Deadline day for Nathan Gill to resign as an AM or MEP

Today is the deadline the NEC have set for Nathan Gill to resign as either an MEP or AM and he has made it clear he intends to do neither.

At the time of the Welsh Assembly elections earlier this year Gill agreed that he would stand down as an MEP if he was elected as an AM but since the referendum has declined to do so.

Gill was the face of UKIP in Wales during the Assembly elections and is leader of UKIP Wales. He has a huge following in the grassroots Welsh party but Neil Hamilton controls the political side of things.

Neil Hamilton, who is leader of the UKIP delegation at the Welsh Assembly, says that the two jobs are not compatible and that Gill can't represent Wales when he's in Brussels. However, it appears that Hamilton can not only represent Wales but lead UKIP's AMs from his mansion in Wiltshire.

If the jobs of AM and MEP were incompatible then it would be illegal to hold both positions. As a former MP, Hamilton will be aware that there is a legal bar to sitting as both an MP and MEP due to the two roles being considered incompatible. No such bar exists for members of the devolved governments who can not only sit as MEPs but as MPs in addition to their role in the Sennedd, Scottish Parliament or Stormont.

There is nobody left on the UKIP party list who is still a member and not an AM to take Gill's place as an MEP if he resigned from that position. The NEC believe that a by-election would be held to replace him but the relevant regulations say that the next person on the list as at the last election will be invited to take the vacant seat with no requirement for them to still be a member of the party whose list they appeared on. That means UKIP's vacant seat would go to a former member who resigned from the party to stand against UKIP in the last election.

This is another fight that the NEC has started that didn't need to be. We will likely lose an MEP and AM today because Gill is determined not to stand down. There is no benefit to the party from Gill resigning one of his roles but there is considerable damage from losing a high profile elected representative and the collateral damage that will cause. It is the latest in a string of poor decisions that show that the NEC is not fit for purpose and that a fresh election is needed for existing members to seek a mandate from the membership or for new members to come on board.

Barring Steven Woolfe from standing for leader is the last straw

Steven Woolfe has been ruled out of the party leadership election after computer problems prevented him from submitting his application on time.

Woolfe paid his £5,000 deposit well before the deadline and but was unable to submit his application until after the deadline had passed due to computer problems. He provided evidence before the deadline to someone in the party that he was trying to submit his application and that it wasn't working but the NEC have ruled that he is ineligible to stand.

If the NEC had ruled him out for failing to declare a conviction for drink driving a decade ago then that would be understandable but it is clear that Woolfe submitted his application before the deadline and technical problems prevented it from being processed. In the absence of any evidence to prove that the fault lay on either side he should have been given the benefit of the doubt and his application allowed.

Attempts were made to bar Steven Woolfe, Jonathan Arnott and Bill Etheridge from standing last week which appear to have proven fruitless. Meanwhile, Nathan Gill has been threatened with expulsion from the party if he doesn't resign as either an MEP or Welsh Assembly Member despite there being no ban in law or the party rule book for holding both offices at the same time.

Three members of the NEC - Ray Finch, Victoria Ayling and Mike McGough - have resigned from the NEC in protest, accusing the remaining NEC members of jealousy and megalomania. Three resignations aren't enough, we need to sweep out the current NEC members and hold fresh elections. Most members don't bother voting in NEC elections and this is the result - a group of politicians and hangers on more interested in furthering their own ambitions than what's right for the party.

Branches that feel strongly that the NEC is damaging the party may wish to forward a motion of no confidence in the NEC, forcing an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at which they can be sacked. According to the party rules an EGM can be called to debate a motion of no confidence in the NEC if 20% of branches and constituency associations drawn from at least 4 regions forward a motion to the party chairman, accompanied by a payment of £100 toward the cost of holding the meeting. At the EGM 250 members must attend for the meeting to be quorate. It's too late to affect this leadership election but by purging the NEC and starting again we can at least point the party back in the right direction.

Force be with you Commers. Statement from YI Caretaker Chairman Rob Comley...

