Political 'Hot Air' - The Blue Variety

ConHome are trailing a speech by Dominic Grieve, shadow Justice secretary, which calls for fresh thinking on multiculturalism and in which he condemns decades of political correctness.

It can be argued that politicians today speak at great length on various matters, not necessarily to any effect and possibly purely because they like the sound of their own voices. This latest 'offering' does nothing more than highlight what is wrong yet, in the extracts given , does nothing to provide solutions.

The last quoted extract on the ConHome website is an example of 'hot air' and brings Dominic Grieve and his party no credit.

"The lack of a credible response from the mainstream right to the current issues of multiculturalism has now left a gap, which is being filled by extremist voices. UKIP and the British National Party have taken advantage to suggest policies not based on a reasoned morality but which play on fear and encourage hatred."

Firstly to 'lump together' UKIP and BNP is akin to stating there is no difference between chalk and chesse and shows Dominic Greive's total lack of understanding about those two parties. Secondly, with regard to UKIP, to suggest that they are 'suggesting policies not based on reasoned morality but which play on fear and encourage hatred' again shows he has not studied the policies UKIP are advocating. Thirdly, whose fault is it, if not that of the Conservative Party - who are after all supposed to be Her Majesty's Official Opposition but who have, on recent evidence, been prepared to have the title but not actually to do much opposing - that there has not been a 'credible response' to the problems we have with multiculturism.

It is, to say the least, a tad rich for Dominic Grieve to opine that UKIP are 'playing on fear and encouraging hatred' when those policies are but addressing a problem that hundreds, if not thousands or hundreds of thousands, are saying and thinking. Politicians of the three main parties appear to have overlooked one basic fact and that is by allowing the introduction of an alien element, or elements, into a country profoundly affects that country's social structure.

Whilst immigration can and surely does improve a country, there is another factor which again has been overlooked by politicians of the past (with one notable exception, namely the late, great Enoch Powell) and that is the danger that has come to pass in that immigrants have, through the creed of diversity, been elevated into a privileged or special class.

To quote Enoch Powell in his infamous speech of April 1968 otherwise dubbed the 'Rivers of Blood':

"There could be no grosser misconception of the realities than is entertained by those who vociferously demand legislation as they call it 'against discrimination'......The discrimination and the deprivation, the sense of alarm and of resentment, lies not with the imigrant population but with those among whom they have come and are still coming.".

The efforts of those trying to 'order society' is akin to throwing a match on gunpowder. To quote Enoch Powell once again:

"The kindest thing that can be said about those who propose and support it is that they know not what they do........ But while to the immigrant, entry to this country was admission to privileges and opportunities eagerly sought, the impact upon the existing population was very different. For reasons which they could not comprehend, and in pursuance of a decision by default, on which they were never consulted, they find themselves made strangers in their own country."

Another delusion to which those who are wilfully, or otherwise, blind to realities can be summed up in the word 'integration'. To be integrated into a population means to become, for all practical purposes, indistinguishable from its other members. Whilst the majority may with to 'integrate', it is ridiculous to ignore the fact that there are those 'hotheads', religious zealots and/or 'activists' whose only intention is to impose their way of life on the host nation. In February 17th 1968 there appeared in the local press a statement by John Stonehouse, a Labour Member of Parliament and a member of the then government, who said (and whilst one ethnic group is mentioned, it does apply to all immigrants, whatever their ethnic origin):

"The Sikh communities' campaign to maintain customs inappropriate in Britain is much to be regretted. Working in Britain, particularly in the public services, they should be prepared to accept the terms and conditions of their employment. To claim special communal rights (or should that be 'rites') leads to a dangerous fragmentation within society. This communalism is a canker; whether practised by one colour or another it is to be strongly condemned."

In conclusion, 'waffle' such as that exhibited by Dominic Grieve serves no purpose. It is time for some plain speaking that spells out exactly what the problem is. One extremely basic point exists, one which I have covered previously, and that is the simple fact then when going to another country - whether that is to visit or live - one respects that country's laws, society and way of life. Until politicians accept that basic point they will, unfortunately, continue to spout 'waffle' and 'hot air'.

Of course, on the subject of immigration as in so many other matters, the ability of any of the three main parties to legislate and govern is constrained by their continued acceptance of membership of the European Union.

