The View From ‘Fort UKIP’

David Challice writes about his experience from the Norwich North By-Election.

The taxi drivers soon christened it “Tingle Town”, due to all the VOTE GLENN TINGLE posters springing up in one part of Norwich last July.

To set the scene, Ian Gibson was the popular and independently-minded Labour MP for Norwich North. But when caught in the expenses scandal his own party turned on him, and so Gibson jumped ship, forcing a by-election. After our success at the EU elections, UKIP needed to fight this one.

Glenn Tingle, 46, was born in Norwich. Apart from time spent away as an Army medic, he has always worked locally as a civil engineer. Glenn was a great candidate for UKIP. Clean, presentable, intelligent, confident, but firm on the local issues that mattered… immigration in particular.

He provided UKIP with the three-bedroomed house he was in the process of selling, which became our campaign office (or ‘Fort UKIP’). My job was to organise the office and keep the wheels of the bandwagon on the move.

I lived in ‘Fort UKIP’ for most of the campaign, along with Michael Heaver (Chairman of Young Independence) and other YI members…. an interesting gap in generations. I can report that the correct etiquette after consuming home-delivered pizza is to leave the box and its remnants on the floor. Cans of Coke must be half-finished then deposited randomly about the house. At times it was like a cross between “The Young Ones” and “Butterflies” (for those old enough to remember) but we all got along very well, with a real spirit of camaraderie, apart from when I confiscated John Tennant’s football and sent him to bed with no supper, (Only joking. He had some pizza).

This really was a team effort, with lots of volunteers coming to help, and others sending donations large and small. On Glenn’s behalf, thanks to you all. We arranged b&b at a nearby golf club owned by a UKIP sympathiser, and leafleteers were grateful for the sauna and hot-tub after trudging the streets all day.

There were visits from many MEPs such as Nigel Farage, Paul Nuttall, Gerard Batten and Marta Andreasen, including local MEPs, Stuart Agnew and David Campbell Bannerman. But many thanks to all the MEPs for contributing their time at what was a hectic period in Brussels.

There were many huge billboards erected across the city, and Vote Tingle posters on BT phone kiosks. It all added to the public impression of a Party taking this election seriously. Nick Hogan (Save the Pub campaign) also visited the city, along with Hogan’s Heroes, three young ladies who certainly attracted attention among the younger generation of voters. Hats off to them, I say!

We delivered five types of leaflet, approx 230,000 in total, but by the third week the good people of Norwich were totally saturated by political leaflets from all parties. The Tories poured vast sums into the campaign, wheeling out stars such as Cameron and Hague. As for Chris Ostrowski, the Labour candidate (parachuted in from London), he had the resigned look of a man being led to the scaffold. When he went down with suspected swine flu, it was almost predictable... A man usually gets kicked when already lying on the ground. The question for us was: “When the Labour vote collapses, where will it go?” Labour supporters were our main target.

John Youles and Lawrence Webb (London Regional Organiser) worked tirelessly to prepare canvassing sheets, and they deserve special thanks for their efforts because it was a massive and very important job.

We had fun, too. The purple-and-yellow UKIP London taxi was employed to counter Tory leader David Cameron. While he was knocking on doors in leafy suburbia, the UKIP taxi loud-speaker was warning people further along: “There is a strange man coming up the street. He is after your vote. On no account open the door to him. Vote UKIP”

On another occasion Peter Mandelson was intercepted by a team of Ukippers who pointedly asked: “Lord Mandelson… who’s in charge of the country while you’re here in Norwich?” He was also quizzed about why the British people had been denied a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The noble Lord made his excuses and left.

The BBC showed blatant and unforgivable bias during the campaign, giving the Greens official “4th Party Status” and lumping us in with ‘Others’. On the Monday before polling, BBC Look East held a Question Time-style debate “with the four main parties”. UKIP were shut out, despite the best efforts of Press Officer, Stuart Gulleford.

The Greens wore a smug look, flattered by all the media attention; a jaunty spring to their step. They even toured the city in a double-decker bus which ran on recycled cooking oil, soon dubbed “the Chip Fat express” in the local newspaper. They misjudged that one and became a laughing stock. Even by Green logic, that bus was pumping out greenhouse gases faster than a field of Aberdeen Angus.

