfur Rahman, banned from office after a special election court convicted him and his party of widespread electoral fraud, exerting undue spiritual influence over voters, voter intimidation and misconduct in office. He was banned from office despite Respect, Labour and the Trades Unions campaigning to save his skin but the Met Police refused to prosecute his for the offences.

Ford invests £100m in Bridgend and commits to the UK

Ford have followed Nissan's lead and confirmed their commitment to the UK.

The company employs 14,000 people in the UK and has recently announced a £100m investment in its plant in Bridgend to install its range of Dragon engines. Profits at its European business have jumped from £7m to £113m in the last year.

The head of Ford Europe, Jim Farley, said that Ford has no plans to change their investments or make any changes.

Economy grows by 0.5%, trade deficit cut by £1.1bn, unemployment down and Nissan will produce two new models to Sunderland

The UK's economy grew by 0.5% in the quarter following the EU referendum vote.

Prior to the vote the Treasury put out a -0.1% growth figure to try and convince voters that Brexit would result in global economic apocalypse as part of Project Fear's failed propaganda war.

Since the referendum £1.1bn has been knocked off the trade deficit as imports have declined and exports have increased prompted by the weak pound. Around 10,000 more people are in employment than before the referendum, the Canadians are setting up a new trade office in the UK to boost trade and Nissan has announced more investment in its Sunderland plant which will build two new models, securing 7,000 jobs and creating hundreds more in the next few years.

Whilst even the BBC grudgingly reported the 0.5% economic growth - albeit with a reminder that economic growth was 0.7% in the quarter before the referendum - the left wing, pro-Remain Independent reported the good news as "UK economy growth has dropped by almost a third after Brexit". Only a left wing rag like the Independent could put such a negative spin on something so positive!

UKIP won't stand against Zac Goldsmith

UKIP have decided not to field a candidate against Conervative Zac Goldsmith in the upcoming Richmond Park by-election which has come about following his resignation as an MP in protest at the British government's approval of the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Zac Goldsmith promised to resign if the Heathrow expansion was approved and he did so promptly following the decision to build a third runway over the top of the M25 and extend the airport into neighbouring villages.

A UKIP spokesman said that the party has always supported expansion at Gatwick over Heathrow which will come as a surprise to those who understood party policy was to reopen Manston airport to take the load off London airports.

The Lib Dems are the biggest threat to Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park, pledging to reverse the EU referendum vote and keep us in the EU against our wishes. Richmond Park voted remain by quite a margin and Goldsmith only took the seat from the Lib Dems in 2010. It is understandable to be uncomfortable with the idea that the Illiberal Anti-democrats might gain another seat in Westminster at the expense of an MP who campaigned to leave the EU but the right way to stop that happening is by winning the seat for UKIP, not asking members and activists to support a Conservative.

Report into investigation into altercation between Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem

Investigation into altercation between Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem

Date of incident – 6^th October 2016

On the afternoon of Thursday 6^th October 2016, UKIP Leader Nigel Farage asked that the UKIP Chairman and the party’s General Secretary conduct an investigation into an alleged altercation between two UKIP Members of the European Parliament, Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem.

The investigation involved speaking with, or receiving statements from UKIP representatives who were in the vicinity of the incident at the time.

The altercation took place in a small anteroom (see image 1), which led to a large meeting room (see image 2). Both rooms are inside the Parliament building.

IMAGE 1

IMAGE 2

 

Below reflects what the investigation was told by those members present.

Wednesday 5th October

On the evening of Wednesday 5th October, reports surfaced alleging that Steven Woolfe MEP had been having substantive conversations with the Conservative Party, relating to his possible defection. These reports had included an admission from Mr Woolfe that such conversations had taken place.

On hearing these reports, a member of the UKIP MEP delegation called for an emergency meeting of the delegation so that members could have an opportunity to question Mr Woolfe further on the details surrounding these conversations.

It is clear that a majority of members from the delegation shared very serious concerns over the allegations regarding the possible defection of Mr Woolfe and many felt that the meeting was an opportunity to clear the air and get clarification of the facts. These concerns were amplified by Mr Woolfe announcing that he intended to run for the UKIP Leadership.

The meeting was called for 10.00am on the morning of Thursday 6th October. It was to take place in a private meeting room within the Parliament building. 

Thursday 6th October

The meeting began at 10.00am as scheduled, with a member questioning Steven Woolfe on the allegations.

A short time into an answer from Mr Woolfe, UKIP MEP Mike Hookem interjected to outline his disappointment over the behaviour of Mr Woolfe, not only in relation to the Conservative allegations but also over his failure to admit responsibility for his late submission of paperwork during the previous leadership election.

The clear majority of members in attendance confirmed that Mr Hookem made this interjection without raising his voice and in keeping with his usual style – assertive but not aggressive.