Take heart from Labour propaganda

Labour's dirty tricks campaign for the upcoming elections for the European Empire has already been noted by many UKIP members. Every mention of the BNP is accompanied by a mention of UKIP in an attempt to link the two together. Every mention of UKIP is accompanied by a false statement that support for UKIP has collapsed.

Here is just one example of what is being put about on an almost daily basis by the Labour propaganda machine:

This is fertile territory for the far right. The BNP is on the march too and aiming to make big gains in the European elections in June. The East Midlands, which includes the old coalfield, is one of their main target areas. The senior Labour MEP and veteran anti-fascist campaigner Glyn Ford believes that the BNP could win up to half a dozen Euro seats and that it is possible that only the north-east and south-west of England could be without a BNP MEP after election night. His grim prognosis is echoed by other MPs in the East Midlands, who believe that the collapse in support for the UK Independence Party will see more votes heading towards the hard Right.

Contrary to the propaganda that Labour are putting out (they are only targeting UKIP, not the Tories, so we know who they fear the most in the upcoming elections) support for UKIP is increasing and a recent poll has put support for UKIP far, far higher than it was at the same time before the last EU election in which UKIP pushed the Lib Dems into fourth place.

Labour started their propaganda campaign of trying to associate the BNP with UKIP roughly around the time several high profile bloggers and politicians pointed out that the BNP is not "far right" but is actually a left wing authoritarian socialist party, like Labour.

We should take heart from the fact that Labour's propaganda machine is targeted almost exclusively on UKIP (discounting the BNP who are always in their sights) at such an early stage because it shows how worried they are. But we must challenge, wherever possible, the blatant propaganda. UKIP and the BNP are ideologically opposed to each other. UKIP is a right wing libertarian party, the BNP is a left wing authoritarian party. There is no link between UKIP and the BNP and we must challenge every attempt to subliminally link the two together in the minds of the electorate.

We also have to challenge the lie that support for UKIP is collapsing or has collapsed - this is not true as January's YouGov poll showed. UKIP has barely started campaigning yet and we are starting the election campaign on 7% which is higher than in 2004 when we seriously upset the eurofederalist establishment.

Whenever you see either of these lies on blogs, make sure you comment and put them straight. When you see it in a newspaper, write a letter to the editor telling them the truth. And the truth is, UKIP has the eurofederalists so scared that their gravy train might be derailed that they're targeting us with a propaganda campaign months before the election. With a little bit of effort from every member or supporter we can cause a massive upset in the EU elections and prove once and for all that the EU Parliament is an illegitimate super-quango with no mandate from UK voters.

Public Meeting Friday

How Much does Britain spend every day to be a member of the European Union?

What are the benefits of being members of the most expensive Club in the world?

Speakers:

• Nigel Farage MEP -Leader of the UK Independence Party.
• Harry Aldridge - UKIP MEP Candidate South East region
• Tim Aker - Taxpayers Alliance
  

FRIDAY 6th MARCH 2009 7pm - 10pm
The Ship Hotel, High Street, Weybridge, Surrey

Chairman: Steve Harris
UKIP Candidate for the South East in the June European Parliament Elections

Admission FREE , Q&A Session , Bar Available

Labour and 'Rocks'

What is the problem that the Labour government has with 'Rocks'? We have had the northern 'Rock', the opinion polls showing 'rocks in the waters ahead' for Labour in their attempts to get re-elected - now we have another 'Rock' rearing its head and one which it is not recalled seeing reported in the British press. The latest 'rock' that would appear likely to cause Labour a small problem or two lies slightly further away; to be precise - Gibraltar. What is even more annoying is this latest 'rock', that might 'sink the Labour boat', has 'sprouted' from Brussels!

It would appear that Spain has laid claim to all waters around the Rock of Gibraltar up to the harbour, a claim which the Gibraltar Chronicle says caught the British government totally unawares, even though this claim had been accepted by the European Commission. The newspaper also states that "In doing so, the Commission ignored the fact that Britain has jurisdiction over these waters and had already designated part of them as a European protected site in 2006."

One has to ask whether Milibland (D), the Foreign Office and the Government were asleep at the time this took place? It is, understandably, possible to assume that as the British Government didn’t know the size of the toxic debt it was inheriting when it nationalized certain banks or the terms of the pay-offs of failed directors, it is hardly surprising that it wasn’t aware that the EU had given Spain responsibility for Gibraltar’s waters.

Further reporting and comment from Gibraltar.gi can be found here and here. and background to the 'sovereignty' of waters around Gibraltar, here. It would also appear to be quite amusing that the seriousness of this situation was actually sounded by the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society.

