Key UKIP Leadership Questions with Anne Marie Waters

1. What is your leadership style and what leadership qualities do you believe you can bring to the party?

I am a passionate and genuine public speaker, this is obvious when I speak, this is also key to effective leadership. I am a clear and consistent communicator and I am unafraid of the media, who have targeted me for years without success.  I believe in honesty with the electorate, this builds trust.  I also want UKIP to stand out, it won’t do this unless it can offer something really different,  this is what I will do.  I don’t just talk about the poison of political correctness, I oppose it with uncomfortable truths.

2. What is your internal and external vision for the party going forward?

My vision for the party is one that stands out from the crowd with truth and passion.  I want a fiercely pro-Britain party that will defend the country as an independent and free nation, without apology.  I want a libertarian party, but fused with tradition and respect for traditional values.  A mixture of the old and the new is the middle ground that many more people will be willing to stand on.  Most importantly of all, I want clarity and consistency from UKIP; if this is not forthcoming, we cannot expect the electorate to put their trust in us.

3. How will you demonstrate the strength needed from a leader and what will you do to get a grip on the recent internal party issues?

Leaders need to be above party squabbles, never listen to gossip or ‘take sides’.  A good leader should listen calmly to both sides of disputes, acknowledge pertinent points of both sides, and make a decision based on what’s best for the greater good – while explaining that decision clearly.  Differences within a party are healthy, but it is how they managed that matters.  Gossip, back-biting, plots and smears are unacceptable.  The leader must spell this out, being fair to all.

4. How will you keep the party being radical without focussing on single issues?

There is nothing wrong with a party being built around an issue, UKIP was built around leaving the EU.  This is particularly the case when the entire political class is on the same page on the issue with UKIP provides the only opposition.  If a party is willing to distinguish itself, regardless of whether this is on one issue or several, it will gain the attention required to ‘sell’ its other policies.  Radical policies of all kinds are needed in my view, but it is an error to ‘fear’ being labelled single issue.  This has been done to UKIP for years, and it didn’t prevent success and won’t in the future.

5. What attitude will you bring to the parties campaigns in the future and how will you look to win the hearts of the electorate?

Once again, I believe the electorate can be won over with commitment, consistency, passion, and truth.  These are key and they are unbeatable.  I believe I am the only candidate who can really offer this.  I am the only one likely to be seen as a force for change.  There is only one true way to win the heart of the electorate - talk to them, honestly, openly, and make sure they know they can believe what you say.  I am that candidate.