A very small number of members in attendance suggested that the interjection by Mr Hookem was given in an aggressive and overly forceful manner, different to the way in which Mr Hookem would normally conduct himself at a meeting.

After a brief exchange of words, Mr Woolfe suggested to Mr Hookem that they two went outside to deal with their differences “man to man”.

A clear majority of members in attendance inferred from the manner in which Mr Woolfe said “man to man”, that he was offering for Mr Hookem to go outside for a physical altercation.

A small number of members in attendance believed that his intentions with regard to the “man to man” comment were merely suggesting a conversation in a more private environment.

Also

A clear majority of members in attendance believed that Mr Woolfe removed his suit jacket on or around the time he made the “man to man” comment.

A small number of members in attendance believed that Mr Woolfe removed his outside coat/jacket on or around the time he made the “man to man” comment.

The Altercation

Mr Woolfe exited the main meeting room, entering the anteroom through Door A (see image 1)

Mr Hookem exited the main meeting room, entering the anteroom through Door B (see image 1)

Note that both doors A and B are swing doors which opened into the anteroom.

An unspecified number of members called out in an attempt to stop Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem from exiting the room, offering further proof that some members in attendance feared a physical altercation may be imminent.

The doors behind Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem swung shut to the fully closed position after both men had walked through their respective doors.

A clear majority of members in attendance believed that Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem were alone in the anteroom for between 10 and 30 seconds.

One member in attendance believed that Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem were alone in the anteroom for less than 10 seconds.

One member in attendance believed that Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem were alone in the anteroom for upwards of 60 seconds.

There were no eye witnesses to what took place in the anteroom between Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem, aside from the two men themselves.

Both Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem offered differing accounts to the investigation of what took place.

Mr Woolfe alleged that he had “received a blow” from Mr Hookem.

Mr Hookem denied that either man had attempted to strike the other.

Due to the lack of eye-witnesses, it is not possible to verify either account.

During the time that Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem were in the anteroom, two MEP’s rose from their chairs and made towards the anteroom doors. (latterly referred to as MEP A & MEP B)

MEP A moved towards door A with the intention of opening it. As the MEP moved for the handle, they confirmed that the door was opened quickly from inside the room and that Mr Woolfe came tumbling out backwards.

MEP A continued into the anteroom to see Mr Hookem stood directly to his left, at a 90 degree angle from their line of walking through the door. MEP A confirmed that Mr Hookem looked “bemused”, with his arms by his side and was standing some feet from the door.

MEP B moved through door B, but entered the anteroom immediately after Mr Woolfe had exited backwards into the main meeting room.

Whilst it is possible that Mr Woolfe could have been pushed through the door by Mr Hookem, there is no evidence to confirm this.

Given that MEP A was walking directly towards door A at the time that the door opened and Mr Woolfe fell backwards through it, it is reasonable to assume that MEP A would have seen Mr Hookem directly in his line of sight beyond the falling Mr Woolfe, which he did not. MEP A did not see Mr Hookem until he fully entered the anteroom and looked 90 degrees to his left.

The Fall

A small number of members in attendance confirmed that they saw Mr Woolfe strike the back of his head on a ledge immediately beneath large glass panels which lined the wall of the meeting room. They confirmed that the force of this impact was sufficient to “make them wince”.

Giving the seating positions of many of the members in attendance, the majority of members were not in a position to see this.

All members in attendance confirmed that Mr Woolfe rose quickly to his feet after his fall.

The majority of members in attendance confirmed that Mr Woolfe seemed calm after his fall.

A small number of members in attendance suggested that Mr Woolfe was visibly shaking after his fall.

What Followed

Both Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem resumed their seats for a brief period as the meeting attempted to re-start. Almost immediately, Mr Woolfe rose to his feet and made it clear that he didn’t feel his continued presence at the meeting would benefit the discussion further. Mr Woolfe also made it clear that it was for the delegation to determine whether it was willing to support his leadership bid. Mr Woolfe then left at approximately 10:20am.

All members in attendance confirmed that at the time of his leaving the room, there were no visible marks on Mr Woolfe to indicate that he had received a blow to his face during the altercation.

Mr Hookem also left the meeting early, approximately 25 minutes later at 10:45am. He began the journey home from the Parliament in Strasbourg, back to the UK.

The meeting concluded and was immediately followed by a delegation voting meeting. Neither Mr Woolfe, nor Mr Hookem attended that meeting.

Collapse

At 12pm, Mr Woolfe was seen in the main voting chamber of the Parliament. He was joined by several UKIP colleagues.

After a brief time, Mr Woolfe was seen moving briskly towards doors at the back of the chamber.