It is also predictable that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will 'ape' (hows that for a delightful, non-pc term?) the Labour Government and 'wring their hands' whilst showing their inability to 'over-rule' our true government!

Its that time of the month again !

Read the March 2009 edition of the Euro Realist newsletter produced by UKIP's Derek Bennett. This edition includes news items, a thought provoking article from Anne Palmer, Derek Bennett warns people not to score an own goal in the June 2009 European elections, and Derek Norman warns of second class citizens.

To read this edition you can download your copy here.

Congratulations Councillor Fowler

Congratulations to Bloggers4UKIP contributor, Steve Fowler, on being co-opted onto Dordon Parish Council.

Councillor Fowler joins the steadily increasing number of UKIP councillors representing their communities, showing the electorate that UKIP isn't a single issue party.

Shropshire Star: Appalled by Voters

This letter appeared in Friday's Shropshire Star:

Appalled by Voters

I am truly appalled that voters are deemed likely to vote in two MEPs under the BNP banner if the headlines in Saturday's Independent are to be trusted.

Just what is the matter with the voting public?

Why do they vote year after year for parties they cannot trust, with policies which they clearly do not want?

To me this is utterly unfathomable when they have a mainstream party whose policies reflect the public views better than any other - UKIP!

Les Arnott
Sheffield

Letters are a great way of getting UKIP mentioned in the press. Local newspapers might not have the circulation of the nationals but they're easier to get into and you may even find a sympathetic letters editor who will publish lots of UKIP or EU-related letters.

Two New UKIP Blogs - Enjoy

Nikki Sinclaire, UKIP Blog - UKIP's Number 2 candidate on the West Mids list for June's EU Elections , Political Assistant/Advisor and Regional Committee chairman

Desire 4 Freedom - Blog of Jason Smith UK Independence Party Bradford & District Chairman and the Bradford Coordinator of No2ID.

The Society In Which We Live Today

Philip Pullman, children's author, wrote the following for the Times; an article which was 'pulled' from their website shortly after publication. However thanks to Google (you know - the site that 25 MPs wish to 'censure' due to its 'monopoly' and commented upon in the previous post) it has been found. Whilst a long read, it is quoted in full:

Are such things done on Albion’s shore?

The image of this nation that haunts me most powerfully is that of the sleeping giant Albion in William Blake’s prophetic books. Sleep, profound and inveterate slumber: that is the condition of Britain today.

We do not know what is happening to us. In the world outside, great events take place, great figures move and act, great matters unfold, and this nation of Albion murmurs and stirs while malevolent voices whisper in the darkness - the voices of the new laws that are silently strangling the old freedoms the nation still dreams it enjoys.

We are so fast asleep that we don’t know who we are any more. Are we English? Scottish? Welsh? British? More than one of them? One but not another? Are we a Christian nation - after all we have an Established Church - or are we something post-Christian? Are we a secular state? Are we a multifaith state? Are we anything we can all agree on and feel proud of?

The new laws whisper:

You don’t know who you are

You’re mistaken about yourself

We know better than you do what you consist of, what labels apply to you, which facts about you are important and which are worthless

We do not believe you can be trusted to know these things, so we shall know them for you

And if we take against you, we shall remove from your possession the only proof we shall allow to be recognised

The sleeping nation dreams it has the freedom to speak its mind. It fantasises about making tyrants cringe with the bluff bold vigour of its ancient right to express its opinions in the street. This is what the new laws say about that:

Expressing an opinion is a dangerous activity

Whatever your opinions are, we don’t want to hear them

So if you threaten us or our friends with your opinions we shall treat you like the rabble you are

And we do not want to hear you arguing about it

So hold your tongue and forget about protesting

What we want from you is acquiescence

The nation dreams it is a democratic state where the laws were made by freely elected representatives who were answerable to the people. It used to be such a nation once, it dreams, so it must be that nation still. It is a sweet dream.

You are not to be trusted with laws

So we shall put ourselves out of your reach

We shall put ourselves beyond your amendment or abolition

You do not need to argue about any changes we make, or to debate them, or to send your representatives to vote against them

You do not need to hold us to account

You think you will get what you want from an inquiry?

Who do you think you are?

What sort of fools do you think we are?