And then came election day and the final count. The Tories won. Despite the BBC bias, we came fourth, beating the Greens (which left them stunned) and achieving our best ever result in a by-election. Predictably the BBC barely mentioned it. With a fairer media coverage I’m totally convinced we would have come third, gaining the extra 800 votes needed to beat the Lib Dems.

On the same day Peter Reeve (Glenn’s Agent) won two council seats in Ramsey. Congratulations to him and his team, and thanks for his hard work in Norwich as well! If you didn’t come to the Norwich North by-election, you missed out on something very special. So please try to make the next one. I’m sure you won’t regret it.

David Challice - Administration Manager and Chief Washer-Up at Fort UKIP.

MEP Joins Glenn Tingle on the Campaign Trail

UKIP MEP for the East Midlands , Derek Clark has been out on the streets with Norwich North by-election candidate Glenn Tingle today. The two men spent the afternoon in Sprowston knocking on doors to spread the word about the UK Independence Party’s Clean Start for Norwich North Campaign.

Mr Clark said; “I was delighted to come to Norwich to help Glenn Tingle, who is an ideal candidate – a local man, who really cares about the issues and wants to make a difference.”

Glenn Tingle said: “It was a pleasure to work with Derek, who brings great experience and knowledge to my campaign. He was a natural on the doorsteps of Sprowston!”

UKIP’S TINGLE TO SIGN CLEAN CAMPAIGN PLEDGE AS TORIES DECLINE FORMAL SIGNING

Glenn Tingle, the UK Independence Party’s candidate for Norwich North has committed himself to signing the clean campaign pledge promoted by the Green Party and was due to take part in a formal signing ceremony with Rupert Read and Chloe Smith (Cons), until the Tory candidate declined to attend.

Mr Tingle said: “It is a great shame that the Tories have refused to take part, despite considerable efforts to persuade them. As candidates, we could all have shown a united front against negative political campaigning. It suggests that the Tory commitment is rather skin deep.

“A clean campaign is something that I am personally very committed to, regardless of any written pledge but I am perfectly happy to formalise it by signing the same document as the other parties. I see no benefit to the public in hearing political parties smearing each other. In my view, it is far better to stick to the issues that really concern the voters.

“I am taking the clean campaign a stage further by committing myself to donating 10% of my Westminster salary to a local charity. I invite my opponents to do the same. In this way, we can all provide a cast iron guarantee that part of the future benefits package of the next Norwich North MP will definitely go to a good local cause.

UKIP candidate gives up his job to campaign in by-election as the Green candidate concedes defeat

Glenn Tingle, the UK Independence Party’s Parliamentary Candidate for Norwich North has committed himself full time to his ‘Clean Start for Norwich North’ by-election campaign by giving up his job as a contracts manager for a local engineering company. Mr Tingle formally submitted his nomination papers on Monday (6th July).

He said: “I did not feel that I could fully commit myself as a candidate, while trying to hold down a job. For me, the ‘Clean Start for Norwich North’ campaign is far too important to be going at it with anything less than 100% concentration. It was also unfair to my employer. The voters are crying out for a fresh start and they won’t get that from any of the other parties.

“The Tories have chosen a youngster, who works in London and who has very limited knowledge of local issues and the Lib Dems have brought in a failed candidate from another local constituency. The Labour Party is in meltdown and the Green Party has chosen Rupert Read, who has already conceded defeat in the by-election, in comments he made to the Times last Friday. Not the most inspiring field to choose from unless you vote for Glenn Tingle and a ‘Clean Start for Norwich North’.”

UKIP's momentum in the Norwich North by-election is definetly building with dozens of UKIP's activists canvassing and leafletting the length and breadth of the constituency. They have been joined by UKIP's MEPs in the Eastern region David Campbell Bannerman and Stuart Agnew, as well as two other MEPs UKIP Leader Nigel Farage and Party Chairman Paul Nuttall. Other MEPs will shortly touch down in Norwich to help out in what has so far been a big campaign for the Party .

However, we do want more UKIP members and activists to help with the effort. The aim is to carry on the huge momentum created by UKIP's second place finish in the European Election, but this can only be done if every UKIP member does all that they can so please get in touch and get involved! To get involved please call UKIP's Norwich Campaign HQ (166 Wroxham Road, NR7 8DE) at 01603 412643