Mr Woolfe told the investigation that he felt unwell and that he realised he needed to “get to the medical centre quickly”.

Some members in attendance remember seeing Mr Woolfe exit the chamber, believing he looked “ok”, but noticing he was in a hurry. They surmised that this might have been for Mr Woolfe to “catch a flight” or some other means of transport back to the UK.

Shortly after exiting the chamber, Mr Woolfe collapsed whilst crossing a connecting bridge within the European Parliament.

Medical staff were called and began an immediate assessment of the condition of Mr Woolfe. This resulted in his transportation to a local hospital, at which further tests took place.

Mr Woolfe informed the investigation that he had suffered extradural haematoma, two seizures and a contusion.

The investigation finds it reasonable to believe that the hospitalisation of Mr Woolfe was as a result of the blow he took to the back of his head, due to his fall.

The investigation has not had sight of the medical records for Mr Woolfe and so cannot confirm or deny this.

Reporting on the incident.

On the morning of Friday, 7th October, an interview was printed in the Daily Mail newspaper, purporting to give direct quotes from Mr Woolfe on the altercation. This interview took place after the party Leader had announced that an internal investigation would be held.

Several of the “quotes” gave an account of the altercation which painted Mr Woolfe as a victim and Mr Hookem as the instigator and the aggressor. It also claimed that Mr Hookem had punched Mr Woolfe – although this was later revised to a blow.

The version of events as outlined in this report has been heavily questioned by the majority of members who were in attendance.

When questioned about this interview, Mr Woolfe claimed that he had spoken to a “former UKIP Member in confidence” and that he had not intended for his quotes to make it into the public domain.

Conclusion

It is clear that the events surrounding this altercation have bought great shame on the parties involved. The behaviour of both Mr Woolfe and Mr Hookem falls far below what we would expect from any member of our party, particular those who hold such high office.

The investigation acknowledges both the apology, and the regret articulated by Mr Hookem over his involvement in the incident.

The investigation notes that Mr Woolfe has not accepted any responsibility, nor has he apologised for his involvement in the incident.

The investigation notes that Mr Woolfe has now left UKIP and so has moved beyond the reach of this investigation. Any action now taken by the party therefore would be solely applicable to Mr Hookem.

(1) The investigation finds that Mr Woolfe instigated the altercation by suggesting that he and Mr Hookem deal with their differences “man to man”. It also believes it reasonable to assume Mr Woolfe meant for it to be a physical altercation, as it had been perceived by a clear majority of members in attendance.

(2) The investigation finds that Mr Hookem failed to give due consideration to the reputation of the party when deciding to accept the suggestion from Mr Woolfe, that the two of them deal with their differences “man to man”.

(3) The investigation cannot confirm what took place in the anteroom and so offers no determination on what the facts might be.

(4) The investigation cannot determine what was responsible for Mr Woolfe falling backwards through the door. What is certain is that the door was opened from inside the anteroom prior to Mr Woolfe falling. It is clear that Mr Hookem was not close enough to the door to have opened it himself. It is also clear that nobody in the main meeting room opened it. It is therefore reasonable to assume that Mr Woolfe opened the door whilst attempting to exit the anteroom backwards. The investigation does find it unlikely that Mr Hookem was in a position to be able to push Mr Woolfe through the door, given where he was standing in the anteroom immediately afterwards, but in the absence of an eye witness, it cannot make a definitive determination

(5) The investigation finds that the quotes given to the Daily Mail for the article of Friday 7^th October, at a time when the party were conducting an investigation and requesting all members avoid speculation, did bring the party into disrepute. Had Mr Woolfe continued his membership of the party, a disciplinary panel would have been convened to investigate these quotes.

Whilst the interviews given by Mr Hookem to the media thereafter were regrettable, the investigation agrees that the conduct of Mr Hookem was understandable given the provocative nature of the Daily Mail article from Friday 7^th October.

Action by Chairman

The decision of Mr Hookem to join Mr Woolfe in the anteroom is the only action which I have the ability to consider for disciplinary action. In the absence of eye witnesses, the true facts of what took place in the anteroom itself are impossible to determine and neither man has made an official complaint to the party over the incident.

Had Mr Woolfe not collapsed later that day, we may never have known that the altercation took place at all.

However, as Chairman, I’m appalled that such a situation could arise between two of our most high profile representatives and I have strongly considered suspension as a possible course of action. 

I do however take into consideration the following:

(1) The apology and regret shown by Mr Hookem, for agreeing to join Mr Woolfe in the anteroom.

(2) The excellent record of Mr Hookem in representing UKIP and its values prior to this incident.

(3) Acknowledging that Mr Hookem, whilst foolish, was not the instigator of this incident or subsequent press coverage and as such cannot be held principally responsible for either taking place. 