The nation’s dreams are troubled, sometimes; dim rumours reach our sleeping ears, rumours that all is not well in the administration of justice; but an ancient spell murmurs through our somnolence, and we remember that the courts are bound to seek the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and we turn over and sleep soundly again.

And the new laws whisper:

We do not want to hear you talking about truth

Truth is a friend of yours, not a friend of ours

We have a better friend called hearsay, who is a witness we can always rely on

We do not want to hear you talking about innocence

Innocent means guilty of things not yet done

We do not want to hear you talking about the right to silence

You need to be told what silence means: it means guilt

We do not want to hear you talking about justice

Justice is whatever we want to do to you

And nothing else

Are we conscious of being watched, as we sleep? Are we aware of an ever-open eye at the corner of every street, of a watching presence in the very keyboards we type our messages on? The new laws don’t mind if we are. They don’t think we care about it.

We want to watch you day and night

We think you are abject enough to feel safe when we watch you

We can see you have lost all sense of what is proper to a free people

We can see you have abandoned modesty

Some of our friends have seen to that

They have arranged for you to find modesty contemptible

In a thousand ways they have led you to think that whoever does not want to be watched must have something shameful to hide

We want you to feel that solitude is frightening and unnatural

We want you to feel that being watched is the natural state of things

One of the pleasant fantasies that consoles us in our sleep is that we are a sovereign nation, and safe within our borders. This is what the new laws say about that:

We know who our friends are

And when our friends want to have words with one of you

We shall make it easy for them to take you away to a country where you will learn that you have more fingernails than you need

It will be no use bleating that you know of no offence you have committed under British law

It is for us to know what your offence is

Angering our friends is an offence

It is inconceivable to me that a waking nation in the full consciousness of its freedom would have allowed its government to pass such laws as the Protection from Harassment Act (1997), the Crime and Disorder Act (1998), the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000), the Terrorism Act (2000), the Criminal Justice and Police Act (2001), the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (2001), the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Extension Act (2002), the Criminal Justice Act (2003), the Extradition Act (2003), the Anti-Social Behaviour Act (2003), the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004), the Civil Contingencies Act (2004), the Prevention of Terrorism Act (2005), the Inquiries Act (2005), the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (2005), not to mention a host of pending legislation such as the Identity Cards Bill, the Coroners and Justice Bill, and the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Inconceivable.

And those laws say:

Sleep, you stinking cowards

Sweating as you dream of rights and freedoms

Freedom is too hard for you

We shall decide what freedom is

Sleep, you vermin

Sleep, you scum

© Philip Pullman 2009

The Socialist Mindset

A story in the Telegraph today focuses on the dominance of Google in the 'search engine market' and reports that 25 Labour MPs have signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) which urges ministers to “consider measures to prevent the monopolisation of the online search advertising market”

“A monopoly is unhealthy,” said Andrew Dismore, one of the Labour MPs backing the motion. “Google cornering the market is not good for competitive pricing or quality of service. The Government should recognise that there is a potential problem."

Just because Google may have increased its share of the market to nearly 90 percent must surely be due to the fact that users have a choice of search engines and consequently have made that choice.

How would Mr. Dismore propose regulating which search engine is used? How would any monitoring system work and who would implement it? Welcome Big Brother?

If Mr. Dismore believes a monopoly is unhealthy, what pray is the NHS if but a monopoly based on the fact we have no choice other than the NHS if we want free healthcare? A number of Mr. Dismore's colleagues are reportedly 'up in arms' over the 'privatisation of Royal Mail; however what was Royal Mail, before privatisation, but a monopoly?

What, Mr Dismore, are political parties if not monopolies as only members of a party can select their candidates as prospective parliamentary candidates? To follow Mr. Dismore's arguments, it would be necessary for open primaries to be held for the selection of any prospective parliamentary candidate whereby anyone, regardless of political beliefs, could have a vote.

It would appear that Mr. Dismore, has caught the affliction of his Great Leader -at the moment neither seem to know what they are talking about!

Mandelson Really Is A Duplitious Individual

'Lord' Mandelson has opened his mouth to pass judgment on the 'Goodwin Pension Fiasco' and is quoted in the Telegraph as saying:

"I admire his professional guile trying to shift the focus on this......"

Let us recall what this 'ennobled individual with the odd title' did when announcing the proposed 'part-sale', or 'privatisation', of Royal Mail in which there was no mention, by him, of the need to meet the requirements of the European Union Directives in respect of competition within the postal market?