Statement from YI Caretaker Chairman Rob Comley:

Dear Young Independence Members,

As you will be aware, I have been asked by the NEC to look after YI as a caretaker until we hold our annual elections in March and a new council can be elected.

It is clear to me that events over the past week have caused some frictions in YI. It is also clear to me that some of you feel let down and hurt by certai...n decisions and I empathise with you. In the short period I hold the helm before we elect a new chairman I will work, on your behalf, with the NEC and discuss with them, as well as other members of YI, how exactly we should work within the party. I shall be asking the NEC for a written list of recommendations on how they would improve YI as a political youth wing.

It is an honour to represent YI, even for this short time and I will not let you down. I urge you all to remember that we are fighting for the same cause!

Rob Comley – Caretaker YI Chair

Thoughts of a Young Independence member #1 The Neville Scandal.

An Observer Opinium poll has recently revealed Ukip to be beating the Tories in the North West, (http://politicsuk.eu/archives/12950). I'm not one to boast, (especially after those tiring London elections), but this does not only amplify the increasing momentum of Ukip support, but the sheer enthusiasm for - a Ukip. This already defeats the pinnacle of public enthusiasm for the Lib-Dems, in that epoch when it was ok to blabber on elusive policies - frankly, because it was cool being the political bench warmer. Nonetheless, I'm not digging into pre-2010 politics today.

Bluntly, Young Independence, the, (before all this to the least), rapidly growing Youth Wing of Ukip, is now in limbo after facing a leadership crisis soon after a November by-election. A very upset Olly Neville - and right to be - was revoked of his Chairmanship of YI in an NEC decision. This was followed by the voluntary resignation of Christina Marian Annesley, as Deputy Chair of YI Yorkshire, Gareth Shanks, as YI Elections Officer, and Allrik Birch, as YI Treasurer, in protest to the NEC's decision. A 'decision' made merely because his Libertarian values were a couple steps ahead to that of the NEC.

 The decision was inane; not even deserving 'insane'. He was elected by a landslide majority and had great intentions for YI, as any bloke believing in a future Ukip force should; hence I have started to question the NEC's long-term vision of Ukip. They must comprehend the fact that Ukip actually does have a gleam in the eye which does steadily entice Lady Britannia; something which the Lib-Dems never enjoyed and the Conservatives have lost in the North West.

I don't necessarily agree with Neville. Moreover, I was strongly cognizant of his views on issues such as prostitution and drugs - when I voted for him. Voted for him.

Gay marriage? I wasn't surprised. He's a pure Libertarian; I'm not. Although, I do possess sympathy for the drugs argument, particularly on cannabis reform. But that's the beauty of YI, isn't it? We either have yellow, purple or striped tied YouthKipers working together in harmony in efforts establish ground in the social fabric. Neville was an opportunity to enhance this relationship and get it working on the doorstep.

Nevertheless, I believe in YI - we will find our way, hopefully starting to replicate Ukip's momentum with the youth, already with a redoubling platform in universities and just starting to pierce into the bigger youth picture. A brilliant bunch indeed.

Jill Seymour statement on NEC resignation

Back in October, the EU activist and Junius blogger, Greg Limp-Wrist, wrote one of his rambling anti-UKIP posts about Jill Seymour in which he made up a story about her resignation from the NEC.

Like most people, Jill doesn't bother reading the JEUnius blog and has only just seen the drivel Greg Limp-Wrist wrote but she has asked us to publish the following statement in response to it:

Simply, I shall be attending just 3 more meetings before the next NEC Election. I did not quit in disgust, it was in fact due to party rules that you cannot sit on the NEC if employed by a MEP. Regarding Mr West I did feel no candidate should have had a video exposed in the way it was and made my feelings known. Material matter on any candidate should always be treated with respect and sensitivity. We are not career politicians but people that care for this country. I do have a very personal view on many things within UKIP and have never always followed any one individual. I would also like it if he was so kind to note my name is Jill Seymour.