In light of this, a formal reprimand will be placed on the internal record of Mr Hookem to be considered in the event of a reoccurrence of any infraction which might cause damage to the reputation of the party.

This matter ia now closed.

Kind regards

Paul Oakden

Party Chairman 

Andew Beadle withdraws from leadership race and endorses Paul Nuttall

Andrew Beadle is the latest candidate to withdraw from the leadership contest and back Paul Nuttall.

His decision follows yesterday's announcement by Bill Etheridge MEP that he, too, was pulling out of the race and endorsing Nuttall to be the next party leader.

Paul Nuttall has received the backing of a number of high profile members, including five MEPs, the UKIP groups on Bolton and Thanet councils and the UKIP group leader on Hartlepool Council as well as former UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom and former leader fot he party, Lord Pearson of Rannoch.

A poll of 91 UKIP councillors for the Times puts Paul Nuttall way out in front with 42% of the vote, followed by Suzanne Evans on 22%, Raheem Kassam on 9% and Peter Whittle on 1%. None of the other current candidates are included in the poll but it is unlikely to make a difference to the outcome.

Suzanne Evans has yet to announce any of her high profile backers, presumably keeping her powder dry for later in the campaign. Raheem Kassam has the support of UKIP's second largest donor and Leave.EU founder, Aaron Banks.

Bill Etheridge withdraws from leadership contest and backs Paul Nuttall

Bill Etheridge has pulled out of the leadership race and is backing Paul Nuttall.

Etheridge came third in the last leadership election behind Diane James and Lisa Duffy and declared his intention to run again almost as soon as the new leadership election was announced. But in a statement today he says that Paul Nuttall is "the only person who can effectively unite our party" and urged all other candidates to drop out and let Paul win.

With the threshold for retaining a deposit set at 20% it is likely that other candidates will drop out leaving Paul Nuttall and Suzanne Evans to slug it out with the ever hopeful but unlikely contender, Raheem Kassam, tagging along.

With Bill Etheridge pulling out of the leadership race there are now seven candidates:

Andrew Beadle was the UKIP parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey & Old Southwark in the 2015 general election and for Wallington South by-election later that year.

Suzanne Evans is a former Deputy Chairman of the party and was barred from the previous leadership election as she was serving a suspension following her conduct in the London Assembly election campaign. It is very much to her credit that she stuck with UKIP despite what she and others (rightly or wrongly) felt was unfair treatment.

Raheem Kassam is the London editor of the hard right American political website, Breitbart. He was ineligible under the rules of the previous contest as he hadn't been a member for long enough but qualifies now the criteria have been relaxed.

David Kurten AM is one of the two UKIP members on the London Assembly. Kurten taught chemistry before entering politics, giving lectures all over the world. As leader he wants to make sure the country "sticks to the path of freedom".

Paul Nuttall MEP pulled out of the previous leadership election and the decision was in no small part because of threats and abuse from far left activists. As a working class, old Labour northerner Nutall is seen as a huge threat to Labour and the Corbynists in particular.

John Rees-Evans is a former member of the armed forces with homes in South Wales, France and Bulgaria. He is no little Englander (or Welsher). Rees-Evans was educated overseas in 11 different schools in 3 different countries. But he will be best known for having claimed that his horse was raped by a gay donkey.

Peter Whittle AM is a member of the London Assembly. Whittle is one of the most senior openly gay politicians in the country (UKIP MEP for Scotland, David Coburn, is another) and was the only gay candidate for London Mayor.

London City Airport chemical attack being treated as terrorism

The release of chemicals at London City Airport last Friday is being treated as a terrorist attack.

A 25 year old man has been arrested under anti-terrorism laws after releasing a chemical - possibly CS spray - in the airport which resulted in the evacuation of 500 passengers and staff.

Banks deny claims they are planning to move out of the UK

Several banks have denied claims made yesterday by Remain campaigner and head of the British Bankers Association, Anthony Browne, that they were planning to start moving operations out of the UK before Christmas.

Browne claimed yesterday that smaller banks were planning to relocate before Christmas whilst larger banks would be moving early in the new year. But those same banks have rubbished his claims with one of them calling it "nonsense" and another saying "Brexit is a bit of a non-issue for us".

Anthony Browne used to write used to work for the BBC and Telegraph - both Remain-supporting - before joining Morgan Stanley which was itself part of Project Fear.

12 year old Afghan orphan turns out to be Taliban supporting paedophile

A 12 year old orphan from Afghanistan has turned out to be a 21 year old Taliban supporter with a penchant for child porn.

Social services placed "Jamal" with a foster family, telling them he was a 12 year old orphan from Afghanistan but the family became suspicious when they saw how hairy he was and he stripped down a rifle at a firing range before expertly shooting it.