If only he were able to exhibit 'professional guile' - 'guile' he most certainly does posses, but 'professional'? Having spent his time in the Young Communist League, Lambeth Borough Council and the Labour Party, what professional qualifications does he possess? If truth be known, he is no more than an over-promoted, over-bearing and over-serving bureaucrat?

The words 'kettle' 'pot' 'calling' and 'black' spring to mind.

Anti-UKIP propaganda on the increase

Labour has gone on the offensive in response to increasing support for the BNP and managed to get a dig in against UKIP at the same time.

The upcoming EU election is going to be a good one for UKIP so the dirty tricks are starting early. At every opportunity, members of the LibLabCon coalition mention UKIP whenever they are talking about the BNP and they always say the same thing - the BNP has to be stopped and with UKIP faltering everyone who opposes the BNP's politics of hate has to come together.

The message is that UKIP part of the problem, that a vote for UKIP is a vote for the BNP and that UKIP is complicit in the BNPs racist policies. It's blatant propaganda and it's a sign that the LibLabCon coalition is worried, not only by the rise in support for the BNP, but for UKIP as well.

The truth of the matter is, the BNP is a left wing party. The right wing label is a massive propaganda coup by the left who don't want the BNPs racist politics associated with their own fascist politics. It's not the Tories or UKIP that are losing hundreds of members to the BNP. It's not the Tories or UKIP that are losing council seats to the BNP. It's Labour that are facing the biggest threat from the BNP because they are the party that is closest to the BNP.

The propagandists are right, we do all need to come together and fight the BNP because their white supremecist politics have no place in our society. But the answer is not to fall back to propaganda or to protest against the BNP. The answer is to take away the reasons why people vote for the BNP - tighten up on immigration and leave the EU. This is what most people are voting for when they vote BNP and the worrying increase in support for the BNP is a direct result of the failure of the LibLabCon coalition to address these concerns.

There is only one mainstream party other than the BNP that has a policy of tighter immigration controls and leaving the EU and that is UKIP. People voting for the BNP are sending a message to the LibLabCon coalition that they are unhappy with their policies and that they are feeling disenfranchised. The answer isn't to attack UKIP or complain that the BNP is getting support from people who normally vote Labour, the answer is to take away the reasons to vote BNP and until the LibLabCon coalition do (which they won't because they're committed to staying in the European Empire) the only answer is to vote UKIP.

Why is it important for youths to get involved in UKIP

The following piece was wrote by UKIP Member Toby Hale aged 16.

I often ask myself what is so unappealing about politics? What stops the younger generations actually being interested? There could be endless theories on the matter, but I think I have a few explanations myself. Amongst all ages, there is a complete lack of understanding of UK politics. Lack of understanding in large numbers can lead to two things.

These two things are:

* Those people will never bother to vote.

* Those people will blindly vote for a party for any reason possible.

British politics is actually not as complicated as people might think. The only complication is that we, the public,do not seem to be offered an alternative opinion. Day after day we hear about the three main stream parties plastered on the face of the media. The truth is, we're being offered the exact same polices from each party. The Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Labour Parties all want us to stay in the European Union, which means that we, the people, cannot decide what is best for us and what isn't.

A recent poll showed that 64% of British citizens want a different relationship with the European Union. If the main stream parties believe that the United Kingdom should stay in the EU,it is hardly serving in the interest of the public at all. It is a known fact that over 75% of our laws are now written in Brussels. Are we happy to continue having all the major decisions made for us in another Country? Or is it time we became independent and have a self-governing democracy?

It has been proposed that every citizen in the UK should have a national ID card to fight terrorism. Is this really the correct way to fight terrorism? The simple answer is ,no. This is another irrelevant and inefficient government scheme. Some will even say it's an infringement of our rights. For example, do you know that from March 2009 the government will store all emails we send? Is it fair that the taxes we pay contribute to monitoring ourselves? Is it fair that taxes we pay will contribute towards large governmemt spending schemes, such as the 2012 Olympics, where jobs will go to more foreign workers than British workers? Is it fair that the EU is trying to force the Constitutional treaty upon our nation without the consent of the people? I shall not try to force an opinion down your throat- I will leave you to decide for yourself.