Dental checks confirmed that 12 year old "Jamal" was an adult and when arrested for an assault police found Taliban material and picture of child abuse on his mobile phone.

Canada-EU trade deal vetoed by Wallonian regional parliament

Belgium's Wallonian regional parliament has vetoed the EU-Canada trade deal (CETA), finally putting an end to 7 years of fruitless negotiations and drawing scathing criticism from the Canadians who have declared the EU impossible to do business with.

The UK accounts for more than a quarter of Canada's total trade with the EU and is Canada's fourth largest trading partner. Excluding the UK, only six EU countries feature in Canada's top 20 trading partners. CETA was very much a UK+EU treaty and many experts believe that trade negotiators will simply chop out the EU bits and present that as a trade agreement for the UK only. With an estimated 15-20% increase in trade on both sides expected from CETA, it's hard to believe that Canada wouldn't grasp the opportunity with both hands.

One thing the collapse of CETA has shown us is just how wrong Project Fear was when it claimed that we needed the EU to do our trade deals for us because we're so small and insignificant. The EU has a terrible track record for agreeing trade deals thanks in no small part to the irreconcilable problem of having to satisfy 28 competing sets of priorities. Our Commonwealth partners can't wait to start trade negotiations whilst our so-called friends in the EU are still competing with each other to see who can get the most publicity for threatening to block any EU-UK trade deal and undermine our financial services sector.

The EU's inability to sign trade agreements might hold up and EU-UK trade deal but as it will almost certainly involve paying billions into the EU's coffers for the "privilege" of trading with the world's fastest declining economic bloc, we only stand to gain from trading under WTO tariffs anyway.

Chair of Russell Group universities says universities should embrace Brexit

The chairman of the Russell Group of universities, Sir David Greenaway, has broken ranks with other university heads and declared Brexit "the catalyst we all need" to become "more global" and "more outwardly facing".

Sir David is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nottingham which has jumped four places to 21st in the latest university league table by the Complete University Guide. It plans to take advantage of Brexit by strengthening its ties with partners round the world.

Paul Nuttall and Suzanne Evans join leadership contest

Paul Nuttall and Suzanne Evans have thrown their hats into the ring for the re-run of the leadership election following Diane Evans' resignation after just 18 days.

Evans was barred from the previous leadership election as she was serving a suspension following her conduct in the London Assembly election campaign. It is very much to her credit that she stuck with UKIP despite what she and others (rightly or wrongly) felt was unfair treatment.

Nuttall pulled out of the previous leadership election and the decision was in no small part because of threats and abuse from far left activists. As a working class, old Labour northerner Nutall is seen as a huge threat to Labour and the Corbynists in particular.

London Assembly member Peter Whittle was an unexpected addition to the leadership race when he announced his candidacy a little under a fortnight ago. Whittle is one of the most senior openly gay politicians in the country (UKIP MEP for Scotland, David Coburn, is another) and was the only gay candidate for London Mayor.

West Midlands MEP, Bill Etheridge, is the only candidate from the previous contest to put himself forward again. He came third behind Diane James and Lisa Duffy and ahead of Phillip Broughton and Liz Jones.

The final declared candidate so far is the London editor of the hard right American political website, Breitbart, Raheem Kassam. Kassam was ineligible under the rules of the previous contest as he hadn't been a member for long enough but qualifies now the criteria have been relaxed.

First so-called "child" refugees arrive in UK

The first so-called refugees have been relocated to the UK under a scheme to reunite unaccompanied children living in the "jungle" camp in Calais with their relatives living here. But if you were hoping to see the young primary school kids with tears rolling down their grubby cheeks that the media broadcast at us every day you'll be disappointed.

Facial recognition software has put the ages of most of the "children" anywhere from mid-20s to late 30s. One so-called refugee claimed to be under 18 but is believed to be 38. A fostering charity - TACT - claimed he was an interpreter and said anyone using him to criticise so-called refugees is racist but they later backed down when they discovered he was actually a grown man pretending to be a child.

The Home Office is refusing to carry out dental checks on people who are clearly grown adults claiming to be children because it's "intrusive". Disabled people already living here can be subjected to intrusive medical checks and degrading interviews to prove their continued entitlement to disability benefits but young men in their 20s and 30s who've travelled more than 2,000 miles across the Middle East and Europe might find having an x-ray traumatic so Home Office officials have to take them at their word.

Home Office officials are also not checking whether the family these so-called refugees claim they have in the UK actually exist or whether they're willing to look after these young men. Many of those young enough to get away with calling themselves children are likely to end up being put up by local authorities when they turn out to be homeless.

Steven Woolfe resigns from UKIP, won't "honour the responsibility in his pledge to UKIP members to represent them"

Steven Woolfe has "reluctantly" resigned from UKIP and will sit as an independent MEP.

Woolfe openly admitted to having talks with the Tories about defecting when he missed the deadline for standing for leader of the party but had decided against it. Presumably the Tories decided they didn't want him after all.

Back in January last year when Amjid Bashir defected to the Tories after being suspended over allegations of financial misconduct and interfering with candidate selections, Woolfe said:

I am deeply disappointed with Mr Bashir, for not honouring the responsibility in his pledge to UKIP members to represent them.

So Woolfe will be resigning and letting the next person on the UKIP list take on the responsibility of representing UKIP members? No? Only applies to other people presumably.

UKIP come close second in Kent by-election

UKIP candidate James Halford came a close second in yesterday's by-election for the Swanley division of Kent County Council.

There are already 15 UKIP councillors on Kent County Council making the party the official opposition.

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Michael Horwood	Conservative	717	32.41
James Halford	UKIP	615	27.80
Angela George	Labour	518	23.42
Robert Woodbridge	Lib Dems	362	16.37

EU's internal auditors refuse to sign off accounts for 22nd year running

The EU Court of Auditors have refused to sign off the EU's accounts for the 22nd year in a row as levels of error and fraud reach new highs.

Their 320 page report highlights serious fraud and errors amounting to 3.8% of the EU's total budget. As much as 42% of spending under the ERDF, CF, ESF and OP programmes was affected by material errors. Projects in Azerbaijan and Mozambique - neither of which are in Europe, let alone the EU - were highlighted as examples of spending where there was no evidence the projects that were being funded even existed. They also highlight the EU's propensity for measuring the success of projects by the amount of money they put into them rather than what the projects achieve.

The amount of error and fraud comes to about £4.8bn. That's the size of the entire Child Trust Fund or the English NHS maintenance and repair budget before George Osborne slashed it this year.

Remain-supporting Unilever trying to inflate price of Marmite and blame brexit

Unilever have come under fire for trying to put up the price of Marmite by 10% and blaming the fall in the value of the pound as an excuse.

As Guido points out, 100% of Marmite is produced in Burton using ingredients sourced entirely in the UK. A weak pound makes Marmite cheaper to sell abroad, this is an attempt to rip off consumers using Brexit as an excuse. Unilever, of course, was part of Project Fear.

Tesco have refused to pay Unilever's unjustified price increases and have even gone as far as withdrawing some of their products. Tesco makes their own version of Marmite so it's not like their customers are going to have to go without.

French Interior Minister tries to shirk his responsibilities over child immigrants in Calais

The French Minister for the Interior has said that the UK has a "moral duty" to take in unaccompanied child illegal immigrants who have made their way to Calais and have family in the UK.

The French government has been failing to take proper care of the children living in the illegal "Jungle" camp at Calais for years and is quite persistent in trying to shift responsibility to the UK. Bernard Cazeneuve's suggestion that the UK is responsible for the welfare of children in France related to other illegal immigrants that his government have failed to stop illegally entering the UK is ridiculous.

Whilst it would be sensible for unaccompanied children to live with relatives rather than in an institution or with strangers, it would only encourage other children to make the dangerous journey across Europe if they thought that it would be easy to get in to the UK if they can just get to Calais. Once they have successfully claimed asylum and are legally living in a safe country they should be reunited with their family in the UK if there is no better option and it is in the best interests of the child to do so.

An automatic right of entry sends out the wrong message and would put more children in danger. The French government needs to stop shirking its responsibilities, remove the unaccompanied children from Calais and demolish any illegal camps erected at the ports which cause these safeguarding issues in the first place.

Theresa May's #Bexit plans will sink the UK.

Theresa May must be made to change her mind - so by default all EU law should cease on Brexit. Only specific, new, necessary law, compatible with the UK's system of justice should be created.

UK can fly outside the EU - but...

The EU Single Market exists to protect inefficient EU businesses from external competition - but it is not entirely the EU businesses who are at fault for their inefficiency.

Much of the inefficiency - and so over pricing - is due to EU red-tape and over-regulation. In decades when IT and tech should have been streamlining business 'business at the speed of thought' - the EU have been soaking up any such efficiency gains with evermore pointless regulation - much of which was then gold plated by the UK's own politicians/mandarins when being implemented here in the UK.

Leaving the EU gives us back control or our laws and trade and borders - but we will only benefit from this when the newly returned control is actually used to strip away the many, many layers or anti-competitive, bureaucratic red-tape, controls, directives, standards, that needlessly drag on EU companies.

Unfortunately, Theresa May has indicated that she is to do exactly the opposite of this - she has said that all EU law (over 200,000 pages of it) will be transferred wholesale into UK law, immediately added to - and then over many years is expected to be gradually reviewed.