It is very clear now that our voice is being ignored by the European Union. We currently have a completely open immigration system, where anyone that lives in a country inside the European Union can come and live and work in the UK. We cannot even control our own borders. Once a law is passed in the European Union, there is not one single person in England that can refuse that law. We have no say on the subject whatsoever. It is also believed that the huge drop of voters is due to people thinking that their vote will not make any difference. Let it be known that your vote can make a difference. Your vote will make a difference!

It is time to let the people know that there is an alternative! UKIP offers a completely different manifesto to Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats. UKIP proposes a withdrawl from the entangling European Union. UKIP offers a work permit system to control the amount of migrants we have. UKIP believes in self-governing democracy and will restore the power back to local governments. UKIP will never tell us, the people, what to think!

The UK Independence Party. The Part of Freedom, Independence and Democracy.

Interview with Jonathan Arnott- General Secretary UKIP

What made you join UKIP?

The first time I was old enough to vote was in 2001, when I was 20. The Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative Party didn't deserve my vote and I was desperate to find a realistic alternative. One day I happened to meet some UKIP activists running a stall in the centre of Shrewsbury, of all places! I agreed with them on the EU but I wanted to know about all the other issues. I went home, read the manifesto and agreed with it. I signed up, but there was just one UKIP candidate selected for six Sheffield seats at that election and none in my area. I was too young to stand (the limit was 21 then), so I persuaded my Mum, Dad and girlfriend and two other friends to stand and we filled all six seats.

How are you finding the role of General Secretary so far and what does your role generally see you doing within the Party?

It's great fun but also a huge challenge. With this job I don't think it's possible to ever clear the in-tray. No matter how many hours I put in,there's always something left over to do! The first thing I did was to set up the new UKIP members forum at www.ukip.org.uk If we can get members communicating with each other, they'll feel part of a team and able to share campaign ideas. A lot of my job is admin and dealing with the publiuc, Party members and branches- and that can be answering questions, resolving disputes, dealing with complaints or persuading members who are upset to give us another try! I now take the minutes at the NEC meetings. Next we need to make more use of email to keep Party members informed of what is going on in UKIP. As a free way of publicising UKIP, I'm planning to produce an e-flyer which we can email to all members and ask them to forward it to any friends, family and colleagues who might be interested in UKIP.

In what ways do you believe UKIP's policies are relevant to young people?

Young people are less likely to go out and vote so they're often accused of not caring about the Country. Nothing could be further from the truth; they care about issues more than Party politics. We have the perfect policy for that! We believe the public should be trusted to decide key issues in a referendum. Let's start to trust young people. Let's give them a chance for their vote to make a real difference!

What role do you see Young Independence having in the Party?

The first time I spoke at Conference I was 21. There were only two other members there under the age of thirty. Today, we have an immensely talented set of young people coming through the Party. I want to see YI bringing fresh drive and enthusiasm to the Party, new ideas and a real sense of purpose.

You yourself gave a fantastic speech at the Party Conference in Bournemouth, but what were your highlights?

Firstly, hearing Bob Spink for the first time. Who'd have thought a year ago that we'd have a UKIP MP addressing conference? Secondly, I realised just how much influence YI now has within the Party. We now have the Party Chairman, General Secretary, NEC member, PPC's and six candidates for the 2009 European Elections 2009 as well as an impressive array of public speakers who really stole the show.

How do you think UKIP can build upon our success in 2004 in this year's European Election?

We'll knock on as many doors as we can, but the key is fundraising. We need Billboards, advertising, a far greater internet presence and a simple message that resonates with the voters. The European elections are based on a single issue, the EU, which is unpopular with voters. If you like the EU , you can vote Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem or Green. If you don't like the EU, therre's only one show in town:UKIP

Interviewed by Michael Heaver.

European Commission wants to take control of financial regulation

A report by the European Commission has recommended that the banking systems in EU member states should be supervised by an EU-side regulator.

The report says that the banking system is too complex for national supervision and recommends that an EU organisation should be set up to supervise all the national banking systems at the same time with more involvement from the EU Central Bank.

There is no indication as to how a single body supervising the financial systems of 27 countries, all with their own rules, regulations and priorities is less complex than the 27 countries having their own financial services regulators supervising their own financial systems according to their own national laws and priorities.

The reason is quire simple, of course - the European Commission doesn't really believe that a pan-EU financial services regulator will be efficient, it's just using the recession as an excuse for a power-grab.

If the EU wants to set up a financial regulator, they should start by regulating their own finances. Maybe then they'd be able to get their own in-house auditors to sign off their own accounts instead of writing them off as fraudulent every year.