This will kill the UK - we will have floundered and drowned before even a tiny fraction of the baggage has been removed, it will drag us down.

To get the benefit of Brexit, the UK must have a lean and agile economy - an economy as dynamic, flexible and imaginative as the people of the UK have always been when the state has got out of their way.

Theresa May must be made to change her mind - so by default all EU law should cease on Brexit. Only specific, new, necessary law, compatible with the UK's system of justice should be created - we have two years to specify this law, ready to come into force when Brexit is complete on the expiry of the Article 50 notice period. But this change of mind must be rapid, as time will run out if it is not started ASAP.

[First published at: http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/theresa-may-plans-to-use-uks-returned.html]

EU immigrants will be allowed to stay after Brexit

The British government have announced that all EU immigrants living in the UK will be allowed to stay after we leave the EU. An amnesty will be granted for EU immigrants living here illegally.

The announcement comes as no surprise given that collective expulsion is illegal under domestic, EU and international law. Whilst Leave campaigners were talking about controlling future immigration and pointing out that EU immigrants wouldn't be deported, Remain campaigners were spreading scare stories about mass deportations which have caused fear and distress amongst the immigrant population that clueless Remainiacs have blamed on Brexit.

The idea that people living in the country legally would be rounded up and transported back to their country of origin because we've left the EU is ridiculous and the scaremongering irresponsible.

Hope not Hate troll Steven Woolfe in his hospital bed and fail

Poor Hope not Hate, they've got more money than they can spend thanks to the Jo Cox memorial fund but they're still an amateurish bunch of propaganda merchants.

Just to confirm: UKIP's Stephen Woolfe is receiving free healthcare in France due to him being an EU citizen.

— HOPE not hate (@hopenothate) October 6, 2016

Steven Woolfe (they could at least spell his name correctly if they're trying to exploit his misfortune for propaganda purposes) is being treated under a reciprocal health care agreement with the EU. The NHS also has reciprocal health care agreements with Anguilla, Australia, Bosnia, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Montserrat, New Zealand, Norway, St Helena, Serbia, Switzerland, and Turks & Caicos.

In fact, if he was from Algeria, Andorra, Benin, Bosnia, Cape Verde, French Polynesia, Gabon, Iceland, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Mali, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Niger, New Caledonia, Quebec,Serbia, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia or Turkey he would also be receiving free healthcare in France without being an EU citizen.

UKIP gain Hartlepool Headland & Harbour

UKIP's Tim Fleming has gained the Headland & Harbour seat from Labour on Hartlepool Borough Council.

UKIP is the official opposition on the council with six councillors.

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Tim Fleming	UKIP	496	49.16
Trevor Rogan	Labour	255	25.27
Steve Latimer	Putting Hartlepool First	155	15.36
Benjamin Marshall	Conservatives	41	4.06
John Price	Patients not Profits	36	3.57
Chris Broadbent	Independent	26	2.58

Steven Woolfe is doing ok but why are our MEPs fighting?

At a meeting of UKIP MEPs this morning in Strasbourg an altercation between Steven Woolfe and another UKIP MEP (rumoured to be Mike Hookem) ended with Woolfe being punched, banging his head on a metal bar and later requiring hospital treatment after collapsing in the EU Parliament.

Steven is staying overnight in hospital as a precaution but he's sitting up in bed, talking and sending emails. CT scans have shown that he doesn't have a bleed on the brain as rumoured earlier today but he does have numbness down one side of his face.

It's great news that it wasn't anything serious but extremely disappointing that our MEPs are doing bloody stupid things like fighting when the party is going through the upheaval of losing our new leader after just 18 days in post and desperately needing direction. In the absence of a leader and an NEC that seems devoid of common sense our MEPs should be taking the lead and keeping the momentum that built up during the referendum campaign, not fighting with each other.

Diane James resignation statement

Diane James has released a statement confirming her resignation as leader and citing a lack of authority with party officers and MEPs as her reason for quitting.

It has been suggested that this means Nigel Farage is still technically leader but he resigned some time ago. The Electoral Commission may still have him listed as leader because Diane James didn't formally accept her nomination but he isn't the leader of the party any more.

Who will take the reins while a new leadership election is held is a bit of a mystery. Paul Nuttall resigned as deputy leader at the party conference last month and no replacement has been appointed. Presumably that will fall to Paul Oakden as party chairman.

Here is Diane's statement in full:

It is with great regret that I announce that I will not be formalising my recent nomination to become the new Leader of the party with the Electoral Commission.

Having won the enthusiastic support of party members, I was nominated by them as the new Leader at the recent UKIP Bournemouth conference.

Since that time, I have been in discussion with party officers about the role. It has become clear that I do not have sufficient authority, nor the full support of all my MEP colleagues and party officers to implement changes I believe necessary and upon which I based my campaign.

For personal and professional reasons, therefore, I will not take the election process further.

I will continue to concentrate fully on my activities and responsibilities as an elected Ukip Member of the European Parliament for SE UK region.

This is my final media statement on this issue.

Confirmed: Diane James resigns

Multiple sources are reporting that Diane James has resigned as leader just 18 days after her election.

According to the reports she has stepped down because of her husband's ill health.

We have not yet been able to verify the claims. Resignation confirmed by reliable sources.

Scottish government forced to cut £392m from public spending plans under EU rules

The Scottish government has been forced to cut £392m from public spending plans after the Office for National Statistics ruled that the level of government control over a major PFI project meant that keeping it off the books breached EU rules.

The move follows last year's ONS ruling that the Scottish government's £1.45bn Aberdeen bypass wasn't really a private finance project under EU law because of the level of control the Scottish government retained over it. They have been forced to put that spending on the books and have preemptively moved two new hospitals and new headquarters for the Scottish blood transfusion service onto the books for this year leaving a £392m black hole in the Scottish government's finances.

Despite campaigning against PFI in Scotland, the SNP has extended the PFI scheme there. They've called it NPD instead of PFI but it's the same thing. To balance the books the Scottish government are having to postpone uncommitted grants and use contingency money to cover spending.

The Scottish government have also been warned that planned legislation to allow them to hide PFI liabilities for its social housing programme will likely fall foul of the same EU rules.

#Brexit Trade, Law and Sovereignty and The People.

Trade.

The EU Single Market exists entirely for the benefit of the European Union Commission.

The EU Single Market is the mechanism by which the EU Commission restricts suppliers access to European consumers and restricts European consumers access to suppliers. The EU Commission sells access to suppliers, the Commission skim money in a variety of ways. But primarily it lets producers charge artificially high prices (which EU consumers have no choice but to pay) and takes a cut of this money raised through exploitation of the European people.

Outside the EU Single Market, UK consumers will have a global choice for suppliers - if the EU does have the cheapest suppliers, then UK consumers may chose to continue to use their current suppliers.

If, however, as is likely, produce can be sourced elsewhere more cheaply then the UK consumer can choose to purchase elsewhere. This will result in savings to the UK consumer, an increase in UK trade with 'the rest of the world' and a drop in UK trade with the uncompetitive, price rigged EU.

Law.

As a trade body and government the EU has produced a mish-mash of law and trading regulations/standards - this is something that should never have been allowed. Product standards (apart from the most basic safety) is no business of the law makers. A consumer is well capable of deciding what standard/specification of item they require and communicating this to a supplier. And as this specification will form the contract, the only law required is that required to generically enforce contracts, the specifics of the contract are irrelevant.

Whole swathes of EU Law are entirely unnecessary, and worse are damaging to innovation, development and progress - leaving the EU should remove these laws from applying in the UK.

However, Theresa May has already stated that all EU law will be adopted into UK law(!) Even specifically confirming that laws on (bent) bananas, sausages etc will be included. Theresa May has suggested that once transferred each law can be reviewed and a decision made on whether to retain it, repeal it or enhance it. But as we have two years before the EU treaties cease to apply, it seems odd that this work cannot be started now and completed by the time the Article 50 notice period expires. If it cannot be done in two years when it is the governments main focus, How can anyone imagine it will ever be done? It is worth remembering that even the broken, bogus 'Barnett Formula' was a one off temporary fix in the late 1970's that has been in desperate need of revision but now after almost half a century has not be changed, also refom of the house of lords - which has been in progress even longer to no good effect.

Sovereignty

In truth the UK parliament has always been soverign - even with the 1972 EU Legal Supremacy act it was only bound to its own choice - it could have repealed it anytime.

The referendum result is not actually about the EU at all - it is about the UK parliament not acting in accordance with the wishes of the British people - for decades our parliament kept us as unwilling victims of the Brussels bureaucracy, and resisted our calls to be heard (by referendum) - now we have spoken and must ensure parliament never again think they can ignore our wishes.


First published at http://free-english-people.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/brexit-trade-law-and-sovereignty-and.html

Theresa May intends to trigger Article 50 in March

Theresa May has announced that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will be triggered in March 2017 as we predicted last month.

The timing is important because EU elections are due to be held in April or May 2019 and it would be incredibly expensive and wasteful to hold EU elections when we're about to leave or to tie up valuable parliamentary time legislating to allow the election not to take place.

With most MPs professing their undying love for the EU it will be a battle between the vested interests of politicians and the democratic wishes of the people they're elected to represent.